CMS Joins Bluesky!

Published March 5, 2025 · Updated March 12, 2025

CMS actually joined the Bluesky Social Network several months ago (Dec 2024); which brings the current CMS Social media accounts back to six. In addition to the new CMS Bluesky account, we have a CMS Facebook page and CMS Forums group. The CMS Pinterest page has over 300 mushroom recipe pins. We also have an Instagram account and our YouTube channel; which we live stream our monthly meetings to. CMS is no longer on Twitter/X. We always have links to our social media acounts on the CMS website homepage.

For those of you who are not familiar with Bluesky. According to Wikipedia, Bluesky began in 2019 as a research initiative at Twitter, becoming an independent company in 2021, now under the direction of CEO Jay Graber. Bluesky launched as an invite-only service in February 2023 and opened registrations for anyone in February 2024.

Bluesky is becoming very popular for good reason. If you are already on Bluesky, you can follow CMS here. If you want to know more, read on.

What is Bluesky?

Bluesky is a social media platform that allows users to post short messages, photos, and videos. It’s similar to Twitter, but with some key differences. Bluesky allows users to create and control their own social networks, giving them greater autonomy and privacy. This innovative approach has garnered attention from those seeking an alternative to the centralized control of traditional social media giants.

What makes Bluesky different from X?

Unlike X, which is a closed platform owned by one person, Bluesky is a decentralized social network with no central authority. Bluesky users get to choose what they see and do not see. Yes, there are still algorithms involved. But, they offer tools for the developer community to bring new algorithms to users swiftly and effortlessly. So, you can choose the default Bluesky feeds and moderation tools; or reject them all and choose what you please.

Bluesky’s approach to moderation from their website – Moderation is a core part of social networks. At Bluesky, we’re investing in safety from two angles. First, we’ve built our own moderation team dedicated to providing around-the-clock coverage to uphold our community guidelines. Additionally, we recognize that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to moderation — no single company can get online safety right for every country, culture, and community in the world. So, we’ve also been building something bigger — an ecosystem of moderation and open-source safety tools that gives communities power to create their own spaces, with their own norms and preferences.

Curious, but not sure? Then, you’re in luck. Go to the Bluesky website, where you can browse, search for, and view existing accounts and posts without having to sign up or sign in.

On the Discover tab, scroll down to read current posts or enter a word or term in the search field at the top to find specific posts that may interest you. If you click on the feeds tab, you can search for feeds of interest.

How to Join

Below are the 8 easy steps to join Bluesky. If you prefer the video version click here.

Go to bsky.app or download the Bluesky app on your phone or tablet
Click on Create Account
Enter your email address, create a password, and enter your date of birth
Choose a username that can only include letters, numbers, and hyphens
Complete the CAPTCHA challenge
Upload a profile photo or create an avatar
Choose your interests to customize your default feed (you can change later)
Write a short description to complete your profile

What can I do?

To navigate Bluesky, you will need to understand people, posts, feeds, lists, and starter packs. Here is a description of each:

People – These are the users and/or businesses that have a Bluesky account. You can Follow people just as you would on other social media platforms. The difference is that you are more likely to see what they post. If you know the specific handle or name of a person or business, type it into the search bar. Handles on Bluesky are formatted like email addresses (e.g., “@username. bsky. social”), so make sure to enter them correctly. If you are an X user and want to move to Bluesky, there is a tool to help you find and follow all of your former friends on X. Find out how here.

Posts – Posts are similar to tweets in twitter/X. Their official name is skeets. But, most people call them posts, since you make them by clicking on the Post button. Posts are limited to 300 characters, but you can thread multiple posts together if you need more characters. You can also add pictures, videos, or gifs. Links to external web postings are also permitted. A quote post on Bluesky is a post that references another post. The quoted post appears below the comment. When you create a post, you can specify who can interact with your post and even specify if others can “quote post” your post, or not. To set the default interaction settings for your posts go to Settings > Moderation > Interaction settings. For a basic tutorial on making a post, watch this very short video.

Feeds – Feeds are a collection of posts. By default, there are two feeds on your Bluesky homepage—Following and Discover. The Following feed shows content posted by people you are following, while the Discover feed displays content based on the interests you specified when you created your account. If you are not interested in the Discover Feed that was created for you, you can unpin it from your homepage, or completely delete it. To do this, go here and click on the blue pin icon at the top of the feed. Bluesky feeds is where you search for and subscribe to other feeds. The feeds you subscribe to will appear as tabs at the top of your timeline and in the right-hand panel. Custom feeds are open for anyone to create, although you’ll need programming experience and a firm grip on the Bluesky API.

Lists – A Bluesky List is a curated group of Bluesky accounts that you put together for your own purposes. It allows you to easily view posts from those accounts without following each account. To create a list, click on the list icon, then click New. Select accounts to add to your list. Once you are done, you can pin your list to the top of your homepage, and click on it to see the posts from your list. However, be aware that some accounts only allow their Followers to interact with their posts.

Starter packs are a specific type of list that includes both recommended people/accounts to follow (up to 150), and up to 3 custom feeds. For example, if you want to find and follow your favorite Podcasters, there’s a starter pack for that. You can browse a list of the most popular starter packs, or do a keyword search of the starter pack directory for things that interest you. Like this search for mushrooms, fungi, and mycology. Once you find a starter pack that looks interesting, click to view the accounts that it includes. You can choose to follow any or all of the accounts or feeds in a starter pack. You can also create your own starter pack to share with friends or submit to the Starter Pack directory.

Is there anything else I should know?

Most of the other terms you see on Bluesky will be familiar and intuitive. Hashtags work in the same way as other platforms. Notifications include alerts for mentions, new follows, likes, and replies, and you can configure these in the app settings. You can also find a specific mentions tab in the notifications area. If you want to keep up with Bluesky changes, request a feature or provide feedback, follow the official Bluesky account. Their handle is @bsky.app.

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