Users of X, formally known as Twitter, have become increasingly frustrated with the changes to the platform since its purchase by Elon Musk. Therefore, many users flocked to Bluesky, a new, decentralised social media that aims to step away from the profit-driven side of social media.
Now with the inauguration of Donald Trump and Musk’s ties to the President, even more people will view this as a valid reason to make the move.
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Once a Bluesky account was set up, I could see the same quote from James Baldwin shared by countless accounts: “We can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist.” Many users post this to show their compliance with this form of social media and to signal their disdain for X.
Its intention is clear, this is meant to be a new and friendly social media, intending to be completely different to the rest.
How does Bluesky look different to X? Not much at all. The colour scheme and layout look just the same, with the platform being founded by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, who has since left Bluesky.
Dorsey is no stranger to the financial services industry, being the founder of technology company Block.
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By GlobalDataIs Bluesky really the safe haven of the internet to hold virtual hands and type declarations of love? Or is it just another flavour of the month social media platform that will have its few minutes of fame before slowly becoming less and less popular?
The biggest argument in favour of the move to Bluesky will be journalists no longer having to write “X, formerly known as Twitter” all the time.
Regardless of any personal feelings towards the cultural effect of social media, it certainly has had a huge influence on the way people bank. It has become a vital way in which people communicate, and every major bank has employees who spend vast amounts of time monitoring social media channels.
Why would someone follow their bank on social media?
The biggest reason will be for easy customer support. Banks would much prefer you head over to the company’s inbuilt chat function. But that doesn’t always get the instant response that they need. Social media provides an easy and immediate way to get assistance with banking issues, such as account questions, transaction inquiries, or troubleshooting technical problems. Plus, there is the added bonus of seeing if other people have asked the same question. So in my opinion, the more people on a platform, it only makes it a matter of time before a bank joins a new social media and builds a database of responses to queries.
It is also a way to provide product and service updates. Banks often use social media to announce new products, services, promotions, and updates to terms and conditions. Customers follow these platforms to stay informed. This was most evident during Black Friday in 2023 when HSBC crashed, on one of the busiest retail days of the year, it was straight to social media to communicate with customers who needed, due to the nature of the day, instant response.
Many banks share educational content, like financial tips, budgeting advice, investment strategies, or how-to guides for using banking services and features, which can help customers improve their financial literacy. Banks may post alerts or updates regarding fraud warnings, system maintenance, security tips, or changes in fees and services that customers need to know about.
Of course there is always an element of salesmanship around a company’s social media page. A bank will post its involvement in community initiatives, charitable activities, or corporate social responsibility programmes. Additionally, banks may offer special deals, discounts, or promotions exclusive to their social media followers. Customers follow these platforms to access these benefits.
For many, social media allows them to interact with their bank quickly and at their convenience, especially if they have a quick question or need support outside regular business hours. Social media allows for faster communication compared to traditional methods like phone or email, especially when it comes to urgent matters like account fraud or suspicious activities. Customers may follow their bank on social media to provide feedback, share their experiences, or suggest improvements to the bank’s services.
Will UK banks make the move to Bluesky?
So with all of that in mind, is the move to Bluesky worth it for banks? The answer: Maybe? I reached out to all major banks in the UK to gather some more info on whether they are looking to set up a Bluesky account. The responses were overall quite underwhelming. The common theme being variations of the phrase: “This is not something we’d comment on.”
Starling Bank were the only responder too offer some sort of commentary on the matter, with Oliver Mott, Head of Social Media at Starling Bank, who said: “X remains an important channel for inbound customer contact and that is primarily how we use it. We plan to set up on Bluesky shortly – we’re very keen to see how it compares.”
This is the first confirmation of a bank planning to begin communications on Blueksy. When looking through the platform I found an account that was dedicated to Monzo. Now with X, or Twitter, the account would be verified with a blue tick that makes it much easier to know if the account you are talking to is legitimate. This is not the case here. In fact, there is no obvious way to know whether this account is legitimate, apart from what I considered a suspiciously small amount of followers. I reached out to Monzo to find out whether this was a proper channel for these, and did not receive a response.
But now, even as a mildly technology-competent Gen Z-er, I am not sure how to figure out the validity of Bluesky users.
Apart from profile photos, I had no idea of proving who is who. As companies now just begin to use Bluesky, they have a small number of followers, something which is usually a giveaway to prove the illegitimacy of an account. Now there is no blue tick to also give some sense of truth in the figures behind the account. Can we trust it? The task of finding out whether this was a legitimate account was a cloudy one, with lots of searching through Google and sending emails, to no avail.
Since I initially conducted this research, the Bluesky account in question cannot be found and Monzo appears to be more active on the platform, using an account that appears to be much more legitimate based on the use of language, regular content and images used. However, no easy blue tick to make it simple and safer for users.
Safety will be one of the customers’ key concerns with this new platform. Firstly when I was signing up to Bluesky, I was asked to “help people know you’re not a bot by uploading a picture”. To me, this implied that there would in fact be bots on the platform. As if implying there will be bots.
As a new platform, it’s hard to gather reliable evidence on cases of fraud on the platform, but if recent rises in scams on Meta platforms are anything to go off, there doesn’t appear to be anything clear or new to prevent these issues.
A Reddit channel where people share accounts for companies they believe to be legitimate. Something that doesn’t instil confidence just yet. As things stand, it seems that Bluesky hasn’t picked up enough users to make the move a no-brainer for banks. But that will change if the number of Bluesky users continues to grow at its current rate and soon writing a message to your Bank’s Bluesky account to ask questions about your mortgage could become a new normal.
