Oh boy, where to start. 😅 Bluesky is doing things differently than other social media platforms and as a result I see people peddling wild myths about the platform daily.

1) A feed is the same as a hashtag ❌ FALSE. Hashtags on Bluesky function the same way they do on Twitter but feeds are sort of a hashtag / subreddit hybrid where you can further filter posts on the app, moderate and sort them to create your desired browsing experience. For example the hashtag #cosplay may return completely different results than the biggest cosplay feed on Bluesky because the moderator (me!) has removed spam and stolen content and tailored the algorithm to boost newer posts instead of relying on Bluesky's default algorithm which can leave older posts at the top for much longer. Feeds have the possibility to be much more powerful and useful than hashtags and they're one of the coolest and most unique things about Bluesky.

2) There is no algorithm on Bluesky ⚠️ Sort of false. It would be more accurate to say there are MANY algorithms on Bluesky because users have a tremendous amount of choice in how they curate their experience on the platform. There is a main Discover feed on the platform, but you don't have to use it and many users prefer the reverse chronological Following feed instead. An algorithm is just a way of sorting content and there are infinite options available to you. I recommend searching for your hobbies or interests on Goodfeeds.co and pinning the feeds that you enjoy the most.

3) You can get shadowbanned on Bluesky for posting links or hashtags. ❌ FALSE. Unless you're behaving like a bot or posting illegal content, there is no penalty for posting links or using hashtags on Bluesky.

4) You can get shadowbanned on Bluesky for using third party tools like schedulers. ❌ FALSE. There are a ton of third party apps and resources to customize your Bluesky experience and none of them will impact your Bluesky account's standing. As always, be careful about who you give your log-in information to (use an App Password instead of your main password whenever possible) but I highly recommend Publer for scheduling posts and reposts and Deck.Blue for a more 'Twitter like' viewing experience.

5) You can get shadowbanned on Bluesky for posting adult content. ❌ FALSE. Your posts (or profile picture) might get an 'Adult Content' label/warning (which you can appeal!) but all that means is that your media itself is not visible to anyone who hasn't toggled their moderation settings to allow adult content to be visible. It is not bad for your content to be labeled, it just prevents it from being shown to people who are not interested in it. This is good! We want people who enjoy adult content to see adult content and we don't want people who don't enjoy adult content to see it. If you disagree with your post's label, you can always appeal it but getting your content labeled as Adult will not negatively impact your account in any way. It may impact that individual post's visibility (it won't get shown on feeds with NSFW disabled or to people who have strict NSFW moderation settings) but it won't hurt you on an account level.

6) Shadowbans don't exist on Bluesky. ✅ Generally true! Unless you are behaving like a bot or have mistakenly gotten a 'Spam' label on your account, Bluesky does not shadowban accounts. If you are noticing decreased visibility, you should adapt your strategy instead. If you notice a 'Spam' label on your account, you should appeal and it will be removed.

7) Someone is targeting you with bots. ❌ FALSE. Like any social media platform, there are bots who will follow you and send you weird DMs and comment strange things on your posts. This is not a targeted attack on you personally. This happens to everyone. Block the bots, report them to Bluesky and move on.

8) There's no traffic or engagement on Bluesky ❌ FALSE. Generally when people say this, it's because they have not figured out how to find their people on the site yet. Or, they are expecting to be able to post using the exact same strategies that they used on Instagram and Twitter and see the same results. Bluesky is an incredible platform for niche content creators or people with special interests, but you have to put in the work to find the right feeds and people to follow.

If you're curious about how to get more traffic and engagement on Bluesky, I made a guide for content creators that can get you started!