Welcome to Bluesky Social without the confusion
If you are new to Bluesky Social and wondering where to start you are in the right place. This beginner guide walks you through account setup posting and feed management while keeping your sanity and privacy intact. Think of this as a friendly tutorial that also tells you what not to do.
Account setup and profile basics
Create an account with a clear username and a profile photo that does not scream anonymous cat person. Add a concise bio and a link to a personal site if you have one. Verify your email to secure the account and help others find you when they search. Small effort here makes discovery easier and keeps your account recoverable if you forget your password after a late night of doomscrolling.
Understand the feeds and how to control them
Bluesky has a few feeds which behave differently. The home feed shows posts from accounts you follow plus algorithmic nudges. The following feed restricts updates to just the people you follow. Use curated follows to keep your feed useful and mercilessly prune accounts that only post low effort hot takes.
- Home feed for serendipity and discovery
- Following feed for a focused timeline
- Custom lists to group topics without following everyone publicly
Posting replies and quotes the easy way
Tap the composer icon to write a post. You can add images and links. Replies act like threaded comments and quotes let you comment on someone else while showing the original post. Use tags for discovery and keep posts concise for better engagement in this microblog format.
Pro tip, drafts are your friend. Polish a post before publishing if you are trying to be clever rather than chaotic.
Starter packs and lists for fast discovery
Starter packs are curated collections of recommended accounts or themed posts. They are a great shortcut to find interesting voices fast. Add a starter pack when you are discovering a new topic and then follow the individual accounts you like. Use custom lists to build niche feeds without following everything publicly. This helps when you want a science feed or a cooking feed without inviting political chaos into both.
Blocking and muting for a peaceful feed
Moderation tools live in the settings and on user profiles. Block to stop messages from a problematic account. Mute to silence noise without escalating to a block. Review blocked accounts now and then to avoid accidental overblocking. Use these tools to shape your personal experience instead of stewing in someone else's hot takes.
Privacy notifications and appearance
Explore settings for privacy and notifications. You can tweak visibility discoverability and who can interact with you. Adjust appearance to make the interface easier on your eyes if you plan to spend hours scrolling. Remember that changing settings is not admitting defeat, it is smart self care.
Keyboard shortcuts and power user tips
If you use the web client learn keyboard shortcuts to speed up navigation. Drafts help you craft better posts and tags improve discoverability. Keep posts short where possible and use images to increase engagement when appropriate. Curate your follows and lists so your feeds actually reflect what you want to see.
Quick starter checklist
- Create account and verify email
- Upload profile photo and write a short bio
- Explore home feed and following feed
- Post with the composer and try replies and quotes
- Use starter packs and custom lists to discover creators
- Mute or block accounts to keep your feed pleasant
- Adjust privacy and notification settings
- Use drafts and keyboard shortcuts for efficiency
Final thoughts and a tiny reality check
Bluesky Social is new and evolving, which means things change and features get polished. Practice posting adjust your follow lists and use moderation features to shape a pleasant personal feed. Starter packs are an easy way to jumpstart discovery and then convert the good accounts into follows and lists. You will get the hang of it quick unless you enjoy chaos in which case have fun and try not to break the internet.