Opinion: Is Bluesky intentionally limiting invite codes to drum up demand for the app?

Perhaps you may not have noticed when it first arrived back in February owing to its limited availability on iOS, but Bluesky and its invite-only model is turning out to be one of the most popular subjects on Twitter.

Yes, it is here to take on Twitter, which is no surprise given the familiar name behind its creation – Jack Dorsey.

In fact, Bluesky Social might just be what you need to bring back bygone Twitter vibes — at least for those who aren’t fans of Elon Musk’s version — but only if you can get your hands on an invite code.

In case you didn’t know, the decentralized social platform requires an invitation to create an account, something that has turned Twitter and Reddit into a frenzy with droves soliciting for invite codes from early Bluesky adopters.

As noted earlier, Bluesky first arrived on iOS back in February. But it’s only recent that it launched on Android, which explains the increased demand for invite codes to trial the platform.

It’s nothing unusual for new social media platforms to get lots of attention ahead of launch. In recent times, the traction is even much bigger if they have anything to do with taking on Elon Musk and Twitter.

We’ve seen the likes of Mastodon, Hive Social and even Truth Social come and go, and now Bluesky is the latest attempt to disrupt Twitter using an approach that is seemingly working.

The invite-only model isn’t new at all. It was successfully used by Clubhouse where the company managed to add around 10 million people to their waitlist through this exclusive system.

This not only gave Clubhouse owners ample room to assess their growth, but it also helped the platform grow in a measured way while keeping things from breaking during the entire upscaling process.

Bluesky has taken a similar path, which should equally help Jack Dorsey and co. monitor the growing interest in the app to ensure they can handle everything sufficiently when time for a wider rollout comes.

No doubt having an invite-only system in place will ensure Bluesky tunes its product perfectly as it grows. But more importantly, it’ll ensure the small team behind the platform doesn’t strain too much handling more people.

This system also prevents the servers from crashing frequently in the event they get overwhelmed by requests to join the platform, which once again makes sense owing to the limited resources.

But here’s the kicker: the invite-only system happens to be one of the best free marketing tools — and Bluesky has just proven it, with the company already commanding massive numbers even with limited availability.

Bloomberg recently reported that Bluesky has over 245,000 downloads on iPhones. The Google Play Store also shows the app has been downloaded over 100,000 times during the short period it has been on Android.

Furthermore, The Verge revealed that another one million people have joined the waitlist, which includes yours truly.

These numbers say everything about how effective the invite-only strategy has been for Bluesky. What initially captured the attention of ordinary tweeps has now started attracting renowned people in the tech space.

Even The Verge’s senior editor, Tom Warren, has been bitten by the Bluesky bug:

OK I’ve got 10 Bluesky invites (I’m http://tomwarren.social over there). Gonna pick people at random who reply to this tweet
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One major problem with this system, though, is getting an invite. As noted earlier, many people are on Twitter and Reddit trying to get an invite code into Bluesky but with limited success.

This has even resulted in scams, with some taking advantage of the demand for Bluesky invite codes to pose as sellers but with the aim of defrauding unsuspecting people.

Which begs some questions. Does the difficulty of getting invite codes have some hidden motive? Is Bluesky creating an artificial shortage of invite codes to drum up demand for the app?

Because if that’s the case, it’s clearly working perfectly. There’s plenty of chatter around it, which is exactly what Bluesky wants ahead of the app’s wider rollout.

Okay okay. I guess I should try out this @bluesky thing. Anyone have an invite to spare for me?
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Bluesky invites code please 🙏, I need to explore that app, everyone has been talking about it.
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Potential Bluesky subscribers are eager to know what the app offers. And with the continued shortage of invite codes, they’ll keep talking about the platform and hence spread the word to others ahead of full rollout.

Of course, Bluesky hasn’t explicitly acknowledged this, but with the way things stand, it’s hard to deny that the shortage of invite codes is working in the company’s favor. For how long remains to be seen.

If Clubhouse is anything to go by, Bluesky could be on course to start life with massive numbers. The question is will they stay or leave soon after like others before it? Time, as usual, will tell.

That said, be sure to share your thoughts in the comments section and poll below.

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