Bluesky intends to add payments in the coming months, and the company describes them as the first piece of a plan to earn money without relying on advertising. CEO Toni Schneider and COO Rose Wang laid it out at TechCrunch Disrupt, building on the buying, selling and fundraising that users already do on the network.
The idea
If you see something on the network you like, you should be able to support it with money. Schneider said this should work across the whole open network, including other apps built on the same protocol, not only inside Bluesky's own app. Wang called payments a starting point for changing the underlying plumbing rather than building yet another app.
The argument against ads
The executives say advertising is not the only workable model for a social network. Bluesky is a public benefit corporation, and Wang said it needs revenue but must not lock people in, with money flowing toward the people who create value. Schneider admitted that users can simply leave if they dislike changes, and said that keeps the company honest. He took over in March after Jay Graber stepped aside, and some users greeted his arrival with jokes about the end of the platform.
What is still unknown
The only timeline is "the coming months". No fees, payment providers, partner apps or revenue split between users, developers and Bluesky have been announced, and no financial figures were given.