Maybe, now that #Bluesky is replacing Jay Graber with a spiffy new Venture Capitalist CEO, and all the tech media is parroting the company's press release, some enterprising journalist can actually figure out...

[ikuturso@mastodon.social]

@mastodonmigration Honestly to me this looks like it makes the Series B closing less likely because one possible reason for it is that they are starting to run out of runway and the VCs want to change course.

[serapath@mastodon.gamedev.place]

@mastodonmigration

@indutny interesting news.

i mean - if you have a product which supposedly cant see and sell user data, doesnt cost users and and has no ads, but pays millions all the time to big tech like AWS to stay operational, then everyone is just asking for enshittification.

now sure - we could all just go full peer to peer, but its hard as long as people rather believe big marketing budgets p2p cant compete with.

maybe one day enough learninga have been made by enough ppl ‍️

fair?

[mastodonmigration@mastodon.online]

@ikuturso

Agreed. If they are still operating using the late 2024 $15M they must be out of money, since they have no revenue and at least 20 employees. So, the new CEO is likely part of the deal for the next round of financing. This also makes the common wisdom that Jay was the majority shareholder seem even more implausible.

[mastodonmigration@mastodon.online]

@ikuturso

But the key thing us that we should know these things! People need to be more skeptical about who they trust with their social media.

This guy is talking about TRUST, and yet there is so much about #Bluesky ownership and finances that is secret and their entire brand is build on 'decentralization' marketing misinformation.

[benroyce@mastodon.social]

@mastodonmigration @ikuturso

it's #cryptobros

#bluesky is owned and run by crypto bros

#jaygraber herself is a #cryptobro, coming from that world:

Jay Graber - Wikipedia

(en.wikipedia.org)

what i always expected (and i guess i should still expect, if their financial situation is that dire and that they are now at the mercy of #vulturecapital) is some stupid #crypto tie in with bluesky

[mastodonmigration@mastodon.online]

@benroyce @ikuturso

It is an interesting situation. The entire value of #Bluesky is that they have corralled all the libs there who are pretty hostile to this administration, and yet it appears that the crypto bro ownership is quite friendly with the oligarchy.

So, what is the play?

A suspicious mind might think they are up to something...

[benroyce@mastodon.social]

@mastodonmigration @ikuturso

the play is easy

#bluesky genuinely likes their audience

but.. #finances are finances

the goons who control the purse strings lick their chops with very goon-based #crypto dreams, replace the leadership, and then fucking ruin it

just like #twitter

just like traditional #media ( #WaPo, #nytimes, etc)

so a warning for all:

enjoy bluesky

but its days are numbered

it will become a cesspool #socialMedia like twitter eventually

with certainty

[mastodonmigration@mastodon.online]

@benroyce @ikuturso

The timing of this relative to the midterms should maybe give one pause.

[benroyce@mastodon.social]

@mastodonmigration @ikuturso

yup

be on the lookout for nasty disinfo tricks on bluesky

definitely more drama from that world coming up, regardless

[guillotine_jones@beige.party]

@mastodonmigration
Who owns BlueSky?
My guesses:
Some petro state sovereign wealth funds.
The Ellisons.
The Winkelvoss twins.
The twins from "The Shining."
Various hedge fund billionaires.
The brothers Trump: Uday and Qusay.
Jeff Bezos.
And,
Your pension fund.
#JayGraber #BlueSky

[mastodonmigration@mastodon.online]

@Guillotine_Jones

If not yet...soon...Let the bidding begin

[dzwiedziu@mastodon.social]

@mastodonmigration
https://mastodon.social/@dzwiedziu/116203621885399294

@benroyce

[mackuba@martianbase.net]

@mastodonmigration @ikuturso fwiw, the team devs have been consistently indicating that they feel safe about the amount of money in bank and that it's not gonna run out anytime soon. And Paul said yesterday it was Jay who initiated the CEO change process. I understand she was just really tired of the role which became a very very different job than it was in 2021-22, for someone who was previously just a normal developer like us.

[mackuba@martianbase.net]

@mastodonmigration @ikuturso As for the funding, my suspicion (based on no info or rumors, I haven't heard anything about that) is that they may have had some additional sources of funding than what was announced, but no idea from whom and how much (like I said, I do wish there was more transparency)

[mastodonmigration@mastodon.online]

@mackuba @ikuturso

So, if they are really comfortable with all the money in the bank, where did it come from and how much is there? These kinds of cryptic comments are what contributes to a lack of trust.

[mastodonmigration@mastodon.online]

@mackuba @ikuturso

Which is very strange. Typically VC backed companies are very open about their funding rounds. The fact that this picture is unclear is cause for concern.

[ikuturso@mastodon.social]

@mackuba @mastodonmigration I think they are very adept at playing the corporate PR game so I don't want to give too much weight to such statements personally.

This just matches very well with the estimates I've had of when they probably would really need to start seeking additional funding and bringing in the VC would also be typical for that.