Bluesky plans to introduce payments in the coming months, the first step in a strategy to make money without relying on advertising, CEO Toni Schneider and COO Rose Wang said on Thursday at TechCrunch Disrupt.
Schneider said people are already selling things and fundraising successfully on the decentralised network, and the company wants to make that easier. Under the plan, users who see something they like and support would be able to support it monetarily, in a way intended to work for Bluesky and other apps across the network.
Schneider, the former CEO of Automattic, took over in March after longtime CEO Jay Graber stepped down. He said he was surprised by the reaction to his appointment, with some users joking it marked the beginning of the end for the platform. He said he understands users can leave for another platform if they dislike changes, a reality he said keeps the leadership team accountable.
Wang argued that advertising is not the inevitable path for a social network. She pointed to Schneider's work at WordPress Automattic, which she described as a $10 billion business where a billion goes back to the parent company and the rest goes to the ecosystem.
Wang also cited Bluesky's status as a Public Benefit Corporation, which she said puts the company's mission at the centre of its business strategy. She said that because of its infrastructure the company cannot lock people in, and that the people creating value on networks should receive the money coming in.
Wang said the company will start with payments, describing the effort as disrupting the infrastructure layer rather than building another app.