Bluesky could change the user verification game

In a recent live stream, Bluesky CEO Jay Graber hinted at a potential novel approach to user verification:

“We could be a verification provider — and we might at some point (and also, no, I’m not sure when). But it would be something where you’re accessing through one app, and then there might be another app and there might be other services,” she continued. “And they can choose to trust us — the Bluesky team’s verification — or they could do their own. Or other people could do their own.”

Clearly, this idea is still under product discovery. But we can suss out a few key insights. It seems Bluesky are aiming to make user verification a decentralised system, aka one that is not merely controlled by Bluesky but by the community itself.

If Bluesky were to implement this...

... it would be a very different approach from those taken by the incumbents:

• Facebook & Instagram verifications require you to be a well-known figure or brand. The verification process is handled by a Meta team. Oh, and you must fork out some money every month for the pleasure of being verified.

• X followed a similar approach after Elon's takeover with paid verification.

• LinkedIn doesn't have a paid verification process, though users can submit personal details to verify their account and get a checkmark.

Who are you? (ooh ooh)

This novel verification process would bring two clear benefits to the Bluesky team and its users.

First, it would remove some of the admin burden on Bluesky. Verifying users is time-consuming and, with only 20 employees, Bluesky doesn't really have time to sit through a bunch of requests.

Second, it would enable a much broader definition of 'verified'.

On X, Meta, and LinkedIn, a verified account is someone who pays and submits government paperwork (ID, passport, etc.). With a community-led verification system, users could get verified based on community-specific requirements --similar to Reddit AMA verifications.

For example, the Product Management community could verify Lenny Rachitsky; even though, on competing platforms, Lenny may not be enough of a celebrity to get verified.

Of course, this approach would also likely introduce ways of gaming the system, botting, and some of the usual social media fun. But that's par for the course.