Are there stars in Bluesky? A comparative exploratory analysis of altmetric mentions between X and Bluesky

TL;DR

This study analyzes the shift from X to Bluesky in scientific communication, revealing increased Bluesky activity in 2024 for multidisciplinary journals but lower overall engagement compared to X, indicating a potential future platform shift.

Contribution

It provides a comparative analysis of altmetric mentions on X and Bluesky, highlighting discipline-specific adoption patterns and the growth potential of Bluesky in scholarly communication.

Findings

Bluesky mentions doubled or quadrupled for top journals in November 2024.

Bluesky engagement remains lower than X across disciplines.

Potential for Bluesky to become a significant platform in academic dissemination.

Abstract

This study examines the shift in the scientific community from X (formerly Twitter) to Bluesky, its impact on scientific communication, and consequently on social metrics (altmetrics). Analyzing 10,174 publications from multidisciplinary and library and information science (LIS) journals in 2024, the results reveal a notable increase in Bluesky activity for multidisciplinary journals in November 2024, likely influenced by political and platform changes, with mentions doubling or quadrupling for journals like Nature and Science. In LIS, the adoption of Bluesky is more limited and shows significant variations across journals, suggesting discipline-specific adoption patterns. However, overall engagement on Bluesky remains significantly lower than on X. While X currently dominates altmetric mentions, the observed growth on Bluesky suggests a potential shift in the future, underscoring its emerging role in academic dissemination and the challenges of adapting scholarly communication metrics across evolving platforms.