Bluesky plans payments in the coming months

Bluesky plans to introduce payments in the coming months as it looks for ways to make money without relying on advertising. CEO Toni Schneider and COO Rose Wang outlined the plans Thursday at TechCrunch Disrupt.

The company wants to build on commerce and fundraising already taking place on its decentralized social network. Schneider said users could pay to support things they see on the network, with payments designed to work across Bluesky and other apps.

Schneider, formerly CEO of Automattic, took over in March after longtime CEO Jay Graber stepped down. He acknowledged that some users had worried his appointment would signal unwanted changes. He said users can leave if they dislike new features or changes, which keeps the leadership team accountable as Bluesky prepares to introduce monetization.

Wang argued that advertising is not the only viable business model for a social network. She cited Schneider’s experience building a $10 billion business at WordPress Automatic, saying $1 billion went to the parent company and the rest to the ecosystem. Wang also said Bluesky’s status as a Public Benefit Corporation puts its mission at the center of its business strategy.

Wang said the company needs to make money but cannot lock people in because of its infrastructure. Bluesky aims to give users ownership of their digital identities and control over their networks, while enabling value and revenue to flow to the people who create them. Wang described payments as a first step toward changing the underlying infrastructure, rather than building another app.