At a Glance
- X will launch “Starterpacks,” curated user lists copied from Bluesky’s “Starter Packs”
- Lists cover News, Politics, Fashion, Technology, Business & Finance, Health & Fitness, Gaming, Stocks, Memes, and more
- Unlike Bluesky, X builds the lists internally using months of data on top posters
- Why it matters: New users get a fast way to find relevant accounts, but critics say central control favors insiders
X is preparing to roll out its own version of Bluesky’s popular “Starter Packs,” a feature designed to help newcomers quickly find accounts that match their interests.
James O Connor Fields reported for News Of Philadelphia that the Elon Musk-owned platform will call the lists “Starterpacks” and release them “in the coming weeks,” according to Nikita Bier, X’s head of product.
How the Feature Works
Bier said in a post on X that teams “scoured the world for the top posters in every niche and country” for several months. The resulting lists span categories such as:
- News
- Politics
- Fashion
- Technology
- Business & Finance
- Health & Fitness
- Gaming
- Stocks
- Memes
Each list surfaces accounts X deems most relevant to that topic. Users will see the recommendations during onboarding and at other points in the app.
Key Difference from Bluesky
Bluesky lets any user build and share Starter Packs. X keeps creation in-house. Bier’s post makes clear the selections come from internal data, not community nominations.
This top-down approach revives a long-standing debate. Twitter, now X, used editorial “Suggested User Lists” in its early days. The list funneled millions of followers to chosen accounts, sparking charges of favoritism. In 2010 Twitter switched to an algorithmic system to reduce human bias.
Industry Trend
X is not alone in copying Bluesky’s idea. Meta’s Threads began testing user-curated lists in December 2024. Mastodon is also developing “Packs” to ease onboarding.
The race to clone the feature underscores a shared problem: helping new users find value fast. Social graphs that once grew through friend connections now rely on interest-based discovery. Starter packs, whether user-made or platform-controlled, promise a shortcut.
What Happens Next
Bier said rollout starts globally within weeks. No details were given on how often lists will refresh or whether users can opt out of recommendations.
For X, the move adds another growth lever after a year of feature experiments. For Bluesky, imitation signals its ideas are shaping the wider market-even when copied by the very giants it seeks to challenge.
