New Frontiers under a Bluesky: Fostering Scientific Exchange Through Social Media

What you’ll learn:

At the beginning of 2023, a new social media platform was born: Bluesky. In the early days, Bluesky was invite-only, with initial users receiving periodic invite codes to share with friends and bring them to the new platform. Initially, a small group of the #MedTwitter community made its way over to the platform, though many maintained a larger and more involved presence on X (formerly Twitter). Some of these pioneering healthcare providers and researchers took advantage of the AT protocol, an open-source framework for social media services that allows for greater user control and customizability, and Bluesky’s tools to create custom feeds like MedSky. Without a centralized algorithm for boosting posts into users’ timelines (or skylines), the MedSky feed and its associated hashtags and emojis were critical to developing the initial MedTwitter-esque community on this new platform.

Today, the MedSky community continues to grow and rapidly evolve, positioning Bluesky as a novel space for medical affairs teams looking to foster scientific exchange, amplify data dissemination, and expand stakeholder reach.

The Great MedTwitter Migration

In early 2024, Bluesky opened its metaphorical doors to the masses, no longer requiring an invite code to participate in the conversation. Over the past several months, more and more users made the jump to Bluesky, connecting with communities they had developed on X and bringing greater visibility to the new platform. Many users appear to be migrating due to a perception of increasing toxicity and promotion of misinformation on X. To give a sense of recent growth, Bluesky’s user base jumped from just over nine million users in September 2024 to over 20 million by mid-November. That expansion included KOLs, DOLs, professional medical societies, and journals. This change represents an opportunity for pharmaceutical companies—and especially medical affairs teams—to engage in scientific discussions and disseminate medical communications on Bluesky. And while some pharmaceutical companies have begun claiming space on the platform, we have yet to see a trailblazer leverage Bluesky to foster scientific exchange. 

Taking to the Skies for Scientific Exchange

We’ve seen the rise of social media as an emerging venue for scientific discussions and knowledge sharing in the medical community. On X, medical affairs teams within the pharmaceutical industry have engaged with the medical community by disseminating clinical trial data, highlighting the latest medical advances, and amplifying study recruitment efforts. Our SOcial MEdia for Medical Affairs, or SOMEMA, Index provides metrics that can help medical affairs teams set objective goals and measure the impact of their social media efforts. The emergence of the digital opinion leader, or DOL, and MedFluencers has led to opportunities for meaningful co-creation and collaboration between clinical and research experts and pharmaceutical companies on X and other platforms. Today, a number of those KOLs, DOLs, and MedFluencers have made their way to Bluesky, representing a new frontier for scientific exchange.

Beyond the individual thought leaders, several medical journals and professional medical associations are also sparking scientific discussions on Bluesky. In June 2024, Bluesky introduced “starter packs,” which are curated lists of accounts grouped by a specific topic that new users can follow to quickly find and interact with the content they want to see. One starter pack of recommended accounts to follow includes 150 accounts representing medical organizations and peer-reviewed journals, which have begun disseminating clinical and scientific advances. Other users have also created their own starter packs for medical organizations, journals, and even KOLs and clinical experts, such as the infectious disease #IDSky starter pack. Similar to the types of scientific exchange we’ve seen on X, these starter packs allow Bluesky users to engage with DOLs and other experts in the field and access curated information related to medical advances, novel therapies, and emerging science. 

The appeal and vast potential of Bluesky as the next venue for scientific exchange can be best illustrated with a notable example: On November 13, 2024, the American Society of Hematology (ASH) created a Bluesky account and quickly established a feed for its annual meeting to foster discussion about the advances in research being presented this year. The ASH account already has over 2,000 followers, and the custom feed had over 50 active participants during the annual meeting in early December 2024. The success of ASH and the growing influx of thought leaders and medical organizations demonstrate the potential of Bluesky as a venue for conversations around science and medicine.

So Pharma… What’s Next? 

As pharmaceutical companies—and especially medical affairs teams—continue to optimize their medical communications in the age of social media, they would be remiss not to consider the potential for meaningful engagement on Bluesky. Pharmaceutical companies like Amgen, Eli Lilly, and AstraZeneca have already claimed their space on Bluesky, even if they haven’t started posting content, interacting with users, or leveraging the platform for scientific exchange. Interestingly, even without posting any content, these accounts are already starting to develop a following. Clearly, pharmaceutical companies and their customers are beginning to see Bluesky as a key player in the future of medical social media. Still, they also signal an unmet need when getting started on the platform. While the American Society of Hematology has integrated Bluesky into its annual meeting social media guidance, the platform has yet to see widespread adoption in medical congress programming. As the user base grows, we expect more medical societies to formally include Bluesky in their congress social media plans, signaling an industry-wide shift. Klick has long been a leader in the medical social media space, and our team stays up to date on Bluesky and the broader social media landscape. Our social media strategists and scientific experts are ready and excited to partner with medical affairs teams to launch their Bluesky presence, foster scientific conversations, and maximize their medical impact.

In the coming months and years, Bluesky will continue to grow and evolve, and medical affairs teams should consider thoughtfully driving their social media efforts toward the new platform. Content posted on other platforms like X and LinkedIn could be further disseminated on Bluesky, and the platform’s features (e.g., custom feeds, lists, and starter packs) could elevate scientific exchange in new ways.

The question is, who will be the trailblazer?