In the rapidly evolving world of talent sourcing, recruiters are constantly seeking the most effective platforms / tools to support the sourcing of critical talent. This analysis compares X (formerly Twitter) and BlueSky, examining their potential as tools for X-Ray and site searching to enhance sourcing results.
X (Previously Twitter):
- Advantages:
- Larger audience / established platform
- Robust content archive spanning diverse professional domains
- Significant macro-level influence through high-profile ownership (with political influence)
- Disadvantages:
- Reduced staff following multiple rounds of restructuring
- Ongoing negative press surrounding platform changes (continually evolving)
- Decreased transparency in platform management
- Removal of key safety and trust mechanisms
BlueSky (Bsky.app):
- Advantages:
- Emerging platform with growing user base
- Customizable user feeds
- Enhanced user-controlled content moderation
- Clean, modern user interface (looks a lot like the old Twitter)
- Greater platform change transparency
- Disadvantages
- Substantially smaller user base (approximately 30M MAU)
- Limited discoverability and search capabilities
- Nascent ecosystem compared to established platforms
Despite restrictions on content indexing, X still offers robust search capabilities for talent sourcing professionals. By leveraging Boolean operators such as “intext:”, recruiters can construct search strings to identify potential candidates.
Recommended Search Strategy / String for X:
- (site:twitter.com OR site:x.com) (intext:profile OR intext:bio) (intext:developer OR intext:engineer OR intext:programmer OR intext:SWE OR intext:engineer) (intext:Money2020 OR intext:FinTechMeetup)
BlueSky
BlueSky presents significant challenges for talent sourcing due to its strict indexing restrictions and decentralized architecture. Current search methods, including applications like Skyfeed and BskyFinder, yield minimal actionable results.
Search Limitations:
- Restricted profile and post indexing
- Decentralized architecture prevents effective scraping
- Minimal discoverability through traditional search methods
Comparative Analysis for Talent Sourcing:
User Base
X maintains a clear advantage with:
- Approximately 541.56M monthly active users compared to BlueSky’s 30 MAU (X is18X in size)
- Estimated 200-250M daily active users (DAU #’s are not available for BlueSky)
- Broader professional representation & usage across industries (Established platform)
Search Effectiveness
X offers superior search capabilities, enabling recruiters / sourcers to:
- Construct complex Boolean search strings (leveraging specific operators)
- Access a vast, diverse social media platform
- Allows the usage of “intext:” operators for refined results (results below)
Per the above, I would advise recruiters to leverage the “intext” Boolean operator to drill down and find top talent through detailed Boolean strings on X / Twitter.
Sample String (results above):
- (site:twitter.com OR site:x.com) (intext:profile OR intext:bio) (intext:developer OR intext:engineer OR intext:programmer OR intext:SWE OR intext:engineer) (intext:Money2020 OR intext:FinTechMeetup)
Using the intext operator will allow the mining of specific words from the Text & Bio of a person’s X / Twitter profile. This operator is beneficial as it restricts search results to pages where the search terms appear in the main body text of the page (excluding Headers, Footers and irrelevant parts of the page being searched).
To increase relevance of sourcing results, the Boolean string will need unique terms (i.e.: conference, meetups & unique skills) included to narrow the search results. For example, if you are looking for strong AI talent, you might consider leveraging the string below.
- (site:twitter.com OR site:x.com) (intext:profile OR intext:bio) (intext:developer OR intext:engineer OR intext:programmer OR intext:SWE OR intext:engineer OR intext:scientist OR intext:AI/ML OR intext:”Applied Scientist”) (intext:CVPR OR intext:NIPS OR intext:ICML OR intext:AWSreinvent) (intext:AI/ML OR intext:”artificial intelligence”)
See results below:
Conclusion
For talent sourcing professionals, X remains the more robust platform. Its larger user base, established ecosystem, and search-friendly architecture provide significant advantages over BlueSky’s privacy-focused model.
Key Recommendations:
- Prioritize X for comprehensive talent sourcing strategies
- Monitor BlueSky’s evolution as a potential future platform
- Develop flexible search techniques adapting to platform changes
As social media landscapes continue to transform, staying adaptable and informed will be crucial for effective talent acquisition.
In summary, X / Twitter remains a better source for X-ray searching technical talent.
X has a larger user MAU & DAU (constantly fluctuating) than Bluesky. Additionally, X allows for X-Ray searches when using the “intext” Boolean operator.
Per the larger user base and ability to X-Ray search X/Twitter, I consider it to be a better sourcing tool for TA professionals.