(11/06/2026: This is version 1 of this post, imported from my personal wiki, where the latest version can always be found.)
This week was not the first time I’ve noticed that whenever I mention anything to do with BlueSky or the Atmosphere on LinkedIn, fewer people than average see my posts. I’m aware this sounds a bit whiny, and that many people who rely on LinkedIn ( which I don’t, thank God) are whining because of LinkedIn’s recent algorithm change. But this week the suppression was flagrant.
Given that the Atmosphere looks set to eat LinkedIn for breakfast (here’s my Sifa profile on the Open Social Web), the key question is whether this is a conscious malevolent choice by LinkedIn’s algorithm masters, or just an excellent example of a filter bubble.
“you will not be informed of the most consequential developments affecting online communications and communities for the years ahead if you rely on LinkedIn”
We’ll probably never know but it doesn’t really matter — what matters is that you will not be informed of the most consequential developments affecting online communications and communities for the years ahead if you rely on LinkedIn.
The facts
I’ve been on LinkedIn for almost 20 years and have thousands of connections and followers, so normally my posts get at least a few hundred impressions, and regularly see thousands. Not this week:
Day 1: Eurosky launches a PLC Directory mirror on European infrastructure, finalising the technological decentralisation of the entire Atmosphere — 137 impressions of this post after 3 days
Day 2: Eurosky launches a relay on European infrastructure, further reinforcing the Atmosphere’s resilient decentralisation — 43 impressions of this post after two days
Day 3 (2026–06–11): Eurosky launch a “BlueSky edit button” — 80 impressions of this carousel after one day !
Algorithmic guilt or innocence?
There are two possible explanations, and if you like conspiracy theories you’ve probably already decided Microsoft actively suppresses posts covering the Atmosphere.
But the truth is in some ways worse: the Atmosphere is so new that relatively few people in my LinkedIn network have ever interacted with content about it, so the algorithm probably just assumes they’re not interested.
So it's more blind than malevolent, but that’s still not OK: algorithms look at your past to predict what you’ll want to see; they do not look at your future to predict what you need to see.
algorithms look at your past to predict what you’ll want to see; they do not look at your future to predict what you need to see… what else are you not seeing because you live inside LinkedIn’s filter bubble?
You no longer see content from people you trust because LinkedIn is no longer social media, it’s para-social media. So ask yourself this: what else are you not seeing because you live inside LinkedIn’s filter bubble?