Bluesky References

This page contains reference examples for Bluesky, including the following:

1. Bluesky post
2. Bluesky profile
3. Bluesky starter pack
4. Bluesky feed

• Present the name of the individual or group author the same as you would for any other reference. Then provide the Bluesky handle (beginning with the @ sign) in square brackets, followed by a period.
• Provide the specific date of the post.
• Provide the first 20 words of the post as the title, in italics. Count a URL, a hashtag, or an emoji as one word each, and include them in the reference if they fall within the first 20 words. Do not italicize emojis.
• If the post includes an image, a video, a poll, or a thumbnail image with a link, indicate that in square brackets after the title: [Image attached], [Video attached], [Thumbnail with link attached].
• As with other social media sites, Bluesky officially refers to individual postsopens in new window as “posts.” Include the description “[Post]” in square brackets after the title.
• Credit Bluesky as the site name in the source element and then provide the URL of the post. 
• The format used for Bluesky is also used for Instagram, TikTok, and X.

• Bluesky profiles begin on the “Posts” tab by default. Use “Posts” in the title element by default (italicized); if you want to cite one of the other tabs (“Media,” “Videos”), use the name of that tab.
• Include the notation “[Bluesky profile]” in square brackets.
• Provide a retrieval date because the content is designed to change over time and is not archived.
• Provide the URL of the page.

• Starter packs are user-curated lists of Bluesky users and feeds focused on a particular topic. Any user can create a starter pack, and then other users can pin any of the feeds in that starter pack and follow all of the people or pick and choose who on the list to follow.
• To create a reference for a starter pack, credit the Bluesky user who created the starter pack as the author.
• Italicize the title of the starter pack and then describe it in square brackets. The description is flexible and can be general (e.g., “[Starter pack]”) or specific (e.g., “[Information literacy starter pack]”).
• Provide a retrieval date because the content is designed to change over time and is not archived.
• For the URL, either the standard link acquired by copying and pasting from the address bar or Bluesky’s short link is acceptable.

• Whereas the default timeline for Bluesky is a reverse chronological list of posts by the users one follows, feeds are customized timelines created by users to curate posts based on content. These are unique and user-controlled algorithms. Any Bluesky user can subscribe to these feeds.
• To create a reference for a feed, credit the Bluesky user who created the feed as the author.
• Italicize the name of the starter pack and then describe it in square brackets (e.g., “[Bluesky feed]”).
• Provide a retrieval date because the content is designed to change over time and is not archived.
• Provide the URL of the feed.