Total activity across the entire site doesn't meaningfully affect users as long as the activity they actually care about is still there, "Bluesky's aggregate metrics are down" and "Bluesky is the best place to talk science" can both be true at the same time. The website you're reading right now has abysmal metrics compared to Facebook and TikTok, but that's not really the point, is it?
yep. This feels like a feature to me, not a bug. As a mostly reader/follower on these platforms I'm surprised when others compare their engagement metrics, rather than the quality of the engagement on these platforms. Obviously their goals and incentives are different than mine, but the more time I spend on the internet the more I value the smaller communities due to the correlation with quality and topical focus.
