Last year, Mark Zuckerberg showed up to an event with a T-shirt reading: “Aut Zuck aut nihil.” This is essentially Latin for “Zuck or nothing,” and is a reference to the infamous Latin phrase “Aut Caesar aut nihil.” In other words, Zuckerberg compared himself to Julius Ceasar.
Bluesky, a fast-growing platform in the creator space, had its own fun with Zuck’s quip, with CEO Jay Graber showing up to SXSW with a shirt reading “Mundus sine Caesaribus,” which translates into “a world without Ceasars.”
Bluesky’s Roman Empire
After the positive reception to the joke, Bluesky decided to sell the t-shirt on its Shopify — and it almost immediately sold out.
The shirt was such a success, it’s already got a second print run, as Bluesky COO Rose Wang reveals that Bluesky earned more money selling t-shirts than it has selling custom domains for the past two years.
“That’s it,” she joked. “Pivoting to a t-shirt company.”
During SXSW (per Mashable), Graber made another thinly veiled jab at Zuckerberg. “If a billionaire tried to ruin things, users could just leave [Bluesky] — without losing their identity or data.”
Created in the wake of X’s controversial takeover, Blue Sky has surged to over 32 million users. As anti-billionaire sentiment continues to resonate, this number is poised to increase significantly.
