In 2016, when Twitter replaced its purely chronological timeline with one that used an algorithm to determine what users saw, I declared it to be a minor whoop at mosta 2.35 on a scale of 1 to 10. Maybe I was too serene about the change, which theoretically helped people see worthwhile tweets that they might otherwise have missed. But I dont blame myself for failing to anticipate that Elon Musk would someday buy the service and twiddle its algorithmic knobs to suit his purposes, from boosting his own hate- and hoax-laden tweets to throttling ones that include links to unimportant stuff such as, you know, news.Today, if you find your Twitter default feed to be filled with awfulness, theres an easy explanation: It may still be called For You, but its really For Elon.Over on Metas Threads, the experience is so Twitter-esque that its default feed is also an algorithmically arranged view called For You. Instead of toxicity being the problem, however, its placidity.Launched in the wake of Musks Twitter takeover, Threads got huge fast by letting users sign in with their existing Instagram accounts. It also seemed to aim for an atmosphere that was akin to Instagram at its bestcalming, convivial, and decidedly uncontroversial. Head honcho Adam Mosseri was frank about the services desire to de-emphasize news and politics, seeing them as baggage for a new social network to avoid rather than selling points to embrace.But while Threads has racked up an impressive 275 million monthly users, the hottest refuge for Twitter defectors is now Bluesky. At the end of October, the social-networking startupa spin-off of Jack Dorsey-era Twitterhad about 13 million members. Since the U.S. presidential election, its surged past 24 million users, welcoming throngs of newbies who do like to talk about current events, just not on a social network operated by Donald Trumps new best friend.Meanwhile, election night revealed the downside of Threadss willfully news-adverse algorithm. It chose to display stale items posted before polls closed and it was clear Trump had won, including some posts that were irrelevant at best and (if you were rooting for Kamala Harris) possibly heartbreaking at worst.Like all tech giants, Meta does its best work when it faces actual competition. In recent weeks, Threads has gotten a sudden infusion of new features, many of which seem inspired by Blueskys sudden boom. Its also tweaked its algorithm to show more posts from people youre following rather than random interlopers you arent, which should theoretically improve relevance all by itself.At least for me, though, these renovations havent resulted in a noticeably timelier For You feed on Threads. Mine still has a whiff of day-old newspaper to it: On Tuesday morning, for example, it was devoid of anything related to the political drama in South Korea.Meta might yet teach its AI to more consistently show the right posts at the right time. Still, theres a bigger lesson it could learn from Bluesky, though it might be an uncomfortable one for a tech giant to confront. Its that introducing algorithms into a social feed may cause more problems than it solvesat least if timeliness matters, as it does with any service that aspires to scoop up disaffected Twitter users. For a modern social network, Bluesky stays out of your way to a shocking degree. (So does Mastodon; Im a fan, but it seems to be more of an acquired taste.) Blueskys primary view is Followingthe most recent posts from the people you choose to follow, just as in the golden age of Twitter. (Present-day Twitter and Threads have equivalent views, but not as their defaults.) Starter Packs, which might be Blueskys defining feature, let anyone curate a shareable list of users. You can follow everyone in one with a single click, or pick and choose, but either way, you decide.Now, Bluesky does have some algorithmic aspects. The Discover tab, which shows posts from people you dont follow, is a rough equivalent of the For You feeds on Twitter and Threads. Popular With Friends is exactly what it sounds like. But these views are secondary. Theyll live or die based on whether they provide any value, not because theyre the first thing you see when you open the app. So will any third-party algorithms that anyone constructs using Blueskys open architecture.The power of a reverse-chronological feed of posts from people you select yourself has always been obvious. It makes a social network feel personal, vibrant, and real. Thats why 2016-era Twitter users got freaked out about the prospect of change even before the company imposed an algorithm on the process.Bluesky confirms the virtue of using algorithms sparingly all over again. Its current growth spurt is heartening evidence that getting back to basics might even be good business. Musks Twitter may be beyond repair, but if everyone else in social networking takes notice, we can only benefit. Even as we speak, Threads is reportedly getting ready to introduce its own version of Starter Packs. Bring them on, I sayalong with anything else about Blueskys delightfully human-centric nature that Meta cares to copy.Read/Watch/Listen/TryThe craft of Craft. If someone asked me to provide three examples of iPad apps that truly show off what a developer can do with Apples tablet, the note-taking app Craft would be one of them. (So would Procreate, and Im not sure about the third one.) The latest version, Craft 3, is out now. Its a wonderfully feature-rich product whose new featuresin domains from task management to fancy formattingmake it a viable alternative to Notion. But Crafts overall polish and the balletic grace with which it incorporates elements such as drag-and-drop go far beyond Notions merely workmanlike experience. The Verges David Pierce has a full review; one of his favorite new featuresa quick-add button that lets you instantly start typing away and even leave text pinned to the bottom of the screen until you decide what to do with itisnt yet available on the iPad. But Crafts developer tells me its on the way. (The app is also available for iOS, MacOS, and Windows.)A tech reading list. Speaking of The Verge, I enjoyed this list of the best nonfiction tech books of all time, as chosen by its staffersnot because its picks match mine, but because theyre almost completely different, including many tomes I havent read (yet). Come back to this newsletter next week, and Ill tell you about some of my favorites.Youve been reading Plugged In,Fast Companys weekly tech newsletter from me, global technology editor Harry McCracken. If a friend or colleague forwarded this edition to youor if youre reading it on FastCompany.comyou cancheck out previous issues and sign up to get it yourself every Wednesday morning. I love hearing from you: Ping me athmccracken@fastcompany.comwith your feedback and ideas for future newsletters.More top tech stories from Fast CompanyHow LinkedIn opened the door to AI slopOver 50% of long-form LinkedIn posts are likely AI-assisted. 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