This Is the Best Way to Find People to Follow on Bluesky

If you're tuned in to digital culture news at all, it's been impossible to miss the chatter about Bluesky over the past month. The fledgling social media site—which looks and acts a lot like Twitter did a decade ago, long before Elon Musk bought it and renamed it X—is exploding in popularity, doubling in size over the past two months to around 20 million users.

Suddenly a site you'd probably only heard of if you spend a lot of time thinking about your social media diet is topping the App Store charts and attracting a flood of folks looking to exit X as it has drifted toward promoting toxicity and even disinformation in the lead up to, and aftermath, of the U.S. presidential election.

All of the reasons for the site's recent boom aside, if you're a new user, the most important thing to you is probably figuring out how to best use it, from making the migration from X, to learning Bluesky's quirks, to finding the people you used to follow elsewhere.

But as much as it can feel like Old Twitter, Bluesky has some unique things to offer—chiefly among them a lack of an algorithm that "learns" (or decides) what you're interested in. That's where a tool in the independently created Bluesky Directory comes in handy.

Search more than 47,000 Bluesky "starter packs"

Assembled by Mubashar “Mubs” Iqbal, Bluesky Directory is essentially a collection of links to Bluesky tools and utilities from across the internet, from a Chrome extension that helps you find all of your old X followers to links to third-party clients that are more customizable than the official Bluesky app and website.

The most useful part of the directory, for Bluesky newbies at least, will be the searchable index of more than 47,000 "starter packs." If you haven't encountered one yet, a starter pack is essentially a list of Bluesky accounts sorted by what unifies the folks behind them. When you open a starter pack—either within the Bluesky app or on the website—you can choose to follow everyone in it with a single tap or click, or scroll down and choose who you want to appear in your feed one by one.

So, for example, if you're a big movie geek, you might enjoy a starter pack like Filmmakers, which features 20-odd directors (Rian Johnson, Kevin Smith, and Lily Wachowski among them). If you love podcasts, you could check out Women in Podcasting. If you want to keep tabs on everyone who writes for Lifehacker, I've created a starter pack for that too.

You can search for starter packs on Bluesky itself, but the experience isn't great. Bluesky Directory's searchable index is a lot more user-friendly. You just type a few relevant terms into the search bar, and you'll be served up any starter packs that match (the site is slightly sluggish—which is to be expected with a million new users coming online every day—but not unusably so).

You'll be able to see a description, the number of accounts on the list, and even a preview of a few of them, right from the results page.

There's a starter pack for (almost) everything

You can browse a list of the most popular starter packs, but if you want a truly bespoke social media experience, it pays to do a granular search. As of this writing, the index includes 47,450 different options, with more being added every minute. (If you've created a starter pack you'd like added to the database, there's a link to submit one right there on the search page). And chances are good if you're interested in a topic, there's a starter pack for it.

Perhaps you want to follow authors who like to post about their cats? Or maybe academics with learned opinions about pizza? COVID-conscious porn performers? I was disappointed there were no results for a search for "Ninja Turtles," but it's early days yet; on the other hand, I found lists of journalists who write for some of my favorite publications, as well as people who've guested on my favorite movie podcast.

Once you find a feed you like, click on the name and you'll be taken to Bluesky, where you can choose who on the list you want to follow (or follow everyone). You can also toggle over to the "Posts" tab to see recent posts from everyone in the starter pack.

Before you know it, you'll have a hyper-specific list of Bluesky follows attuned to your particular interests—which seems, to me, a lot better than having an algorithm throwing rage-bait at your face every time you open the app.

How to Use the Secret Notes App Built Into Your iPhone's Calculator

In Apple's great 2024 software refresh—specifically iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS 15 Sequoia—a new tool called Math Notes was added to the Calculator and Notes apps. It's essentially a calculation canvas you can use to work out equations and draw graphs, and if you know how to get the best out of it then it can be incredibly useful.

Whether you've come across Math Notes yet or not, it's a good idea to make yourself aware of everything it can do—because it's not immediately obvious what's possible when you first open it up and are faced with an empty screen.

The main way to get to Math Notes is through the Notes app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. You can also access it through the Calculator app: Tap or click the calculator icon in the lower left corner, then choose Math Notes. You'll see all of your previous math notes listed, with the option to edit them or create new ones.

Simple calculations

Basic equations in Math Notes Credit: Lifehacker

An easy way to get started with Math Notes is to try some simple calculations: If you type in anything like "4+4" or "8x8" followed by an equals sign, the answer will automatically pop up. Hit Enter or Space on the keyboard, and the calculation gets finished for you.

If you don't want to use the keyboard, you can scribble out your equations too, if you're using an iPhone or iPad. Again, all you need to do is put in an equals sign, and the answer appears (assuming your writing is relatively legible). This gives you more flexibility in terms of the complexity of your equations.

You can sketch out long division sums, for instance, or write down a long column of numbers that need adding up—as soon as you draw a line under them, you'll get the total. Math Notes even tries to copy your handwriting style, so everything looks consistent.

Math Notes can do conversions, too. Credit: Lifehacker

If you see a red line, it means you may have made a mistake in your equation, while a blue line means clarification is needed. Here's a fun feature: Tap on any handwritten number, and a slider appears on top of it. You can swipe left or right on this slider to adjust the number, with the result also changing as you go.

Another clever trick available here is the handling of conversions. If you type out "5 m =" or "5 miles =", Math Notes understands you want to see the equivalents in feet and kilometers, respectively. This works with a whole range of different unit types, and if the right units aren't automatically selected, you can specify them.

There might be times when you don't want results to pop up immediately, and you can change this on an iPhone or iPad. Tap the three dots in the top-right corner of a note, then choose Math Results: You can set this to Insert Results, Suggest Results, or Off.

Variables and graphs

Math Notes lets you make use of variables. Credit: Lifehacker

Math Notes can handle variables, too—so letters can stand in for numbers inside your expressions. Setting variables is as simple as adding a line that says "y=100" or "koala=50", though these lines must be above the expressions that use them.

You can redefine variables as you work your way through a note, so they can be adjusted in different ways for different expressions. They're also able to reference themselves, so something like "y=y+2" would simply increase "y" by two.

When any variables are changed, the results of all the matching expressions are updated immediately—so you can use variables to update a host of expressions at the same time, rather than going through them one by one. Variables can also set variables, so "width x length=area" would work, for instance.

Expressions can be graphed too. Credit: Lifehacker

Variables work with the different units we mentioned earlier—so they can be assigned a value in miles, or in degrees Fahrenheit, or a price in a certain currency. Math Notes understands the full set of trigonometry functions too, so you can use "sin," "cos," and "tan" in your expressions as well.

On the iPhone and the iPad, you're able to build graphs from your expressions, too, if there are two variables on either side of the equals sign. Once you've finished the equation, you'll see a pop-up panel with an Insert Graph option (if it doesn't appear immediately, try tapping on the equals sign).

After a graph has been created, you'll see another option on expressions to Add to Existing Graph, so you can combine multiple expressions together. Graphs can be moved around and resized inside notes, and copied to other apps. Graphs will show up on macOS, but you can't create them.

Why Bitcoin, Bank Stocks, and More Are Surging After Trump's Win

The stock market rallied to all-time highs on Wednesday following Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite indexes each reached new record levels.

Here's what you need to know about why the market responded in this way, and what it means for your investment strategy.

Why the markets surged post election

Analysts attribute the market surge to two key factors:

1. Reduced uncertainty. As I've covered previously, the prospect of a new government and potential policy shifts can create a whirlwind of speculation, leading to market volatility that can unsettle even seasoned investors. An election outcome—regardless of the winner—eliminated the uncertainty that had weighed on the markets prior to the vote. In fact, the U.S. stock market has historically tended to rise regardless of which party wins the White House.

2. Prospects of a business-friendly government. Investors are anticipating pro-business policies from a second Trump administration and a Republican-controlled Senate.

The Dow closed up over 800 points, or 2.9%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq gained 2.2% and 3.9% respectively. As we've already seen, Trump has a penchant for rolling back or undoing regulations, which benefits sectors that might have experienced greater scrutiny under a Harris administration. Banking, energy, and technology stocks were among the biggest winners in the days following the election.

What this means for you

While this news might make it tempting to buy shares of Tesla or Bitcoin, you might want to take a beat, first. As a rule of thumb, financial advisors caution investors against making sudden, drastic changes to their portfolios based on this one-time event.

The so-called "Trump trade" could easily turn into a bumpy road—investors should be wary that parts of Trump’s economic platform, such as tax cuts and tariffs, could stoke inflation. Plus, all the details of the timing and implementation of the Republican policy agenda are hardly clear at this time.

It's never a good idea to dramatically alter your investment strategy in response to a specific election outcome. Instead, this could be a good time to rebalance and make sure you're not overly exposed to any one sector or company. So while the rally may be tempting, always evaluate your overall asset allocation first before jumping in.

Allowing current events to constantly sway your financial decisions can lead to emotional stress and decision-making influenced by fear or overconfidence. After all, you're not as objective as you think—here some tips so that you don't lose money over it. In the end, experts recommend staying disciplined and sticking to your long-term investment plan, regardless of who occupies the White House.

And if you experienced some gains and anticipate a big expense in the short term, converting some of your earnings into cash or certificates of deposit could be a good move.

Use Your AirPods to Have a Conversation With ChatGPT

Last month, select Apple users got their first taste of Apple Intelligence, with features including transcribing voice memos, cleaning up photos, rewriting emails, and a revamped, more natural Siri. However, when iOS 18.2 launches, how you interact with your digital assistant and, consequently, your AirPods, could change drastically, thanks to a new ChatGPT integration with Siri. And if you install the iOS 18.2 beta on your iPhone, you'll have this integration right away.

Chatting with ChatGPT through Siri

According to 9to5Mac, the experience is rather straightforward: When you summon Siri after installing iOS 18.2, you can follow up by saying "Ask ChatGPT." Instead of asking Siri your question, you're now asking ChatGPT. The AI chatbot will then handle the task from there.

After the initial question, Siri will listen for any follow-ups, and can continue the conversation without repeating commands or engaging in additional dialogue, similar to a normal conversation with a friend. These subsequent requests all go through ChatGPT as well, so there's no need to say "Ask ChatGPT" every time—only at the beginning of the current Siri session.

When iOS 18.2 is officially released (the rumor is early December), ChatGPT will be disabled by default. You will have to enable it by toggling it on in the Apple Intelligence menu in Settings. You don't need to have a ChatGPT account to access these features, but if you have a ChatGPT Plus account, you can connect it to Apple Intelligence in Settings to access the chatbot's more advanced features. That includes expanded GPT-4o features, the ability to upload additional files and send more messages, as well as access to Advanced Voice Mode.

To connect your ChatGPT Plus account, head to Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri > ChatGPT. There, you can enter your account information or upgrade to ChatGPT Plus, currently priced at $19.99 a month.

How ChatGPT integration is a game changer for AirPods

ChatGPT integration works no matter how you chat with Siri, but it could be particularly useful when going hands-free with AirPods. Once updated, you will be able to ask questions and get more detailed answers through Siri wherever you use your earbuds. That includes all the usual use cases for AI: For example, you can ask ChatGPT a question while out on a jog, or request a summary of important documents while walking to an important meeting. It all comes with AI's limitations, of course, so you should always review anything you ask ChatGPT before treating it as fact. But if you're already a ChatGPT fan, having direct access to the bot from your AirPods is pretty sweet.

To that point, if you pay for ChatGPT Plus, you can talk to ChatGPT in natural conversation through Advance Voice Mode. In this mode, ChatGPT can recognize the emotion and tone of your voice, and will stop speaking when you start saying something, mimicking a more natural, realistic conversation. It's probably the closest we've come to 2013's Her yet.

If you're eager to try Siri's new features now, you can download the beta version of iOS 18.2. Learn more about downloading it here, keeping in mind that there are inherent risks when using unfinished software. 

Use 'Bridgy Fed' to Connect Mastodon and Bluesky

The Great Twitter Exodus of 2022 is still happening. It's just a little...fractured. A lot of X power users migrated to Bluesky early on, which paved the way for a flood of folks to join that service in 2024. Meanwhile, a lot of technically inclined individuals are still hanging out on Mastodon (at least, that's where I hang out).

Bluesky and Mastodon are both decentralized services, in theory, but users of one service can't really talk to users on the other—or it wasn't possible before Bridgy Fed, anyway. It's a beta service that makes it possible for Bluesky and Fediverse-compatible applications, such as Mastodon, to interact.

What is the Fediverse?

Let's back up a little. Mastodon is part of the Fediverse, a collection of services that connect to the same protocol. Threads, another place where a lot of X users ended up, is starting to connect to the Fediverse; WordPress blogs can also connect. This all points to a future where people can use whatever social network they like and follow people who prefer to use a different one, with one problem: Bluesky, despite being decentralized, isn't part of this network.

This is where Bridgy Fed comes in. With this service, individual users of either service can opt in to "bridging" their accounts. I tested this out with my friend and Lifehacker alumni Eric Ravenscraft, who hangs out on Bluesky more than me. It worked well—we can now see each other's posts, like each other's posts, and even talk to each other, cross-network.

Create your bridged account

Setting up the bridge couldn't be easier: You just need to follow a particular account.

• Mastodon and other Fediverse users need to search for and follow the account @bsky.brid.gy (it's easiest to just search for this—note that some Mastodon instances may be blocking the bridge).

• Bluesky users need to follow the account @ap.brid.gy.

That's it! Bridgy Fed will now create an account for you that users of the other service can follow. You'll also be able to find your account on the other service so you can share it with friends.

• If you're a Fediverse user, your new Bluesky account will be @[user].[instance].ap.brid.gy. For example, my Mastodon account @jhpot@mastodon.social becomes @jhpot.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy on Bluesky.

• If you're a Bluesky user, your new Fediverse account will be @[handle]@bsky.brid.gy. For example, Eric's Bluesky account @lordravenscraft.bsky.social can be found at @lordravenscraft.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy.

That's a little more complicated than I'd like—it would be great if the service sent a DM letting you know where you new "bridged" profile is, for example. Still, I was able to find my own newly created Bluesky profile pretty quickly, and I was also able to interact with Eric with ease. Here's how the interaction looks from Mastodon, for me:

Credit: Justin Pot

And here's how it looks from Bluesky, for Eric:

Credit: Justin Pot

Replies show up in mentions, the way they normally would, as do likes. If all you want is to be able to organically interact with someone who is using the other network, this works well.

An imperfect solution

While this solution works well, there are a few hangups. Chiefly, it only functions if both people bridge their accounts. This means I can't see any comments from Bluesky users unless they also are bridged, and vice versa: During our little test, a few other Mastodon users responded to my conversation with Eric, but Eric could not see those replies. This make sense if you know how the system works—only comments from bridged users are bridged—but it's hardly ideal, and can lead to asymmetrical conversations. Unfortunately, the opt-in nature of the bridging service makes this inevitable.

And there are other issues too: Bluesky has a 300-character limit for posts, for one thing, while the Fediverse doesn't have a hard cap. As a result, some posts are cut short along the way.

I could pick at more threads (as opposed to Threads), but suffice it to say, this is far from a perfect solution. You can, and should, read the documentation to learn more. For the moment, though, it's one realtively simple way for people who aren't on the same decentralized social ecosystem to talk to each other, and I like that. I'll certainly be bugging friends I want to interact with on Bluesky to "bridge" their accounts.

X May Use Your Data for AI Training, Even If You Opt Out

Ever since election night on November 5, I’ve noticed a massive exodus of my X mutuals from the site. That’s not too surprising—owner Elon Musk has made his political affiliations clear, and those who don’t want to support him financially are understandably bouncing. I myself have only stuck around because of work, although I’ve stopped posting as frequently. However, a new update to the X terms of service has even my finger hovering over the deactivate account button (even if there’s technically a better way to leave Twitter behind).

Starting today, X is now allowed to start feeding all your posts to its AI models, possibly even if you opt. The depth of the situation isn’t quite clear, but regardless of what’s actually happening behind the scenes, the language isn’t encouraging.

Freshly added to the terms’ “Your Rights and Grant of Rights in the Content” subheading is a new mention of X’s AI, which reads:

"By submitting, posting or displaying Content on or through the Services, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license (with the right to sublicense) [and] you agree that this license includes the right for us to (i) analyze text and other information you provide and to otherwise provide, promote, and improve the Services, including...for use with and training of our machine learning and artificial intelligence models, whether generative or another type."

I’ve highlighted the new text in bold. While the non-exclusive, royalty-free license itself is rather typical for a social media site, the updated terms now essentially mean that, by continuing to use the site, you’re agreeing for X to train AI off of your posts.

That alone has users concerned, but what has them confused is that X technically has already been openly training its AI on user posts, with the caveat that it’s had a clear opt-out toggle. At time of writing, that toggle still shows up for me on both mobile and desktop, but with the new language, it’s unclear if it actually does anything now, or if the new terms of service will take precedence should X choose to ignore a user’s opt-out status.

Unfortunately, it’s unlikely there’s going to be a clear answer until someone challenges the AI scraping in court, which has its own difficulties. Any lawsuits over Twitter’s terms, according to the update, would be overseen by either “the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas or state courts located in Tarrant County, Texas,” both of which are known for conservative judges. Given Musk’s political leanings, as well as X’s headquarter location within the state, it’s possible the court could favor the company.

X did not immediately respond to Lifehacker’s request for clarification. Without clear communication, whether you trust X’s AI not to scrape your data now falls on the honor system. If that’s a bit shaky for you, I understand—here’s a guide on how to migrate your account to Bluesky, a popular Twitter alternative that’s seen a massive boost in users amid Twitter’s current exodus.

The Best New Movies to Stream This Week

Looking to settle in with a good movie? Me too. That's why I've pored over release schedules to bring you the best original and new-to-streaming movies you can watch on Netflix, Prime, Max, Hulu, and other streaming platforms this week.

Topping the best-of-the-week list is Netflix's intriguing Emilia Pérez, a movie that seems perfect for the Academy Awards. There's also the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson "boxing match," Thelma, an action-comedy with a hero in her 90s, and Disney's An Almost Christmas Story, which I'm counting on to melt my frozen heart for the holidays. Overall: there's a lot of much-needed goodness on TV this week.

Emilia Pérez

Emilia Pérez is a genre-defying movie that blends comedy, drama, musical numbers, and action into a potion Netflix describes as "an opera that’s not an opera." It stars Karla Sofía Gascón, Zoe Saldaña, and Selena Gomez, and tells the story of high-powered attorney Rita (Saldaña) assigned to help a Mexican cartel leader (Gascón) fake their death and undergo gender reassignment. Look for this one on Oscar night.

Where to stream: Netflix

Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson (Live) 

Circus matches are nothing new to boxing—Muhammad Ali fought a Japanese professional wrestler at the height of his career—and Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson might be the greatest novelty boxing match ever staged. It will give us a chance to see Iron Mike step into the ring one more time, with the added bonus that he might punch Jake Paul's head clean off, although I'd put my money on a tepid exhibition match with a subtext of "just give me my check."

Where to stream: Netflix

Thelma (2024)

Based on the real-life experiences of director Josh Margolin's grandmother, Thelma sees the title character, a 93-year-old retiree, transformed into an action hero when she tries to track down the telemarketers who conned her out of her money. 95-year-old June Squibb turns in an amazing performance in this heartfelt, hilarious action-comedy, and the cast also includes Parker Posey, Clark Gregg, Richard Roundtree, and Malcolm McDowell. Critics nearly universally agree that Thelma is great, so I bet you'll like it too.

Where to stream: Hulu

An Almost Christmas Story

I'm a sucker for stop-motion animation, so I'm psyched for Disney's An Almost Christmas Story, a beautiful-looking, 21-minute film that will stimulate your Christmas gland and satisfy your artsy (but not fartsy) sensibilities. From multiple Academy Award-winner Alfonso Cuarón, An Almost Christmas Story tells the story of Moon, an innocent baby owl who befriends a little girl lost in New York City. I can feel a lump forming in my throat already.

Where to stream: Disney+

Rob Peace (2024)

Directed, adapted by, and starring Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave), Rob Peace dramatizes the true story of Robert Deshaun Peace, a brilliant young man from a poor background in Newark, New Jersey whose attendance at Yale is cut tragically short. Jay Will plays the title character, Mary J. Blige plays his devoted mother, and Ejiofor plays Peace's imprisoned father.

Where to stream: Netflix

Hot Frosty

Lacey Chabert stars in a lighthearted holiday confection in which a snowman turns into a regular man—but he's totally hot. Chabert and the former snowman—an abomination if you think about it too much—fall in love, despite the differences in their backgrounds. This is really all there is to say about Hot Frosty. You're either in or you're out with a movie like this.

Where to stream: Netflix

Return of the King: The Fall and Rise of Elvis Presley

No matter how many Elvis documentaries, feature films, and TV miniseries are made, there's always room for one more. Return of the King: The Fall and Rise of Elvis Presley takes us behind the scenes of Elvis' greatest moment: the '68 Comeback Special, where, for a single hour, Presley shook off more than a decade of terrible movies, cynical cash-grab albums, and bad career decisions (courtesy of overbearing manager Col. Tom Parker) to remind the world why they called him the King in the first place.

Where to stream: Netflix

The Lost Children

On May 1, 2023, a Cessna carrying four Indigenous children and their parents crashed in the Colombian wilderness. With the all the adults dead, the children, ages 13, 9, and 4 years and 11 months, were forced to survive 40 days in a harrowing jungle. Featuring archival footage and interviews with the survivors and the people who risked everything to find them in the trackless wastes, The Lost Children is an unbelievable story of survival.

Where to stream: Netflix

Twisters (2024)

A throwback to the disaster movies of the 1990s, Twisters is a thrill ride of a flick that moves at the pace of a raging tornado and features twister-led destruction sequences presented with "woah, dude" special effects. It's not just spectacle, though: Twisters takes full advantage of a charismatic cast that includes Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell, Anthony Ramos, and Brandon Perea. The movie is still in theaters though, and it's the kind of thing that works better on the big screen.

Where to stream: Peacock

Last week's picks

Pedro Páramo

Based on Juan Rulfo’s seminal work of magical realism, Pedro Páramo stars Manuel García-Rulfo from The Lincoln Lawyer as the title character, who finds himself in the ghost town of Comala, where the past and present coexist. Described by Netflix as a "mesmerizing story of desire, corruption, and inheritance," Pedro Páramo is the directorial debut of frequent Scorsese cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, so we know for sure it's going to look amazing.

Where to stream: Netflix

My Old Ass (2024)

A twist on the coming-of-age story, My Old Ass stars Maisy Stella as confused 18 year-old Elliott. She takes mushrooms on her summer vacation, and instead of just seeing brighter colors, she's visited by the 39-year-old version of herself, played by the great Aubrey Plaza. Plaza is one of a kind, and My Old Ass gives her plenty of room to flex her deadpan, eye-roll delivery, but it's also a smart, sensitive movie. Not to be missed.

Where to stream: Prime

Despicable Me 4

Gru and his army of lovable yellow minions are back, in streaming form. The fourth entry in the franchise sees Gru welcoming a son into the world, Gru Jr. It also sees Gru's nemesis, Maxime Le Mal, return. After escaping from prison, Le Mal plots to turn all humans into human-cockroach abominations—an improvement if you ask me—but Gru and co feel differently, and set out to thwart the evil scheme. If you have kids, you really can't miss with a movie like Despicable Me 4.

Where to stream: Peacock

Meet Me Next Christmas

Christina Milian stars in a holiday movie about Layla, who is desperately trying to get her hands on tickets to the sold-out Pentatonix Christmas Eve Concert. A bright-and-cheery romantic comedy powered by the a cappella musical stylings of Pentatonix is both a can't-miss holiday movie concept and literally my worst nightmare. Meet Me Next Christmas also stars Kofi Siriboe as James, who, unlike me, is handsome and charming and presumably likes listening Pentatonix.

Where to stream: Netflix