Just realised that on Mastodon, boosting *is* the algorithm.
There's no code trying to cleverly show me stuff it reckons I'd be into, based on what my contacts are into, instead my contacts are saying "I like this, I bet my contacts would like it too" and that is way smarter than any algorithm.
Thank you, boosters!
@sarajw I agree. The ‘what’s trending’ feed on Twitter bugged me and was an important reason for leaving (along with ‘he who shall not be named’). I don’t mind a few boosts in Fedi as I think I have been able to limit the people to those who boost items that interest me. Unfortunately in the early days I have unfollowed a couple of people I should just have muted boosts from, but you live and learn.
Hashtags and lists are great for filtering to topics you like.
Sara Joy 
Iain MacLean (he/him)