I've been pretty disenchanted with Substack notes - I left social media for a reason. I've purposefully refrained from scrolling notes (and even from posting notes very often) because I don't want to get sucked into the vortex (you know the one that makes time vanish).
What Joseph said about "the people i want to help most (and can help most) spend a ton of their time swimming through the Substack social space" really resonated with me. I will be do so much better to treat the people who do subscribe to my newsletter like royalty, than to try to woo the masses. - Katherine
but one thats coming to mind right away is a point i constantly find myself circling back to …
for the most part, i do not believe that the people i want to help most (and can help most) spend a ton of their time swimming through the substack social space. same could be said for most spaces.
i dont think that’s necessarily 100% true, but i keep observing that the people who spend a ton of their time in places like notes are either …
a) people looking to get attention for themselves by being active in notes
b) people looking to distract themselves with easy dopamine
and for the most part, the people i always want to connect with are off doing their thing and occasionally come back - their touch point back to substack tends to be when i post something
because they are spending their time not here
That doesnt mean that there arent people actively on Substack who might be great to fall into my world …
But it does mean that none of my immediate constraints ever come down to “being active in the social component of substack” - because the direct benefit doesnt seem there to me.
i think the benefit of substack is more about the easy of implementation AND usability.
so setting myself up such that everything else about substack is only upside, makes sense to me.
and from that perspective I think Substack is still a brilliant place. It’s a great front door into your world - but just because it has foot traffic doesnt mean you have to pander to it. I dont need to try to deal with all that noise for it to be worth being here
It resonated deeply, especially the reminder that the people we most want to serve aren’t usually spending their time in the Substack social stream. I needed to hear that.
I’ve noticed I sometimes slip into all-or-nothing thinking with platforms. That might be a neurodivergent thing, or maybe it’s just part of being human. Or maybe it helps organize my brain. For a while, Substack felt like a haven, and I poured a lot of myself into it. But lately, I’ve felt a nudge to expand—to build more intentionally outside any one space, maybe with other satellites or even an author-created hub.
I do plan to keep writing here for now. Like you said, the ease of use is such a gift. It really is a great front door. But I no longer want to build my entire creative world on a rented foundation. I want to tend the garden I’m growing elsewhere too, where things feel quieter and more connected.
Thank you again for taking the time to share this, and for all of your insightful comments. They always help me zoom out and reconnect with what matters.
i do think its a human thing to feel like youve got to do all of a thing to get the value out of it
on top of that when we spend time in spaces where people are like “you arent growing because you arent active enough!” its easy to actually believe that because it lines up with our desire to be more or beyond where we are now
And it could be we have everything we already need to grow with the followers we already have. That is sort of what I'm focusing on. Build with the people who are already listening. Build beyond Substack. Build something that goes beyond space and time. And now I'm getting theoretical lol.
Thank you Brie-Anna for doing this. Regardless of how true the subscription end of things are -- Substack has the worst mainframe algorithm problem I have ever felt. I’m exhausted by the disingenuous money making schemes of these social media companies. They ruin people (or make them slaves). So, with that said, we have to trust our reach is for and from a higher power.
I enjoyed listening to this today @Brie-Anna Willey and Jake! I think what you have mostly done is started a larger conversation inside my own head about what I need a platform to do and what happens if I want to focus more on email newsletters :) Thanks for a generous conversation.
Humans adapting tech solutions to achieve more creative and resonant community interconnections is such a great jam. I celebrate your exploratory vim and discovery prowess!
Thank you! I appreciate your insights!! Finding tech that works for us, our unique needs and our communities needs can be difficult but we forging paths and trying things.
Thank you for this noodle candy Brie!
I've been pretty disenchanted with Substack notes - I left social media for a reason. I've purposefully refrained from scrolling notes (and even from posting notes very often) because I don't want to get sucked into the vortex (you know the one that makes time vanish).
What Joseph said about "the people i want to help most (and can help most) spend a ton of their time swimming through the Substack social space" really resonated with me. I will be do so much better to treat the people who do subscribe to my newsletter like royalty, than to try to woo the masses. - Katherine
probably i have lots of thoughts about all this
but one thats coming to mind right away is a point i constantly find myself circling back to …
for the most part, i do not believe that the people i want to help most (and can help most) spend a ton of their time swimming through the substack social space. same could be said for most spaces.
i dont think that’s necessarily 100% true, but i keep observing that the people who spend a ton of their time in places like notes are either …
a) people looking to get attention for themselves by being active in notes
b) people looking to distract themselves with easy dopamine
and for the most part, the people i always want to connect with are off doing their thing and occasionally come back - their touch point back to substack tends to be when i post something
because they are spending their time not here
That doesnt mean that there arent people actively on Substack who might be great to fall into my world …
But it does mean that none of my immediate constraints ever come down to “being active in the social component of substack” - because the direct benefit doesnt seem there to me.
i think the benefit of substack is more about the easy of implementation AND usability.
so setting myself up such that everything else about substack is only upside, makes sense to me.
and from that perspective I think Substack is still a brilliant place. It’s a great front door into your world - but just because it has foot traffic doesnt mean you have to pander to it. I dont need to try to deal with all that noise for it to be worth being here
I really appreciate this insight, Joseph.
It resonated deeply, especially the reminder that the people we most want to serve aren’t usually spending their time in the Substack social stream. I needed to hear that.
I’ve noticed I sometimes slip into all-or-nothing thinking with platforms. That might be a neurodivergent thing, or maybe it’s just part of being human. Or maybe it helps organize my brain. For a while, Substack felt like a haven, and I poured a lot of myself into it. But lately, I’ve felt a nudge to expand—to build more intentionally outside any one space, maybe with other satellites or even an author-created hub.
I do plan to keep writing here for now. Like you said, the ease of use is such a gift. It really is a great front door. But I no longer want to build my entire creative world on a rented foundation. I want to tend the garden I’m growing elsewhere too, where things feel quieter and more connected.
Thank you again for taking the time to share this, and for all of your insightful comments. They always help me zoom out and reconnect with what matters.
i do think its a human thing to feel like youve got to do all of a thing to get the value out of it
on top of that when we spend time in spaces where people are like “you arent growing because you arent active enough!” its easy to actually believe that because it lines up with our desire to be more or beyond where we are now
And it could be we have everything we already need to grow with the followers we already have. That is sort of what I'm focusing on. Build with the people who are already listening. Build beyond Substack. Build something that goes beyond space and time. And now I'm getting theoretical lol.
Thank you Brie-Anna for doing this. Regardless of how true the subscription end of things are -- Substack has the worst mainframe algorithm problem I have ever felt. I’m exhausted by the disingenuous money making schemes of these social media companies. They ruin people (or make them slaves). So, with that said, we have to trust our reach is for and from a higher power.
Hope you're doing well. ox
1 million percent!!
I enjoyed listening to this today @Brie-Anna Willey and Jake! I think what you have mostly done is started a larger conversation inside my own head about what I need a platform to do and what happens if I want to focus more on email newsletters :) Thanks for a generous conversation.
I am so glad that it sparked some open loops!!
Def interested in creating something together, I think it’s important to dream big and go for it
1 million percent!
Humans adapting tech solutions to achieve more creative and resonant community interconnections is such a great jam. I celebrate your exploratory vim and discovery prowess!
Thank you! I appreciate your insights!! Finding tech that works for us, our unique needs and our communities needs can be difficult but we forging paths and trying things.