Good lord YES, to this. You took so much that was clogged in my throat and plastered it here. THANK YOU!
I can’t keep up. I don’t wanna keep up! I’m starting to get that same feeling I had with FB…and I don’t like it. Gotta nip it in the bud, drop the pressure. Write when I feel like it, and not get addicted to scrolling.
Yep I hear you and I still want to try! And be paid 🤷♀️. I agree 100% the growth stuff is icky but from all the platforms I’ve tried this still feels a nicer place. People take the time to comment with positivity. I can write because I enjoying it and want to get better. If anyone reads it then cool. If they comment and it made them feel something - bonus. Sticking to the bits I want and offering what I’m passionate about in the hood others might want to be part of that.
I feel so seen by this post, in part because of the kindness and generosity with which you read and wrote about my work, and in part because I have been going through these exact same feelings you're describing. This September, I got a notification for that Substack Summer recap--it said I read 581 posts over the summer. I was confused, like, SURELY this is incorrect. That's WAY too many?? But then I watched my substack behavior over the next few days and noticed how often I just casually clicked on a post I saw in my feed, usually from someone I wasn't even subscribed to. I'd read a few sentences, make some kind of judgment (usually about how this person is so much smarter/more interesting than me), then click out of it. What a massive waste of my time and detriment to my writing practice! I love what you've said about taking time and space away from this platform. My ego, which wants to be loved and doesn't want to miss out on any of the fun stuff that happens here, hates the idea of taking more space, but it seems to be the obvious best choice for my mental health and writing practice.
Thank you for putting all of this into such beautiful, clear language. I appreciate your wisdom <3
Thanks for putting into words what I've been feeling lately. I suffered from comparisonitis, FOMO and wondered what the point is. I almost quit Substack. But good writing keeps pulling me back in. And I noticed when I like notes and posts that are honest and sincere like yours, my algorithm shows less of the sales-y and disingenuous self promotions. I have been consciously limiting my scrolling on Notes and revert back to reading long form essays, which was what attracted me to this platform in the first place.
Thank you for this, Yoda. I needed to read these words this morning. Whenever I’m thrown into or find myself in a competitive framework, I feel increasingly sick. I think Substack can be a safe haven but only if I inoculate myself against the competition bug. Which is hard to do.
Is it my hormones? Do i just need a hot tub? Do i need orange leaves? Maybe yellow. Maybe I'll just close all the tabs and go on my silly little walk staring at silly little leaves. Ahhhh, that's better.
I like the general vibe of Substack https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substack … so far. No ads, a (mostly) user-friendly interface. Better long-form content. It’s hoovered up what previously might’ve been unseen (and unread) blogs on other platforms. I was never a Twitter user, but this has to be miles ahead of whatever into which that has morphed. Facebook (for those looking for a broader public audience) is a “crickets chirping” wasteland relentlessly and unabashedly begging for pay-to-play. Instagram is Facebook’s dumbed-down sibling with ADHD. Posting on Reddit is like playing a lottery scratch card … if you’re seeing an interesting topic in your feed, you’re already a day late and about 4,000 posts short). Actually, the best-curated comment sections on any platform in which I participate appear to be on YouTube (!) https://youtube.com/@gunnarmiller .
But let’s face it, Substack has to be the most self-promoting, self-aggrandizing, self-congratulatory places I've ever encountered. No other platform has people loudly celebrating the fact that they've reached 100 followers; is this a writer's forum or multi-level marketing? As I said in a post last year before quitting writing for a while https://gunnarmiller.substack.com/p/dead-sea-scrolling , are we all starting blogs hoping that people pay us $5 a month, so that we can subscribe to everyone else’s $5 blogs to have enough inputs to keep generating periodic content? I once read someone describe SubStack as “produc[ing] theoretically monetizable content but the real money is in developing a slightly weird para-social relationship with your readers, such that they will look after you through other channels, hire you for jobs, pay you consulting fees and so on”. The great unspoken: Is Substack the next Etsy? Question: How many pieces of jewelry made out of découpaged old maps does the world really need? Answer: Nowhere near as many as you might think.
The algorithm determining what is presented in one’s feed seems purely keyword-based from whatever you might’ve previously posted. The “doom scrolling” aspect appears to be even worse … why is 90% of my feed US election stuff? Yes, Donald Trump is an existential threat to American democracy, but I don’t need to see it repeated 8,000 times a day! There seems to be a positive correlation between wild Substack success and the degree to which one has a “spicy” (a.k.a. profane/gratuitous/sophmoric/juvenile) writing style; yeah, I remember being a high-schooler and feeling a bit of a fizz blurting out profanities … but I grew up. Successful writers become, as Cory Doctorow terms it, "giant teddy bears" on the carnival midway https://www.wired.com/story/tiktok-platforms-cory-doctorow/ ; "No one wins a giant teddy bear unless the carny wants them to win it. Why did the carny let the sucker win the giant teddy bear? So that he'd carry it around all day, convincing other suckers to put down five bucks for their chance to win one."
LinkedIn used to be considered “serious” as well, but now "LinkedIn Lunatics" have become a trope https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/aug/10/linkedin-lunatics-networking . I think it's only a matter of time before someone comes up with a similarly-catchy allerative name for starry-eyed Substack users. And if people think Substack is immune to creeping enshittification https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enshittification , they're willfully ignoring the history of every other nice thing the internet's ever had, perhaps ex-Wikipedia. One feels the undertow starting to pull (“hey, check out Notes”, “hey, you can now record and post short video clips!”, "hey, now you can *chat*" … “hey, whence did all these wing-nuts suddenly come?”).
I’m so sick of “how to grow your follower” offerings as if we are all playing the same game. The game is riiiigged
Good lord YES, to this. You took so much that was clogged in my throat and plastered it here. THANK YOU!
I can’t keep up. I don’t wanna keep up! I’m starting to get that same feeling I had with FB…and I don’t like it. Gotta nip it in the bud, drop the pressure. Write when I feel like it, and not get addicted to scrolling.
well said!!!!! and FELT!
THIS IS ME TODAY BUT I DON'T BLEED ANYMORE SO WTF?
I just shared an identical rant with my partner.
Am-I-done-with-Substack-itis?
I promise I'll be there no matter what mood you're in. ❤️
Yep I hear you and I still want to try! And be paid 🤷♀️. I agree 100% the growth stuff is icky but from all the platforms I’ve tried this still feels a nicer place. People take the time to comment with positivity. I can write because I enjoying it and want to get better. If anyone reads it then cool. If they comment and it made them feel something - bonus. Sticking to the bits I want and offering what I’m passionate about in the hood others might want to be part of that.
I feel so seen by this post, in part because of the kindness and generosity with which you read and wrote about my work, and in part because I have been going through these exact same feelings you're describing. This September, I got a notification for that Substack Summer recap--it said I read 581 posts over the summer. I was confused, like, SURELY this is incorrect. That's WAY too many?? But then I watched my substack behavior over the next few days and noticed how often I just casually clicked on a post I saw in my feed, usually from someone I wasn't even subscribed to. I'd read a few sentences, make some kind of judgment (usually about how this person is so much smarter/more interesting than me), then click out of it. What a massive waste of my time and detriment to my writing practice! I love what you've said about taking time and space away from this platform. My ego, which wants to be loved and doesn't want to miss out on any of the fun stuff that happens here, hates the idea of taking more space, but it seems to be the obvious best choice for my mental health and writing practice.
Thank you for putting all of this into such beautiful, clear language. I appreciate your wisdom <3
Same same same.
Sometimes it feels like the world is overrun with salespeople who just want my $5. I’ve definitely got capitalism fatigue.
Love this!
Thanks for putting into words what I've been feeling lately. I suffered from comparisonitis, FOMO and wondered what the point is. I almost quit Substack. But good writing keeps pulling me back in. And I noticed when I like notes and posts that are honest and sincere like yours, my algorithm shows less of the sales-y and disingenuous self promotions. I have been consciously limiting my scrolling on Notes and revert back to reading long form essays, which was what attracted me to this platform in the first place.
Thank you for this, Yoda. I needed to read these words this morning. Whenever I’m thrown into or find myself in a competitive framework, I feel increasingly sick. I think Substack can be a safe haven but only if I inoculate myself against the competition bug. Which is hard to do.
Is it my hormones? Do i just need a hot tub? Do i need orange leaves? Maybe yellow. Maybe I'll just close all the tabs and go on my silly little walk staring at silly little leaves. Ahhhh, that's better.
Feel this. Very relatable. Thank you!
felt this!!!
I like the general vibe of Substack https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substack … so far. No ads, a (mostly) user-friendly interface. Better long-form content. It’s hoovered up what previously might’ve been unseen (and unread) blogs on other platforms. I was never a Twitter user, but this has to be miles ahead of whatever into which that has morphed. Facebook (for those looking for a broader public audience) is a “crickets chirping” wasteland relentlessly and unabashedly begging for pay-to-play. Instagram is Facebook’s dumbed-down sibling with ADHD. Posting on Reddit is like playing a lottery scratch card … if you’re seeing an interesting topic in your feed, you’re already a day late and about 4,000 posts short). Actually, the best-curated comment sections on any platform in which I participate appear to be on YouTube (!) https://youtube.com/@gunnarmiller .
But let’s face it, Substack has to be the most self-promoting, self-aggrandizing, self-congratulatory places I've ever encountered. No other platform has people loudly celebrating the fact that they've reached 100 followers; is this a writer's forum or multi-level marketing? As I said in a post last year before quitting writing for a while https://gunnarmiller.substack.com/p/dead-sea-scrolling , are we all starting blogs hoping that people pay us $5 a month, so that we can subscribe to everyone else’s $5 blogs to have enough inputs to keep generating periodic content? I once read someone describe SubStack as “produc[ing] theoretically monetizable content but the real money is in developing a slightly weird para-social relationship with your readers, such that they will look after you through other channels, hire you for jobs, pay you consulting fees and so on”. The great unspoken: Is Substack the next Etsy? Question: How many pieces of jewelry made out of découpaged old maps does the world really need? Answer: Nowhere near as many as you might think.
The algorithm determining what is presented in one’s feed seems purely keyword-based from whatever you might’ve previously posted. The “doom scrolling” aspect appears to be even worse … why is 90% of my feed US election stuff? Yes, Donald Trump is an existential threat to American democracy, but I don’t need to see it repeated 8,000 times a day! There seems to be a positive correlation between wild Substack success and the degree to which one has a “spicy” (a.k.a. profane/gratuitous/sophmoric/juvenile) writing style; yeah, I remember being a high-schooler and feeling a bit of a fizz blurting out profanities … but I grew up. Successful writers become, as Cory Doctorow terms it, "giant teddy bears" on the carnival midway https://www.wired.com/story/tiktok-platforms-cory-doctorow/ ; "No one wins a giant teddy bear unless the carny wants them to win it. Why did the carny let the sucker win the giant teddy bear? So that he'd carry it around all day, convincing other suckers to put down five bucks for their chance to win one."
LinkedIn used to be considered “serious” as well, but now "LinkedIn Lunatics" have become a trope https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/aug/10/linkedin-lunatics-networking . I think it's only a matter of time before someone comes up with a similarly-catchy allerative name for starry-eyed Substack users. And if people think Substack is immune to creeping enshittification https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enshittification , they're willfully ignoring the history of every other nice thing the internet's ever had, perhaps ex-Wikipedia. One feels the undertow starting to pull (“hey, check out Notes”, “hey, you can now record and post short video clips!”, "hey, now you can *chat*" … “hey, whence did all these wing-nuts suddenly come?”).