Here’s one take on Substack’s situation (via a Strange Planet comic). In my view, it has gained layers of meaning during the week, in light of the articles cited above. Is Substack a home; is it too crowded; is it a biased or unfair place; how many will leave; where should they go; will they just find problems elsewhere; etc.
It Substack has one central 'problem' that will eventually harm their business model it's not Substack Pro, or controversial attitudes re censorship or moderation––it's their subpar customer support. A major disappointment.
I'm not tempted to move from Substack to Facebook (or Twitter, for that matter). I know from the past behaviour of both companies that they will not do the right thing. They can be relied upon not to.
Regarding people who leave Substack because of Substack Pro -- there aren't many of them, they are not important, don't have many readers. It's just a few wokies who hate the idea that someone somewhere might have a heterodox opinion.
-Am I bothered by Substack Pro? Why should I be? The platform has opened up a new avenue for me to share my genre fiction material in yet another new form, one that doesn't come with hours of recording my own voice like I do for my Bitchute video/audiobook presentations! Who they chose to pay advances to is not my concern, so long as I continue to have a place to freely express my form of narrative art.
-Am I worried about Substack's or my own newsletter's future? Not overmuch, and not over this. After all, as the Columbia article posits, some writers are opting to leave Substack because they don't want money from their subscribers going to support views they disagree with; I have no such reservations. The very spirit of what Substack is supposed to be, at its best, is exactly that, a place where all perspectives are offered air to breath and be expressed! I'd be more worried if Substack chose to ban, bar, or excise such counterpoints!
As for my newsletter, well, I'm just a genre storyteller, hardly much worry, eh?
-Has all of this kerfuffle over Pro been overblown? Mayhap not entirely, and allow me to clarify. Is it worrisome that Substack is opting to financially entice only certain writers, and not others, effectively creating a tiered class strata within its platform? A wee bit, aye. But I do not doubt for a moment that they're trying to bring a degree of clout to the platform, to give it a sense of stability, reliability, and 'Hey, we can wrangle in some heavy hitters, so we're legit'. It's a sound business decision.
-Substack Pro doesn't bother me in the least. What it did was allow Substack to bring famous writers to the platform, thereby lending it credibility.
That helps all of us with our own subscribers. If say, I am considering a subscription, I need to trust that the writer will provide good content. I also have to trust that the platform will not misuse my personal data or billing information. Famous writers on Substack largely addresses that second concern in most people's minds. Now they only have to trust the writer, so that is a lot less 'friction' which results in more subscriptions.
-I'm not worried about Substack's future, or my own future on the platform. Substack may be going through a difficult PR moment, but it will pass as these things do. As I understand things, negative repercussions as a result of the current issues will be minor from a financial standpoint for the platform.
It Substack has one central 'problem' that will eventually harm their business model it's not Substack Pro, or controversial attitudes re censorship or moderation––it's their subpar customer support. A major disappointment.
I'm not tempted to move from Substack to Facebook (or Twitter, for that matter). I know from the past behaviour of both companies that they will not do the right thing. They can be relied upon not to.
Regarding people who leave Substack because of Substack Pro -- there aren't many of them, they are not important, don't have many readers. It's just a few wokies who hate the idea that someone somewhere might have a heterodox opinion.
-Am I bothered by Substack Pro? Why should I be? The platform has opened up a new avenue for me to share my genre fiction material in yet another new form, one that doesn't come with hours of recording my own voice like I do for my Bitchute video/audiobook presentations! Who they chose to pay advances to is not my concern, so long as I continue to have a place to freely express my form of narrative art.
-Am I worried about Substack's or my own newsletter's future? Not overmuch, and not over this. After all, as the Columbia article posits, some writers are opting to leave Substack because they don't want money from their subscribers going to support views they disagree with; I have no such reservations. The very spirit of what Substack is supposed to be, at its best, is exactly that, a place where all perspectives are offered air to breath and be expressed! I'd be more worried if Substack chose to ban, bar, or excise such counterpoints!
As for my newsletter, well, I'm just a genre storyteller, hardly much worry, eh?
-Has all of this kerfuffle over Pro been overblown? Mayhap not entirely, and allow me to clarify. Is it worrisome that Substack is opting to financially entice only certain writers, and not others, effectively creating a tiered class strata within its platform? A wee bit, aye. But I do not doubt for a moment that they're trying to bring a degree of clout to the platform, to give it a sense of stability, reliability, and 'Hey, we can wrangle in some heavy hitters, so we're legit'. It's a sound business decision.
Interesting questions...
-Substack Pro doesn't bother me in the least. What it did was allow Substack to bring famous writers to the platform, thereby lending it credibility.
That helps all of us with our own subscribers. If say, I am considering a subscription, I need to trust that the writer will provide good content. I also have to trust that the platform will not misuse my personal data or billing information. Famous writers on Substack largely addresses that second concern in most people's minds. Now they only have to trust the writer, so that is a lot less 'friction' which results in more subscriptions.
-I'm not worried about Substack's future, or my own future on the platform. Substack may be going through a difficult PR moment, but it will pass as these things do. As I understand things, negative repercussions as a result of the current issues will be minor from a financial standpoint for the platform.
-Of course. What isn't?