Stop it, Substack.
Dear Substack,
We’ve been friends for a while now, practically since the beginning. I found you because Alex Berenson trusted you. The format was so easy and clean—it really seemed designed for readers and writers, people who wanted to talk in paragraphs, not sound bites. No video required to make our point. It was a relief in that post-Covid world of choreographed dances and black squares on social media.
You were committed to free expression and empowering “content creators” (but really writers) to connect with and be paid by their audiences. You said you wanted to be the space where a writer could find his audience.
I loved you. You made it fun to be on the internet again, a lot like the mid-oughts when everyone (including me) had a blog. Every morning I’d check Reader, which had all the updates for my favorite blogs in one spot. My spot, that I’d curated. It was fun—and you had re-created it!
And then, one day, you added notes, and I barely recognized my app when you introduced the home page rather than my inbox. It was pretty, but I don’t come to you for pretty. I come for the people who post here. And all of a sudden, I had to look at YOU.
So, notes. And a chat. And then podcast hosting. Now, reels? Please, please stop.
I got my old inbox back, at least until you decide to take that option away. I want my algorithm to be ME, not some mix of things you think I might be interested in. I want to support writers I like. How do I find them? I look at the comments on posts from writers I already read. I follow links. It works great, thanks.
You don’t need to own the entire internet ecosystem. What is wrong with staying in your lane and doing that very, very well? Other than the fact that staying in your lane probably ticks off the investors. I’m as capitalist as they come but isn’t there something to be said for doing one thing really well?
If you wanted to change, here are some suggestions:
Introduce a “family” subscription level, where two people could share a subscription. So often I read an article that I’d like to share with my husband, but I hate handing over my entire account to him. And paying twice for content seems like it takes away from other creators. Spotify has a family plan. This can’t be that hard.
Offer a “pay-per-article” plan. A handful of subscriptions here adds up to real money. But every time I see someone bring this up, it seems like the harridans come after them, shrieking the whole way. I spend about $75/month on subscriptions, and I just don’t want to spend a lot more.
Offer a “shared subscription” that a group of creators could form, pooling their subscription base.
There’s a funny word, “enshittification,” that describes what happens to something you find that is really great. Substack, you are suffering from enshittification. You could stop, but I don’t think you will.
That makes me sad because I’ve found some amazing writers here who have truly changed my life. So I know that once again a great company has forgotten what made them great. Of course I won’t leave because I love some of the writers here. And WOW your format makes it so easy to write. But as time goes on I know I’ll have to push through more and more dreck that you have layered on. What a shame.
Sincerely,
A former fan