↗ Don't call it a Substack

View link on www.anildash.com.

I wrote about the dangers of publishing with VC-backed platforms back in 2018, but Anil Dash does it better and with more authority than I have:

I know you think you have control over your subscribers on Substack. But understand this: every single new feature Substack releases, from their social sharing to their mobile apps, is proprietary and locks you into their network. They don’t let your writing live on your own website or domain under your control unless you pay them for the privilege. And it’d be a shame if something happened to those subscription dollars you’re counting on, wouldn’t it?

Substack fails my adoption criteria with flying colors. A few noteworthy bullet points:

• 🟡 It’s VC backed and domiciled in the US, meaning its product is required to produce hockey-stick style growth for investors. Once the mutually-beneficial growth opportunities slow down, Substack will be forced to squeeze readers and writers in order to continue generating returns (otherwise known as enshittification).
• 🔴 It’s funded by Marc Andreessen¹, on my list of a radioactive class of billionaires.
• 🔴 The reluctance to censor content explicitly labeled as promoting Nazi ideas is appalling behavior on behalf of its founders.²

If you’re technically inclined and know somebody publishing content online, now is a great opportunity to help redirect them towards safer publishing solutions. Most importantly, we also need to support them along the way. While it can be somewhat frustrating to be tech support, it’s a much more impactful use of time than building another static site generator that requires a Bachelor’s in Computer Science to use.

As an example: I host a simple WordPress blog for my friends’ street astronomy outreach efforts: streetastronomy.com. I’ve also helped him get started on Mastodon, which he now displays a link to on his telescope whenever he’s showing people the stars on the streets. It’s boring, behind-the-scenes work, but it has a high impact-to-effort ratio that makes me feel like it’s worthwhile.