I hear you about the platform formerly known as Twitter. I'm surprised my replacement is going to be LinkedIn. But as most of my chat and wondering were generally archi-related....here we are. As for our imagined coffee when we are doing OK? It will be because my boys are still bright and curious, my local network of mums and women-business-people are muddling through, I'm still running (literally) and sleeping a lot by modern standards. And because every now and again I have a conversation with a woman building her house and her face lights up and she says, "YES! That's it"
Just curious it seems like harsh words and labels are casually dropped, and or stated without any expectation of an explanation, intended to elicit a sympathetic response?
I am not directly challenging your opinion you are entitled to an opinion but as a random follower of your page here it might be nice to know what exactly i am to sympathize with here, obviously noone likes Nazis right?
I'm not asking you to sympathise with anything; I was just wondering if you or any of my other followers had noticed anything, which you obviously haven't. I haven't either (although I don't hang out in Substack Notes anymore so I'm not sure what's going on there).
Yeah there was definitely a wave of queer folk leaving substack ~2.5y ago (https://doyles.substack.com/p/in-queers-we-trust-all-others-pay). And then there are ongoing issues with racism, and platforming divisive voices. I am empathetic to the substack team: once they step into moderation, it all gets even more political. And yet, at the same time, it already *is* political.
For what it’s worth, I often have moments where I regret my choice to leave substack for ghost. The network effects are real. Substack is also a lot cheaper. It’s very convenient, too.
Yet I feel that, for the long term, we ought all be turning to the independent web (and, eventually: decentralised social media).
Writing first on our own platforms, and then populating elsewhere. The temple on your own turf, with shrines for your followers in other lands.
But I also think this is systemic of a larger patch of future-history we are in. Things just may generally get a bit worse before things get better. In the meantime, we move quietly and plant things.
(And, for what its worth, yours is a wonderful voice and contribution here on substack—maintaining a presence here as a warm haven is an equally valid path)
1. Everything IS political, isn't it? We don't really get to opt out completely, just choose our mode of responding. So, ethically, what is my sense of agency and how do I use it?
2. I have successfully maintained my rage against my favourite bete noir - social media algorithms (that wasn't hard) - and am concerned about sloppy narrative-making when it comes to AI (making silly claims for or against it isn't going to help anyone to understand how to work with it). Most of all, I gnash my teeth on a regular basis at techno-feudalism. So I am inclined to agree that we all ought to be turning to the independent web.
3. I REALLY like this analogy of "a temple on your own turf with shrines for your followers in other lands." I guess I would like my temple to be my own website. One of my larger shrines is here on Substack and - yes - I too am amazed that LinkedIn is shaping up to be another. I still don't like the site that much and I don't think my attempts to subvert it one un-businesslike post at a time will work, but it's a 'cleaner' digital space than a few others on offer. Just to torture the analogy, I am thinking of what these shrines each look like depending on the platform they are on. Which ones have gleaming new tiles and murals, and which ones have leaks in the roof? Which ones can you find down an alleyway in the red light district and which ones have frontage onto a major street? Which ones do I need to chase the moneylenders out of?
My recent bout of Covid(!) interrupted a process that I call my walking business plan - think a business model review based on serendipity and with cockatoos, trees, chocolate, and poems. I must get back to it when I get my strength back and that temple analogy can form the basis for a stroll.
4. Lastly, thanks so much for your encouraging words!
Thank you so much for the mention. Collaboration and community are so critical to my work here. <3 <3
I hear you about the platform formerly known as Twitter. I'm surprised my replacement is going to be LinkedIn. But as most of my chat and wondering were generally archi-related....here we are. As for our imagined coffee when we are doing OK? It will be because my boys are still bright and curious, my local network of mums and women-business-people are muddling through, I'm still running (literally) and sleeping a lot by modern standards. And because every now and again I have a conversation with a woman building her house and her face lights up and she says, "YES! That's it"
What you mean by Substack has a Nazi Problem?
Just curious it seems like harsh words and labels are casually dropped, and or stated without any expectation of an explanation, intended to elicit a sympathetic response?
I am not directly challenging your opinion you are entitled to an opinion but as a random follower of your page here it might be nice to know what exactly i am to sympathize with here, obviously noone likes Nazis right?
Thanks for replying.
I'm not asking you to sympathise with anything; I was just wondering if you or any of my other followers had noticed anything, which you obviously haven't. I haven't either (although I don't hang out in Substack Notes anymore so I'm not sure what's going on there).
While I haven't noticed anything, I have seen a couple of posts from other substackers complaining about the fact that apparently there are Nazi-themed Substack accounts that are making money here (like this one https://betonit.substack.com/p/substack-versus-the-slippery-slope). There has been a movement by some in the substack community to de-platform these. I have also seen quite a few news articles talking about this issue such as this one https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/jan/12/casey-newton-quits-substack-nazi-newsletter and this one https://www.techpolicy.press/substack-founder-defends-commercial-relationships-with-nazis/ and this one https://www.businessinsider.com/substack-nazi-problem-free-speech-money-analysis-2023-12. There are loads of articles - just do a simple Google search. It is a live issue and I just wanted to check in with my own followers to see if they are feeling OK or have noticed anything.
Yeah there was definitely a wave of queer folk leaving substack ~2.5y ago (https://doyles.substack.com/p/in-queers-we-trust-all-others-pay). And then there are ongoing issues with racism, and platforming divisive voices. I am empathetic to the substack team: once they step into moderation, it all gets even more political. And yet, at the same time, it already *is* political.
For what it’s worth, I often have moments where I regret my choice to leave substack for ghost. The network effects are real. Substack is also a lot cheaper. It’s very convenient, too.
Yet I feel that, for the long term, we ought all be turning to the independent web (and, eventually: decentralised social media).
Writing first on our own platforms, and then populating elsewhere. The temple on your own turf, with shrines for your followers in other lands.
Eg, I am shocked to discover that I am contemplating LinkedIn as one such place for a shrine, to propagate whatever I produce in my temple. Likewise I am warming immensely to medium once more, especially with Buster Benson’s sage guidance in effect (https://blog.medium.com/new-partner-program-incentives-focus-on-high-quality-human-writing-7335f8557f6e).
But I also think this is systemic of a larger patch of future-history we are in. Things just may generally get a bit worse before things get better. In the meantime, we move quietly and plant things.
(And, for what its worth, yours is a wonderful voice and contribution here on substack—maintaining a presence here as a warm haven is an equally valid path)
Happy new year Jason (and Kim)!
You've made some great points above, Jason.
1. Everything IS political, isn't it? We don't really get to opt out completely, just choose our mode of responding. So, ethically, what is my sense of agency and how do I use it?
2. I have successfully maintained my rage against my favourite bete noir - social media algorithms (that wasn't hard) - and am concerned about sloppy narrative-making when it comes to AI (making silly claims for or against it isn't going to help anyone to understand how to work with it). Most of all, I gnash my teeth on a regular basis at techno-feudalism. So I am inclined to agree that we all ought to be turning to the independent web.
3. I REALLY like this analogy of "a temple on your own turf with shrines for your followers in other lands." I guess I would like my temple to be my own website. One of my larger shrines is here on Substack and - yes - I too am amazed that LinkedIn is shaping up to be another. I still don't like the site that much and I don't think my attempts to subvert it one un-businesslike post at a time will work, but it's a 'cleaner' digital space than a few others on offer. Just to torture the analogy, I am thinking of what these shrines each look like depending on the platform they are on. Which ones have gleaming new tiles and murals, and which ones have leaks in the roof? Which ones can you find down an alleyway in the red light district and which ones have frontage onto a major street? Which ones do I need to chase the moneylenders out of?
My recent bout of Covid(!) interrupted a process that I call my walking business plan - think a business model review based on serendipity and with cockatoos, trees, chocolate, and poems. I must get back to it when I get my strength back and that temple analogy can form the basis for a stroll.
4. Lastly, thanks so much for your encouraging words!