100% agree & one of the reasons why I really enjoyed writing & being on Substack was to get that depth in thought, research, and writing. However, as with all the many choices founders & organisations face, finding that right balance to preserve your “why” and still keep the business afloat and progressive is very important.
Also, I generally look at these things as experimentation - trying & seeing if it works? LinkedIn discontinued stories (I mean who wanted stories on LinkedIn?!), IGTV also didn’t stick initially but reels are here. Curious to see how this plays out, the uptake and what the learnings will be.
Whenever I watch shows like Star Trek and read books like Iain Bank’s The Culture series, I find it so fascinating that in those stories, real physical books are treated as relics. It always seemed crazy to me that writing as an art form would one day become lost to humanity.
Substack’s rise to me also felt the same. It felt like there was still hope for readers. In between books and tweets there’s essays.
The weirdest thing about human beings is the way we’ve been trained. Getting people to watch videos just happened to be the best way to keep them staring at a screen long enough to show them ads. Somewhere along the line writing/publishing became harder and harder to sustain because humans now want fast flashy videos.
I thought you would also add more context to the possible competition and political statement angles that have seen them bleed writers to X, Beehiv and now try to see what else sticks.
"There will be a return, not to old media institutions, but to something looser and more adaptive: individual writers growing into small media companies, collectives, or tightly curated networks with shared subscriptions and overlapping audiences. We are already seeing this, and we will see much more of it in the coming years."
gave me perspective into why Every.to left Substack years ago, bundling a couple of niche newsletters into a pack I paid $200/yr for without thinking twice.
looking at how far (>100K+ subscribers) they got (I say got because currently, they seem to have lost their voice trying to keep up with any and everything AI) only shows the only path left for long-form writing to survive: individual writers growing into media companies of their own, where, first, the incentive for their growth is the depth of writing on offer.
your piece has led into the rabbit hole of investigating how much dilution the quest to match venture-scale growth can cause a startup's original, compelling product narrative.
turns out Casey Newton (I don't buy his core reason for leaving Substack) is just one of a few examples proving that venture capital can, in some cases, force a startup down the path of muddling the narrative that made them a no-brainer.
this will be my next piece for the Product-Led Storytelling Newsletter.
Tbh, Casey is very persistent with his beliefs, so I don't doubt his reasons at all. But good to know this sparked some ideas for you. Please share when you publish.
You're right, and that's likely the reality of things. That's why I acknowledged the need for Substack to meet its valuation. It doesn't make it any less painful as a writer, and it means we need to do the hard work of thinking deeper about how this art form will continue to survive.
100% agree & one of the reasons why I really enjoyed writing & being on Substack was to get that depth in thought, research, and writing. However, as with all the many choices founders & organisations face, finding that right balance to preserve your “why” and still keep the business afloat and progressive is very important.
Also, I generally look at these things as experimentation - trying & seeing if it works? LinkedIn discontinued stories (I mean who wanted stories on LinkedIn?!), IGTV also didn’t stick initially but reels are here. Curious to see how this plays out, the uptake and what the learnings will be.
Perhaps, we can revisit this essay in future.
Will definitely be observing how this evolves for them. The difference is the ideological posts on which they all chose to hang their identities.
True that!
Whenever I watch shows like Star Trek and read books like Iain Bank’s The Culture series, I find it so fascinating that in those stories, real physical books are treated as relics. It always seemed crazy to me that writing as an art form would one day become lost to humanity.
Substack’s rise to me also felt the same. It felt like there was still hope for readers. In between books and tweets there’s essays.
The weirdest thing about human beings is the way we’ve been trained. Getting people to watch videos just happened to be the best way to keep them staring at a screen long enough to show them ads. Somewhere along the line writing/publishing became harder and harder to sustain because humans now want fast flashy videos.
The score is Capitalism 50. Writing 2.
It's really the result of years of incentives and social engineering. I wonder how we can turn this tide.
I thought you would also add more context to the possible competition and political statement angles that have seen them bleed writers to X, Beehiv and now try to see what else sticks.
Yeah, that’s definitely an angle I could have explored. Perhaps in a future piece, if it comes to that.
this take...
"There will be a return, not to old media institutions, but to something looser and more adaptive: individual writers growing into small media companies, collectives, or tightly curated networks with shared subscriptions and overlapping audiences. We are already seeing this, and we will see much more of it in the coming years."
gave me perspective into why Every.to left Substack years ago, bundling a couple of niche newsletters into a pack I paid $200/yr for without thinking twice.
looking at how far (>100K+ subscribers) they got (I say got because currently, they seem to have lost their voice trying to keep up with any and everything AI) only shows the only path left for long-form writing to survive: individual writers growing into media companies of their own, where, first, the incentive for their growth is the depth of writing on offer.
this is why i read 1914 Reader.
You definitely get it. I love this comment.
your piece has led into the rabbit hole of investigating how much dilution the quest to match venture-scale growth can cause a startup's original, compelling product narrative.
turns out Casey Newton (I don't buy his core reason for leaving Substack) is just one of a few examples proving that venture capital can, in some cases, force a startup down the path of muddling the narrative that made them a no-brainer.
this will be my next piece for the Product-Led Storytelling Newsletter.
Tbh, Casey is very persistent with his beliefs, so I don't doubt his reasons at all. But good to know this sparked some ideas for you. Please share when you publish.
Hey David, my piece is live here:
https://productledstorytelling.substack.com/p/substack-narrative-dilution
Would love your thoughts.
Preeeeeeach!
'Once you raise venture capital, you no longer control your destiny'.
"Writing is being swallowed whole by the broader creator economy." No observation could be more apt.
Thoughtful piece as always. I'm curious about this line though:
"Not that it is expanding, but that in expanding, it is signalling that writing alone is no longer enough."
What if this statement is the factual reality of things? That to keep the lights on at its current scale, Substack needs to "expand"?
You're right, and that's likely the reality of things. That's why I acknowledged the need for Substack to meet its valuation. It doesn't make it any less painful as a writer, and it means we need to do the hard work of thinking deeper about how this art form will continue to survive.
Fair enough. It is well
Very well said.
Thank you!