Substack is an email newsletter platform that claims to want the internet to be better for writers and readers alike. Just recently, a feature was added to the site called "Notes," which has a Twitter-like format wherein people can also express succinct thoughts and ideas.
Substack Notes
The company will start rolling the feature out so its users can publish ideas or discussions that can travel through the platform's network. With Notes, writers can post short content, much like a tweet, which will reach their readers.
Substack says that similar to its "Recommendations" feature, Notes will bring discovery across the platform. The new feature will give users the ability to recommend content such as posts, quotes, comments, images, and links.
The platform boasts that while it might appear like the familiar social media sites that most people use, the Substack network runs on the payment they get from subscriptions, as opposed to generating revenue from ads.
Instead of what most social media platforms do, which rewards those who create content that is viewed most whether or not people value it, Substack claims that people on their platform are rewarded for "respecting the trust" of their readers.
Unlike others who resort to ad-based revenue wherein the "rewards" mostly go to the owner of the site, the email newsletter platform provides financial compensation to the creators of the content. Ultimately, the platform aims to turn casual readers into paying subscribers.
There are two feeds that its users can choose to scroll through. One is called "Home" where the content will come from sources across the Substack network, while "Subscribed" will show you posts from people you are subscribed to, as mentioned in The Verge.
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The Purpose of Substack
Substack has been around since 2017, and it claims to have over 35 million active subscriptions to writers, along with 2 million paid subscriptions. This has led to the platform accumulating hundreds of millions of dollars over the years that it has been active.
What inspired its creators to build the platform is to provide a better experience on the internet just like it was before "cancellations and brigading." Nowadays, most platforms are driven by advertisements, since they are more prioritized than most since they provide revenue.
There's also the issue of the internet being riddled with clickbait, content farms, cheap outrage, culture wars, listicles, and liars, as mentioned on the website. Substack aims to be free from "attention games and corporate marketing budgets."
They believe in creating a site wherein writers and readers would be in charge, and great work would be rewarded with money, and protecting the free press and free speech, which coincides with their statement: "We believe that what you read matters."
In developing Notes, Substack will focus on creating a system that allows people to control the "contours and boundaries of their subscription universe," making it easier to keep trolls out and easier to let contributors in, which makes for a good environment for constructive discussions.
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