The Why of Substack by On my Om

Excellent piece -> The Why of Substack

Only with Substack does anyone perceive creator branding as being subservient to the platform — something that ought to be seen merely as an interchangeable CMS — like that. That is not by happenstance. It’s a trap and it is by design. It’s exactly what Substack wants, and exactly what independent writers and content producers should not. — Daring Fireball

Yup – it’s going to speed run until folks realize that there is no “right” platform. It’s about having your own. Substack is fine. But my goodness, make your own domain. And realize that WordPress, Ghost, heck, even good ‘old Blogger does the same stuff.

What they have done is create a social network around opinions (and other media). They can extend this idea from the written word to audio and video. The words can be long or short. In our modern society, where opinions trump everything, they have a social network for the chattering classes. And it is a network that has density.

They’ve built a brand for sure – and made it to where everyone wants the cachet of “writing” when that can be done in so many more places on the Internet. There are even email platforms that will provide a free posting space.

Trying to build an independent publishing entity in this new environment is not easy. Substack offers a cheap, easy way to start and hopefully grow. The company and its founders are betting that the growth and the audience will keep you using their platform. 

Yup – it’s great to play the game…as long as you know what game you’re playing.