Why Substack

after years of open publishing and complete control over websites?

For years, I have managed and retained control over my personal publishing websites, paying for each iteration and foregoing the “free” outlets that have been on offer for decades. Last year, I removed most of my work from the domains I control; I wanted to stop feeling guilty about time constraints and my inability to furnish each site with fresh content. As an exercise in prioritization and mental clarity, I discarded self-imposed expectations of continuing works that started over a decade ago, and turned off the switches. Things change. I changed.

Okay but Substack?

Substack is a minimal site with a good amount of features, some of which allow for greater experimentation with new mediums. As a creative director, I have an opinion about everything in a production line. But with finite amounts of time, I’d like to have some decisions outsourced. The fonts, colours, structures, templates, and backend are predetermined, with minimal decisions left for me. Hooray.

Okay so why subscriptions?

Two reasons: community and value.

I’d like to know who’s interested in what I write about and explore. It’s a community I’m after, not a black hole.

There are other subscription-based services, offering free and premium levels of content access, but the connection with the “subscribers” is not on offer. The service controls what happens to that information. With Substack, at present, the model favours the author controlling who accesses which pieces of writing and allow for interaction and follow-ups.

There is also the overarching issue of recognizing and valuing experience and expertise, a topic I can discuss for ages. The notion of free expertise-based content or expecting it regularly is not something I want to engage in or recommend anyone do. I did that in the mid-00s when we all believed the Internet was the great equalizer. It was not. It is not.

Time, experience, clarity of thought, research, and production are the ingredients for any content you see before you. This platform in its current state has the mechanism of letting authors decide what is on offer and to whom. That’s something worth trying for me.