what is substack now

a letter to substack

dear substack,

i miss the days when you were a little sprout, a little newsletter. an escape from content and recommendation hell. a retreat from social media and algorithms, a warm letter from a friend.

ever since you added a timeline and substack girls started overpopulating the platform, performing match-making voodoo and writing words as shallow as ponds, it's no longer been the same. ever since you became a machine for content rather than a safe ground for reflection, its drowned out the voices of reason.

i find myself obsessed with likes and comments and views just like i do on every other social media. i find myself restacking as i retweet on twitter, liking as i do on instagram, scrolling i do on facebook. text, images, now vertical video too?

will substack reach the same fate, the same fate all the platforms do?

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it's substack where i met my closest friends. it's substack where i keep in touch with those i love. it's substack where i met my most loyal readers, who think the way i do and lived the stories i did. it's substack where i shared long-awaited confessions and found my voice over the years.

but i despair that the vc-backed nightmare has come to air. if the good ol' days are over, if i should pack my words and move elsewhere.

sincerely,

a confused user