Keep up the good work...And...please do away with this new Substack issuance of the "influencer" checkmark. It doesn't reflect well on Substack to fall into Meta/X mimicking. Readers love and follow the writers they respect, not because of perceived "being in the special club."
The only thing I REALLY hope happens here is that Substack could maybe pick a random newbie who IS NOT famous and announce their presence here lol. Elizabeth Gilbert didn't need an announcement...she showed up with her own million people in her pocket 😂
I just hope algorithms never put celebrities in front of me. I can find those on my own. Give me the regular folk who are writing amazing things.
I’m really excited to see that there’s a new version of the app coming out. There’s so much potential here. Looking forward to seeing where it all goes! Proud to be a writer on substack, a place that seems far more in alignment with my values.
I wish you guys would build a better and more robust search engine for Substack and our own posts e.g. I struggle to find stocks that I know I have written about in previous posts with the current search engine...
"We are not against algorithms. We’ll enthusiastically use algorithms, or AI, or any other technology we can get our hands on, as long as we can use them to serve the human ends that we care about. For readers, that means letting you decide what you read as the best version of yourself—helping you take back your mind."
I am very vehemently against algorithms or any kind of "curation" I am not 100% in complete control off. I really hope I am not reading too much in between the lines here.
I mean, you say this and I want to believe you, but... even though I'm not (and don't plan to)monetize my writing here, even though my whole reason for being here is to get away from that, my "notes" feed is still filled with "how I made a zillion dollars on substack" articles that I've never clicked on and have no interest in.
I can only conclude that since substack only makes money when writers are successful at monetizing their publications, this is the algorithm priotizing the needs of the owners over what I'm here for.
So you know, there is that... (said with all affection -- I'm happy to be here, but those articles and the relentless focus on money money money is troubling and a bit of a sour note in all of it...)
This is really heartening to read! So many of us (both writers on Substack and readers) are trying to do intentional work to curate our experience and what we take in each day, yet (of course) find ourselves derailed by the inherent algorithmic realities that push us in various directions. (And some of us write a lot about it to help others!😆)
I’m really excited about this - and I think as with anything else, it’s knowing what we don’t know that gives us the agency to actually learn. This sounds like an amazing way for people to experience the shift in their own reading/algorithm experience, and then see how drastic and empowering a different way could be. Here for it! ✏️💙
The flywheel of Substack is accelerating as the quantity of quality writing takes off. In the spirit of challenging convictions and understanding the why, hosting debates between prominent authors with differing perspectives could be a huge draw for Substack. Here are a few matchups I'd love to see: https://yuribezmenov.substack.com/p/great-substack-debates-matchups
I just joined the Substack community, changing from a blog to Substack. I found you just as you suggest, by receiving messages that intrigue me. Thank you.
Algorithm for quality? Really? What a horrendous thought. Turing will be turning over in his grave. It's the human intelllect that creates, not machines. Substack, turn back before it's too late!
Keep up the good work...And...please do away with this new Substack issuance of the "influencer" checkmark. It doesn't reflect well on Substack to fall into Meta/X mimicking. Readers love and follow the writers they respect, not because of perceived "being in the special club."
What I want is an algorithm that says "you haven't seen this content before, what do you think of it?"
Quality is in the eye of the beholder, and the beholder is always ME.
Show me new and different content. Show me content outside my comfort zone. Challenge me with new ideas.
I'll probably not like most of what I get shown by such an algorithm, but I will be greatly stimulated and satisfied by that algorithm.
The only thing I REALLY hope happens here is that Substack could maybe pick a random newbie who IS NOT famous and announce their presence here lol. Elizabeth Gilbert didn't need an announcement...she showed up with her own million people in her pocket 😂
I just hope algorithms never put celebrities in front of me. I can find those on my own. Give me the regular folk who are writing amazing things.
I’m really excited to see that there’s a new version of the app coming out. There’s so much potential here. Looking forward to seeing where it all goes! Proud to be a writer on substack, a place that seems far more in alignment with my values.
I wish you guys would build a better and more robust search engine for Substack and our own posts e.g. I struggle to find stocks that I know I have written about in previous posts with the current search engine...
"We are not against algorithms. We’ll enthusiastically use algorithms, or AI, or any other technology we can get our hands on, as long as we can use them to serve the human ends that we care about. For readers, that means letting you decide what you read as the best version of yourself—helping you take back your mind."
I am very vehemently against algorithms or any kind of "curation" I am not 100% in complete control off. I really hope I am not reading too much in between the lines here.
I love what you are building and am grateful for a more thoughtful place to hang out online!
I mean, you say this and I want to believe you, but... even though I'm not (and don't plan to)monetize my writing here, even though my whole reason for being here is to get away from that, my "notes" feed is still filled with "how I made a zillion dollars on substack" articles that I've never clicked on and have no interest in.
I can only conclude that since substack only makes money when writers are successful at monetizing their publications, this is the algorithm priotizing the needs of the owners over what I'm here for.
So you know, there is that... (said with all affection -- I'm happy to be here, but those articles and the relentless focus on money money money is troubling and a bit of a sour note in all of it...)
This is really heartening to read! So many of us (both writers on Substack and readers) are trying to do intentional work to curate our experience and what we take in each day, yet (of course) find ourselves derailed by the inherent algorithmic realities that push us in various directions. (And some of us write a lot about it to help others!😆)
I’m really excited about this - and I think as with anything else, it’s knowing what we don’t know that gives us the agency to actually learn. This sounds like an amazing way for people to experience the shift in their own reading/algorithm experience, and then see how drastic and empowering a different way could be. Here for it! ✏️💙
The flywheel of Substack is accelerating as the quantity of quality writing takes off. In the spirit of challenging convictions and understanding the why, hosting debates between prominent authors with differing perspectives could be a huge draw for Substack. Here are a few matchups I'd love to see: https://yuribezmenov.substack.com/p/great-substack-debates-matchups
Beautifully written. I am very excited for Substack and its writers’ and readers futures. Keep it up!
I just joined the Substack community, changing from a blog to Substack. I found you just as you suggest, by receiving messages that intrigue me. Thank you.
I love the phrase "curate your attention". So easily, our attention gets curated by others and our days just go by mindlessly.
I’ve read this 4 times and still have no idea what you’re announcing, but keep up the great work!
I love what you're building. Looking forward to a corner of the internet where the cream rises to the top.
Algorithm for quality? Really? What a horrendous thought. Turing will be turning over in his grave. It's the human intelllect that creates, not machines. Substack, turn back before it's too late!