Thrilled to see Substack's "Writer Obsession" with mechanisms like forums, discussion threads, and potential future formats such as Advisory Council/Board, Roundtables, Groups, etc. Great way to get direct feedback on current features and wishlist (e.g. referral feature to gift subscribers for every X referral).
The phrase is an acknowledgment that Substack is proactively seeking feedback from writers to improve features, etc. I don't believe the actual term is used by Substack (but I could be wrong).
First, I want to thank you for responding to my question. Most of my questions are wholly ignored.
I want to ask you: When I click on your picture, I am provided with a link to your web site, or web page, on substack. When I click on my picture, no such link appears. Do you know how I can alter my settings (or anything other apt control panel) so people can see a link to my site when they click on my picture.
Hi David. No problem. When I click on your picture, a pop-up appears with your photo and a link to your newsletter. Same experience when I click on other users' pictures. I believe you see something different when clicking on your own picture because you are logged in to Substack under your account and thus it is giving you the option to edit. For example, when I am logged in to my Substack account and click on my own picture, I get the same experience as you. Try logging out and then clicking on your own picture. Let me know if this helps.
This is very exciting; a big thanks to the Substack team, you've got a great product here, glad you're continuing to improve upon it! Have deeply enjoyed joining the platform as a writer.
I am curious: when you sent "complaint e mails," what e mail address did you send them to. To what individual(s) were they addressed. (I am not in the mood for complaining, but I am always in the mood for information)
Thanks, James, for responding. As I said in other posts, I am, unfortunately, a techno Neanderthal. I would be immensely appreciative if you were to identify two things in your immediately preceding message: a) You said you sent a request for DMCA help. What is DMCA?; b) to what e mail address did that request for help go to ?
I think the very intention behind asking this question itself solves some potential issues. As long as writer don’t end up silo’d into their own niches with their own fanbases and like so many islands then I think the future looks bright here.
I also filled out the survey, fwiw.
I lack the tech knowledge to even see some of the current pitfalls (and to imagine some of their potential solutions) but the fact that even a Luddite like me can successfully use Substack means that you are doing something right.
Welcome, Ellie! I filled out the survey, but then I saw this afterwards and wanted to share. I think it would help Substack authors grow their subscriber bases exponentially if there was a built-in referral system like this: https://www.referomatic.fm/
I filled out your survey! Thanks for asking! It'll be interesting to see how Substack evolves and grows. I like that (so far) it seems very writer friendly!
Welcome, Ellie! I filled out the survey too. What do you think of a multi-language possibility? As a Swiss one, I would love to have a section in French ;-)
My newsletter is on the topic of Professional Branding and the intelligence of the heart in business but in French !!!
I'm not good enough in English to write it in another language :-( and my persona is French-speaking.
hi Ellie I really enjoyed the writer's time together last Wed. I particularly enjoyed the time with you afterwards. I would love to have a session around interpreting the stats and how to use this to guide social media activities. I would also appreciate having time on the etiquette of posting in FB groups/mutual sharing. xxxx
I'm impressed by the clean and simply interface of Substack and the fact that it's completely ad-free. So far it looks as Substack is entirely people-focused as opposed to traditional ad-plagued places. Just filled out your survey and look forward to getting engaged more.
My overwhelming problem and impediment is my confusion, ignorance and alienation regarding social media. I don't even know what is meant by a landing page (one of the comments on here discussed landing pages.) For example, recently I was advised to sign up for a substack event on the 18th. I did not know what it was, but hoping that it might teach me something, I signed up for the event. Immediately after registering for the event, substack advised me that by
adding notifications@circle.so to my list of "trusted contacts" I would increase my chances of getting invites to substack events. I don't know what is meant by my trusted contacts, or how to amend the list of trusted contacts, and I couldn't get info from substack. In any event, whatever it was that substack hosted on the 18th is moot. However, I want to be able to partake of events in the future.
Although I might be an ignoramus re our sleek and snappy and supercilious wired world, I am no dunce and I invite you to examine my work product on this site, https://davidgottfried.substack.com/.
Finally, I should note that I am not only someone who complains and asks for assistance. I can also render assistance. I formerly practiced law and am still a member of the New York Bar. I hope I may forge relationships on here in which I may help others and others may enrich my life.
Hi David, since you have been able to create an account on Substack as well as create this post you apparently are much more tech-savvy than the vast majority of those people who are still living in an analogue-only world. So, congrats on your achievements and many thanks for sharing your experiences with us as well as offering assistance. As for your question, a list of 'trusted contacts' is a list of email accounts you have manually marked as trustworthy which means your spam filter will allow emails from those contacts to land in your inbox rather than marking them as 'spam'. Please let me know if this makes sense. Regards, Torsten
Of course you make sense. Your comments are entirely comprehensible and clear. Now I know what trusted contacts are. I thank you for your edification.
But let me explain what "trusted contacts" has to do with substack and me:
1) I was advised to partake of a substack program on Nov 18. It was termed a silent writing event.
2) I applied on substack for the program and pressed the enter or submit key.
3) Immediately after I submitted my application, substack advised me, via my computer screen , that I had to add notifications@circle.so to my list of trusted contacts to get an invite to this or other substack programs.
4) My question therefore is this: How do I add people to my list of trusted contacts. How do I access trusted contacts. Would this be some place in gmail. (I have g mail.)
5) Incidentally, as I said the event was called a "silent writing event." Do you know what substack meant by that term. When we write, we generally are not talking at the same time. We generally are silent. So what does susbstack mean when it terms something a "silent writing event."
Again, I thank you for your comments and for your "like" on one of my posts. Do you have a site on here. I would love to take a look at your materials.
Please ask me if there is anything I can do for you.
Hi again David, thanks a lot for your swift response and your interesting questions. As for the 'trusted contacts list', yes what is meant by that is that you should label the sender as 'trusted' or 'whitelist' it. In Gmail the feature that comes closest to adding somebody to your 'trusted contacts list' is to add the sender to your 'contacts list' as described here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCF3gWnzUhM Regarding my materials, I have my own site, newsletter and forum and post stuff like this for example: https://forum.english.best/t/your-minds-preoccupation-with-and-without-ubi/176495?u=torsten As for the silent writing event, you are absolutely right in saying that we are usually silent while we are writing although I'm sure that some of us do actually say things out loud to help them think more clearly ;-) So, I think the Substack people have coined the phrase 'silent writing event' and we need to ask them what exactly qualifies as such....
I congratulate Ellie and the Substack team on this great effort. I look forward to participating and contributing to the success of our community. https://basketrandom.com
I always need feedback so I know if my writing is worthy. Without feedback, I really don't know if anything I say is really getting through to anyone. I also never know if it is coming across negative or not.
I hope my tendency to enumerate my points doesn't seem too anal:
1. Can anyone refer me to a current glossary of social media terms. (In case you don't recall, I'm the dude who wrote a post bemoaning his ignorance of many of facets of social media. For example, just a moment ago, I read a post discussing "subreddits." and many other phenomena.)
2. Allow me to extrapolate from my problems re social media to a wider problem: The utter lack of logic in the way phenomena and trends are named.
Examples:
a) Several years ago, new screens were often hyped as being PLASMA screens. Plasma once had a very specific definition: It pertained to the non cellular portion of the blood. There seemed to be a snide, superciliousness in the decision to name a screen a plasma screen -- its as if the company touting the product wanted to suggest that it was at the frontiers of scientific discovery.
b) Several years ago, certain programs were given the name "apps." What is the difference between a program and an app. Did someone tire of the term program. Does app suggest, in a dim witted sort of way, that something is especially apt?
Stop caving to special interest and catering to the whims of Glenn Greenwald, who is NOT a good man under any definition of the word, and stop showing preference to your money earners. Some of us out here are victims of Greenwald who have been silenced or suppressed by him and his status quo of cash driven “caring.” That him, or his peer group, have suppressed us so you’ve not heard of us doesn’t leave us any less deserving of the attention of Substack. In fact, I’m going to say it straight up, because of Substack’s uncomfortable relationship with Greenwald, you’re actively helping him suppress my story, in the interest of maximizing your own profits. Not many writers get to the level I got to, yet I’m treated like I’m the shit under your shoes, not even worthy of getting a two word response from your support team.
Substack is actively making sure I know that I’m not welcome.
You write about how you’ve so graciously reached out to and connected to writers, but not me. Nope. And it’s not my fault that Glenn did this stuff to me and gave me this situation, it’s his. He did this and you’re punishing the victim, in the name of the all mighty dollar.
Thrilled to see Substack's "Writer Obsession" with mechanisms like forums, discussion threads, and potential future formats such as Advisory Council/Board, Roundtables, Groups, etc. Great way to get direct feedback on current features and wishlist (e.g. referral feature to gift subscribers for every X referral).
What is substack's writer obsession. Where on this site can I find it.
The phrase is an acknowledgment that Substack is proactively seeking feedback from writers to improve features, etc. I don't believe the actual term is used by Substack (but I could be wrong).
Dear Curious,
First, I want to thank you for responding to my question. Most of my questions are wholly ignored.
I want to ask you: When I click on your picture, I am provided with a link to your web site, or web page, on substack. When I click on my picture, no such link appears. Do you know how I can alter my settings (or anything other apt control panel) so people can see a link to my site when they click on my picture.
Hi David. No problem. When I click on your picture, a pop-up appears with your photo and a link to your newsletter. Same experience when I click on other users' pictures. I believe you see something different when clicking on your own picture because you are logged in to Substack under your account and thus it is giving you the option to edit. For example, when I am logged in to my Substack account and click on my own picture, I get the same experience as you. Try logging out and then clicking on your own picture. Let me know if this helps.
This is very exciting; a big thanks to the Substack team, you've got a great product here, glad you're continuing to improve upon it! Have deeply enjoyed joining the platform as a writer.
I am curious: when you sent "complaint e mails," what e mail address did you send them to. To what individual(s) were they addressed. (I am not in the mood for complaining, but I am always in the mood for information)
Thanks, James, for responding. As I said in other posts, I am, unfortunately, a techno Neanderthal. I would be immensely appreciative if you were to identify two things in your immediately preceding message: a) You said you sent a request for DMCA help. What is DMCA?; b) to what e mail address did that request for help go to ?
I think the very intention behind asking this question itself solves some potential issues. As long as writer don’t end up silo’d into their own niches with their own fanbases and like so many islands then I think the future looks bright here.
I also filled out the survey, fwiw.
I lack the tech knowledge to even see some of the current pitfalls (and to imagine some of their potential solutions) but the fact that even a Luddite like me can successfully use Substack means that you are doing something right.
Tom.
Welcome, Ellie! I filled out the survey, but then I saw this afterwards and wanted to share. I think it would help Substack authors grow their subscriber bases exponentially if there was a built-in referral system like this: https://www.referomatic.fm/
This is very interesting. Thanks for the link.
I filled out your survey! Thanks for asking! It'll be interesting to see how Substack evolves and grows. I like that (so far) it seems very writer friendly!
Thank you so much, Rebecca! It's been super inspiring to read through these responses so far and I'm so excited to see what we can build together.
Welcome, Ellie! I filled out the survey too. What do you think of a multi-language possibility? As a Swiss one, I would love to have a section in French ;-)
My newsletter is on the topic of Professional Branding and the intelligence of the heart in business but in French !!!
I'm not good enough in English to write it in another language :-( and my persona is French-speaking.
Thanks, Patricia! There are a lot of international writers on Substack. Would love to find ways to support more languages.
hi Ellie I really enjoyed the writer's time together last Wed. I particularly enjoyed the time with you afterwards. I would love to have a session around interpreting the stats and how to use this to guide social media activities. I would also appreciate having time on the etiquette of posting in FB groups/mutual sharing. xxxx
I'm impressed by the clean and simply interface of Substack and the fact that it's completely ad-free. So far it looks as Substack is entirely people-focused as opposed to traditional ad-plagued places. Just filled out your survey and look forward to getting engaged more.
My overwhelming problem and impediment is my confusion, ignorance and alienation regarding social media. I don't even know what is meant by a landing page (one of the comments on here discussed landing pages.) For example, recently I was advised to sign up for a substack event on the 18th. I did not know what it was, but hoping that it might teach me something, I signed up for the event. Immediately after registering for the event, substack advised me that by
adding notifications@circle.so to my list of "trusted contacts" I would increase my chances of getting invites to substack events. I don't know what is meant by my trusted contacts, or how to amend the list of trusted contacts, and I couldn't get info from substack. In any event, whatever it was that substack hosted on the 18th is moot. However, I want to be able to partake of events in the future.
Although I might be an ignoramus re our sleek and snappy and supercilious wired world, I am no dunce and I invite you to examine my work product on this site, https://davidgottfried.substack.com/.
Finally, I should note that I am not only someone who complains and asks for assistance. I can also render assistance. I formerly practiced law and am still a member of the New York Bar. I hope I may forge relationships on here in which I may help others and others may enrich my life.
Hi David, since you have been able to create an account on Substack as well as create this post you apparently are much more tech-savvy than the vast majority of those people who are still living in an analogue-only world. So, congrats on your achievements and many thanks for sharing your experiences with us as well as offering assistance. As for your question, a list of 'trusted contacts' is a list of email accounts you have manually marked as trustworthy which means your spam filter will allow emails from those contacts to land in your inbox rather than marking them as 'spam'. Please let me know if this makes sense. Regards, Torsten
Dear Torsten,
Of course you make sense. Your comments are entirely comprehensible and clear. Now I know what trusted contacts are. I thank you for your edification.
But let me explain what "trusted contacts" has to do with substack and me:
1) I was advised to partake of a substack program on Nov 18. It was termed a silent writing event.
2) I applied on substack for the program and pressed the enter or submit key.
3) Immediately after I submitted my application, substack advised me, via my computer screen , that I had to add notifications@circle.so to my list of trusted contacts to get an invite to this or other substack programs.
4) My question therefore is this: How do I add people to my list of trusted contacts. How do I access trusted contacts. Would this be some place in gmail. (I have g mail.)
5) Incidentally, as I said the event was called a "silent writing event." Do you know what substack meant by that term. When we write, we generally are not talking at the same time. We generally are silent. So what does susbstack mean when it terms something a "silent writing event."
Again, I thank you for your comments and for your "like" on one of my posts. Do you have a site on here. I would love to take a look at your materials.
Please ask me if there is anything I can do for you.
Hi again David, thanks a lot for your swift response and your interesting questions. As for the 'trusted contacts list', yes what is meant by that is that you should label the sender as 'trusted' or 'whitelist' it. In Gmail the feature that comes closest to adding somebody to your 'trusted contacts list' is to add the sender to your 'contacts list' as described here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCF3gWnzUhM Regarding my materials, I have my own site, newsletter and forum and post stuff like this for example: https://forum.english.best/t/your-minds-preoccupation-with-and-without-ubi/176495?u=torsten As for the silent writing event, you are absolutely right in saying that we are usually silent while we are writing although I'm sure that some of us do actually say things out loud to help them think more clearly ;-) So, I think the Substack people have coined the phrase 'silent writing event' and we need to ask them what exactly qualifies as such....
Thanks again for your speedy response
I congratulate Ellie and the Substack team on this great effort. I look forward to participating and contributing to the success of our community. https://basketrandom.com
I always need feedback so I know if my writing is worthy. Without feedback, I really don't know if anything I say is really getting through to anyone. I also never know if it is coming across negative or not.
Good job
I have a very specific question :
I saw a bunch of threads on here, but I can't determine what to click on to read them. Let me direct you to precisely what I am talking about:
1) Look at the immediately preceding essay by Ellie Mc Bride.
2) Go down to the paragraph that begins, "Over the last couple months, I've been quietly...
3) Immediately below the paragraph are some threads. I have tried to take a screen shot of them. Let me try to produce the screen shot:
(I was able to save the screen shot, but I don't know what to click on to reproduce the screenshot)
The first thread is entitled "Reader Surveys"
To read this item, what should I click on?
1) The words "Reader Surveys" -- by doing that, it only enlarges the frame
2) If I click on the thumbs up, nothing is revealed
3) To the right of the thumbs up is an icon which presumably represents text, but when I cliick on it nothing appears
I would appreciate a response from someone.
I hope my tendency to enumerate my points doesn't seem too anal:
1. Can anyone refer me to a current glossary of social media terms. (In case you don't recall, I'm the dude who wrote a post bemoaning his ignorance of many of facets of social media. For example, just a moment ago, I read a post discussing "subreddits." and many other phenomena.)
2. Allow me to extrapolate from my problems re social media to a wider problem: The utter lack of logic in the way phenomena and trends are named.
Examples:
a) Several years ago, new screens were often hyped as being PLASMA screens. Plasma once had a very specific definition: It pertained to the non cellular portion of the blood. There seemed to be a snide, superciliousness in the decision to name a screen a plasma screen -- its as if the company touting the product wanted to suggest that it was at the frontiers of scientific discovery.
b) Several years ago, certain programs were given the name "apps." What is the difference between a program and an app. Did someone tire of the term program. Does app suggest, in a dim witted sort of way, that something is especially apt?
Stop caving to special interest and catering to the whims of Glenn Greenwald, who is NOT a good man under any definition of the word, and stop showing preference to your money earners. Some of us out here are victims of Greenwald who have been silenced or suppressed by him and his status quo of cash driven “caring.” That him, or his peer group, have suppressed us so you’ve not heard of us doesn’t leave us any less deserving of the attention of Substack. In fact, I’m going to say it straight up, because of Substack’s uncomfortable relationship with Greenwald, you’re actively helping him suppress my story, in the interest of maximizing your own profits. Not many writers get to the level I got to, yet I’m treated like I’m the shit under your shoes, not even worthy of getting a two word response from your support team.
Substack is actively making sure I know that I’m not welcome.
You write about how you’ve so graciously reached out to and connected to writers, but not me. Nope. And it’s not my fault that Glenn did this stuff to me and gave me this situation, it’s his. He did this and you’re punishing the victim, in the name of the all mighty dollar.
Excuses in 4...3...2...1...
Please tell me: Who is Glenn Greenwald and what is the scandal or scam
I need a substack landing page that works. Search for my fav journo Matt Taibbi and it returned “ “ zip.
Actually, when I google 'matt taibbi' I get a perfectly fine landing page: https://taibbi.substack.com/