Thanks for the feedback! This is something we thought about, but so far haven't done because we don't have a good way to verify that these blurbs would be real.
When using a blurb from a recommending Substack, we know that the original author wrote it. If we allowed users to put in custom blurbs, we unfortunately don't have a way to val…
Thanks for the feedback! This is something we thought about, but so far haven't done because we don't have a good way to verify that these blurbs would be real.
When using a blurb from a recommending Substack, we know that the original author wrote it. If we allowed users to put in custom blurbs, we unfortunately don't have a way to validate that it's not completely made up, which might devalue the feature.
That said, we're definitely thinking about a good way to do this, and I'd be all ears if you have ways you'd like to see this feature work in mind.
Maybe it could be possible if tagging people in comments was possible. For instance, if in the monthly shout out thread I recommended and tagged Adam's substack, then the tag could be tracked the same way we get notified if someone embeds our publication/post in their post?
If the blurb is in a tweet, a link to that tweet would do it for verification.
I really like this idea too. I get a lot of positive comments on twitter but few here. Yes, I woud love it if the blurbers would come over here and comment, but I can't FORCE them to do that. I think the lack of tweeted blurbs is a self reinforcing problem for people who don't have a lot of followers here yet.
Thanks, Ben! Not to be too glib, but it’s funny to me that the Substack team cares deeply about making sure these blurbs are accurate and verified but doesn’t seem to mind the rampant vaccine and COVID-19 misinformation on the platform. That does more to devalue Substack than a few made-up blurbs.
Ben, I am sorry to bother you. But since you want feedback, and since you are addressing blurbs, I thought I would send the following message to you. I am sorry if I sound snarky and cantankerous. It is, in part, a manifestation of my kind of humor (which might be an acquired taste.) In any event, this is my question about blubs (I already posted it, but I am posting it here to make sure that you, Ben, see this):
Everyone is talking about Blurbs today.
Pardon me, but I am so interested in the content of what I read, as opposed to the form, that I haven't even recognized the blurbs.
However, unfortunately, I suppose I must learn this BS.
Accordingly, I would be much obliged if someone were to:
a) Post a screen shot of a page which contains an alleged blurb. Please circle the blurb
b) Please tell me what keys or buttons on substack can enable me to post a blurb.
c) For bonus points, tell me why blurbs are so absolutely "fabulous" and certainly beat the work of old dead white men like Shakespeare, Milton and Byron.
As for (c), those dead white guys are pretty great so it will be hard to compare, but we think blurbs are nice because they're a way for you to see all of the nice things that other writers have said about you. In addition, we ran some tests and found that users were more likely to leave their emails when presented with a blurb.
Thanks for the feedback! This is something we thought about, but so far haven't done because we don't have a good way to verify that these blurbs would be real.
When using a blurb from a recommending Substack, we know that the original author wrote it. If we allowed users to put in custom blurbs, we unfortunately don't have a way to validate that it's not completely made up, which might devalue the feature.
That said, we're definitely thinking about a good way to do this, and I'd be all ears if you have ways you'd like to see this feature work in mind.
Maybe it could be possible if tagging people in comments was possible. For instance, if in the monthly shout out thread I recommended and tagged Adam's substack, then the tag could be tracked the same way we get notified if someone embeds our publication/post in their post?
I like that idea - thanks!
Any time! I don't know one single thing about coding but I've been writing/living on the internet for a very long time, hahaha
If the blurb is in a tweet, a link to that tweet would do it for verification.
I really like this idea too. I get a lot of positive comments on twitter but few here. Yes, I woud love it if the blurbers would come over here and comment, but I can't FORCE them to do that. I think the lack of tweeted blurbs is a self reinforcing problem for people who don't have a lot of followers here yet.
Great idea. I actually instinctively tried to do that like 20 minutes ago and realized I couldn't.
Yeah, on numerous occasions I've tried to tag a publication or writer and was surprised when I couldn't.
Thanks, Ben! Not to be too glib, but it’s funny to me that the Substack team cares deeply about making sure these blurbs are accurate and verified but doesn’t seem to mind the rampant vaccine and COVID-19 misinformation on the platform. That does more to devalue Substack than a few made-up blurbs.
Ya'll can hook into the Twitter API and show a recommendation/testimonial tweet yeah?
The space I write/podcast about (crypto/NFTs) is big on Twitter and I've gotten a couple of recommendations there but none from substack writers yet.
I totally get the authenticity part however. Can't have people post fake ones, it really would kill the feature.
Ben, I am sorry to bother you. But since you want feedback, and since you are addressing blurbs, I thought I would send the following message to you. I am sorry if I sound snarky and cantankerous. It is, in part, a manifestation of my kind of humor (which might be an acquired taste.) In any event, this is my question about blubs (I already posted it, but I am posting it here to make sure that you, Ben, see this):
Everyone is talking about Blurbs today.
Pardon me, but I am so interested in the content of what I read, as opposed to the form, that I haven't even recognized the blurbs.
However, unfortunately, I suppose I must learn this BS.
Accordingly, I would be much obliged if someone were to:
a) Post a screen shot of a page which contains an alleged blurb. Please circle the blurb
b) Please tell me what keys or buttons on substack can enable me to post a blurb.
c) For bonus points, tell me why blurbs are so absolutely "fabulous" and certainly beat the work of old dead white men like Shakespeare, Milton and Byron.
Howdy!
(a) and (b) you can find on the support page here: https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/7889090558996
As for (c), those dead white guys are pretty great so it will be hard to compare, but we think blurbs are nice because they're a way for you to see all of the nice things that other writers have said about you. In addition, we ran some tests and found that users were more likely to leave their emails when presented with a blurb.