I love these updates and that you keep us up to date on them!
Would you ever consider a tagging function? There’s a long list of pros and cons, but it might be a good way to get a fellow writer looped into a conversation they’d be interested in. (It could also be too social-media-y, so I’ll leave it up to the brilliant Substack team to figure that out!)
I love these updates and that you keep us up to date on them!
Would you ever consider a tagging function? There’s a long list of pros and cons, but it might be a good way to get a fellow writer looped into a conversation they’d be interested in. (It could also be too social-media-y, so I’ll leave it up to the brilliant Substack team to figure that out!)
That’s why I’m hesitant to suggest it! It could open up a can of worms for pile ons. 😬
But Katie (this is where I would tag you if I could), to answer your question: I primarily would want it to have conversations between interested parties.
Alternatively, maybe there’s a way to just tag publications? As in: “This is an interesting article! Have you read anything on @Common Sense? I think you’d have a lot in common.” And then someone from Common Sense would be notified they had been tagged in a comment.
I like the idea of tagging publications, especially in articles, so I don’t have to go find their URL. 😅 It could also be a good way to let you know who is talking about you on substack.
Would also love to know which parts of tagging feel most annoying! Is it that others are tagging and notifying you, or more the aesthetics of seeing @this and @that everywhere?
it's annoying to me because i feel like it is a tool of 'influencer' culture, which is a giant human centipede i'd rather not get in the middle of. hope that helps! ;-)
My biggest concern is the potential of toxicity, piling on, trying to get a writer’s attention on a post. One of the things I love about Substack as a “social” platform is how I usually don’t see people trashing other writers here. Tagging could open it up to that.
On the other hand, I would love the ability to call people’s in the comment thread we’re already commenting in! If someone said something insightful somewhere else in a 600+ comment thread, it would be nice to point that comment out to them. It would also be cool to tag other publications in a post and have it work a little like recommendations so you can see who reads your post or follows you.
Points in favor, Wordpress uses tags and it is HUGE for helping discover writers. Even if writers don't normally write under a certain topic, if they have a one-off that they tag a certain way, I can see that post. I used it to carve out "territory" for myself and increase my presence in a few specific tags so that other readers in that space would be able to find me.
I can tell that substack is going for a better/different model--so far I like that we are given limited options to categorize our newsletters because it forces people to decide what they are about. There's kind of a taxonomy system at play here. I won't step on the creative technicians behind substack but I can tell this is an active issue and I am excited to see what comes out of it. Keep up the good work!
I disagree with you about the limited categories. As a reader, I find it makes it very difficult to discover substacks I would enjoy reading and subscribing to and as contributor I find it hard to place my substack. I have another substack I'm going to be starting shortly and cannot think how I will categorise it. i think a lot more needs to be done on discoverability.
I love these updates and that you keep us up to date on them!
Would you ever consider a tagging function? There’s a long list of pros and cons, but it might be a good way to get a fellow writer looped into a conversation they’d be interested in. (It could also be too social-media-y, so I’ll leave it up to the brilliant Substack team to figure that out!)
You are right, lots of pros and cons! Do you imagine using tags as a tool for discovery primarily?
can i respectfully cast my vote against this? it's one of the many reasons i can't stand social media. someone has to stop the insanity!
Amen.
That’s why I’m hesitant to suggest it! It could open up a can of worms for pile ons. 😬
But Katie (this is where I would tag you if I could), to answer your question: I primarily would want it to have conversations between interested parties.
Alternatively, maybe there’s a way to just tag publications? As in: “This is an interesting article! Have you read anything on @Common Sense? I think you’d have a lot in common.” And then someone from Common Sense would be notified they had been tagged in a comment.
agree! tagging just publications could be a good middle ground...
I like the idea of tagging publications, especially in articles, so I don’t have to go find their URL. 😅 It could also be a good way to let you know who is talking about you on substack.
Would also love to know which parts of tagging feel most annoying! Is it that others are tagging and notifying you, or more the aesthetics of seeing @this and @that everywhere?
it's annoying to me because i feel like it is a tool of 'influencer' culture, which is a giant human centipede i'd rather not get in the middle of. hope that helps! ;-)
My biggest concern is the potential of toxicity, piling on, trying to get a writer’s attention on a post. One of the things I love about Substack as a “social” platform is how I usually don’t see people trashing other writers here. Tagging could open it up to that.
On the other hand, I would love the ability to call people’s in the comment thread we’re already commenting in! If someone said something insightful somewhere else in a 600+ comment thread, it would be nice to point that comment out to them. It would also be cool to tag other publications in a post and have it work a little like recommendations so you can see who reads your post or follows you.
Points in favor, Wordpress uses tags and it is HUGE for helping discover writers. Even if writers don't normally write under a certain topic, if they have a one-off that they tag a certain way, I can see that post. I used it to carve out "territory" for myself and increase my presence in a few specific tags so that other readers in that space would be able to find me.
I can tell that substack is going for a better/different model--so far I like that we are given limited options to categorize our newsletters because it forces people to decide what they are about. There's kind of a taxonomy system at play here. I won't step on the creative technicians behind substack but I can tell this is an active issue and I am excited to see what comes out of it. Keep up the good work!
I disagree with you about the limited categories. As a reader, I find it makes it very difficult to discover substacks I would enjoy reading and subscribing to and as contributor I find it hard to place my substack. I have another substack I'm going to be starting shortly and cannot think how I will categorise it. i think a lot more needs to be done on discoverability.