Why is everyone running?
Have you heard of Substack? No, it’s not a new menu item at Subway. It’s a subscription-based platform that lets writers, journalists, and other content creators publish newsletters and other content. And why exactly are we seeing our friends, colleagues, favorite journalists flock to this platform? Apparently, a lot of reasons, but one big one is that it isn’t owned by Elon Musk. In fact, in April 2023, Musk reportedly wanted to buy Substack but the platform's chief executive declined the offer. Nonetheless, here’s our breakdown of why we think this new subculture is on the rise:
According to this article written by Newsweek, Journalists and the public have lost a lot of faith in Meta X and Google searches. We’re losing our faith in major news institutions in general. Why? You know why. Because it’s about entertainment and ratings, versus actual news now. It’s because you can’t post a political opinion without getting verbally assaulted by a stranger (or your Uncle Frank) on the internet. It’s because people like Ann Telnaes, who worked as a Pulitzer-winning editorial cartoonist for the Post since 2008, is getting her work killed because one of her cartoons satirized the paper's owner, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
We think another reason is the desire to use internet responsibly. You know the drill. You settle in early for a nice night of sleep only to find yourself deep in a rabbit hole of some dark corner of the internet reading conspiracy theories about the latest headline until 2am. If it makes you feel any better, we’re all guilty of this. In fact, it’s designed that way. Endlessly consuming dark news and takedowns and, basically, the majority of things that gain traction online distorts our view of humanity. It makes us scared, suspect and anxious. And the more anxious we are, the more information on breaking news and pundit responses we’ll consume. And round and round we go. It seems Substack offers a ticket off the crazy train.
We also think an offshoot from the above point is that when people are as anxious as they are from all the doom scrolling, it inhibits their ability to think/create/put their best work out into the world. You are what you eat (metaphorically speaking). And so many of us are eating but aren’t ever getting full. There’s a noticeable waking up to that reality. Being a producer versus a consumer, that is. The most successful people in the world, from business titans to visionaries in various fields, are producers. They create value, build empires, and generate lasting impact. Producers rely on their own creativity, ideas, and efforts to create something meaningful. A great reminder for all of us across work and life in general.
And lastly, not to bring it home on such a vapid point, but Substack is a subscription-based model. And subscriptions = $$$. This forum is not only offering an escape from the dense and drudgery of mass news, but a more lucrative way to get paid for your craft. In the Politics and News categories, more than 30 publications make at least $1 million annually. Wowzer. So, ya, we’ll be heading over to Substack a bit more to check it out. Hope to see ya there.
