Don't call it a Substack. - Anil Dash
anildash.com · Nov 19
A blog about making culture. Since 1999.
"We constrain our imaginations when we subordinate our creations to names owned by fascist tycoons. Imagine the author of a book telling people to "read my Amazon". A great director trying to promote their film by saying "click on my Max". That's how much they've pickled your brain when you refer to your own work and your own voice within the context of their walled garden. There is no such thing as "my Substack", there is only your writing, and a forever fight against the world of pure enshittification."
(Original title: Don't call it a Substack. - Anil Dash)
https://www.anildash.com//2024/11/19/dont-call-it-a-substack/
Awesome (and important) piece from Anil Dash: Don’t call it a Substack
"Links are powerful — that’s why Instagram and Twitter and Threads punish and limit them, and why Substack tries to take credit for them. And that’s why “wherever you get your podcasts” is such a radical concept — like email, it’s a medium that the tech tycoons don’t, and can’t, own. People can read your writing “wherever they get their email”." https://www.anildash.com//2024/11/19/dont-call-it-a-substack/
the tough part about way too much of the US left falling for substack is that the danger of the VC model is still there even if you refuse to see it. idk how to get people to start taking these warnings seriously, but we need to
anyway, good piece here from @anildash
https://www.anildash.com/2024/11/19/dont-call-it-a-substack/
„It's your newsletter, or your email, or your blog. Or just your writing. But it sure as hell isn't "your Substack".“ @anildash
https://www.anildash.com//2024/11/19/dont-call-it-a-substack/
"We constrain our imaginations when we subordinate our creations to names owned by fascist tycoons. Imagine the author of a book telling people to "read my Amazon". A great director trying to promote their film by saying "click on my Max". That's how much they've pickled your brain when you refer to your own work and your own voice within the context of their walled garden. There is no such thing as "my Substack", there is only your writing, and a forever fight against the world of pure enshittification."
(Original title: Don't call it a Substack. - Anil Dash)
https://www.anildash.com//2024/11/19/dont-call-it-a-substack/
> Imagine the author of a book telling people to "read my Amazon". A great director trying to promote their film by saying "click on my Max". [...] There is no such thing as "my Substack", there is only your writing, and a forever fight against the world of pure enshittification.
> one change you can make today: you can talk about your work as your work. It's your newsletter, or your email, or your blog. Or just your writing. But it sure as hell isn't "your Substack".
https://www.anildash.com/2024/11/19/dont-call-it-a-substack/
I’ve been saying this since I jumped to ghost a few years ago, but @anildash makes the point far better than I ever could. https://www.anildash.com//2024/11/19/dont-call-it-a-substack/
Thank you for this @anildash I'd been pointing people to the excellent article by @annaleen about Substack's grift but it's nice to have more things to point people towards about why it's a bad choice. Also props for the title.
https://www.anildash.com//2024/11/19/dont-call-it-a-substack/
Annalee's article, icymi
Anil Dash on why you should quit Substack while you still can: every new feature they add increases lock-in, making it harder to leave while they court some of the worst people online https://www.anildash.com/2024/11/19/dont-call-it-a-substack/
> Imagine the author of a book telling people to "read my Amazon". A great director trying to promote their film by saying "click on my Max". [...] There is no such thing as "my Substack", there is only your writing, and a forever fight against the world of pure enshittification.
> one change you can make today: you can talk about your work as your work. It's your newsletter, or your email, or your blog. Or just your writing. But it sure as hell isn't "your Substack".
https://www.anildash.com/2024/11/19/dont-call-it-a-substack/