1. No Substack isn't a platform and no it's nothing like Google/FB/Spotify, etc. It could become like them, but right now it is simply a neutral service provider to content creators. It's like a magazine distributor.
2. There are few mechanisms for 'lock-in' for either users or writers. Users are using email, and it's as easy to receive email from anyone. Writers can port their lists if they want (though the financial data is probably a bit trickier).
3. There are no algorithms and there's no amplification. It's just a useful way for writers to communicate with readers, and to get paid from people who want to buy their content.
4. If you don't like Substack you can actually just... start a competitor. The technology is replicable, email is an open system, and there are multiple payment systems available.
5. Substack doesn't need content moderation any more than any email system needs content moderation. Which is to say, it doesn't. Substack also shows that all the arguments about content moderation assume massive power by algorithm-dominated platforms.
6. In other words, it's proof that we can easily create a healthy media ecosystem if we just replicate the principles at work in policy across the internet. Openness, neutrality, clear pricing, and low barriers to entry.
(That's how podcasting worked before Spotify...)
(That's how podcasting worked before Spotify...)
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