Substack, Clarence Thomas, and Me

Have you investigated Substack?  

It's a long form combination of Twitter and Blogger - the quick response and sharing features of Elon Musk's hulk of what used to be a source of information but which is now just supporting his ego AND the regular postings of people I know and trust.  

While my Twitter feed was curated to keep most of the crazies at bay, so many of the people I followed have left the platform that it's no longer very useful at all.  I counted on Joyce Vance's insight for the legal background on Trump's troubles; she's now on Substack, sharing her ideas and opinions and pictures of her chickens and their new coop.  I don't have to open threads any more.  It's all laid out on one page, just like my blog.

There are paid and free options for everyone.  Instead of resubscribing to Vanity Fair, I used those dollars to follow her and have the opportunity to comment and get extra posts.  It was a smart move.  Although I thought I'd miss the gossipy, sleek, and shiny magazine pages and their attempts to keep me up to date on what's cool and trendy, I've found that I don't really care that much.  I have Little Cuter to keep me up to date on those issues.

I read long and meandering posts from Kareem Abdul Jabbar.  He's not the best writer in the world, but his viewpoint is interesting and often quite thought provoking.  His profile introduces him as offering

his take on news, pop culture, sports, and whatever else interests him.  There are links to music, outrage over Republicans stripping Americans of their rights, and analysis of the sports world that is entirely believable.  After all, he's Kareem.

I don't care that much what is behind Dan Pfeiffer's pay wall; the early portions of his rants are enough to let me know what the old Obama crew is thinking.  Still, it's nice to have a little bit of outrage every few days.

Heather Cox Richardson is writing the history of America as it happens.  She's fact based, delving deeper into the stories that Google News gives only brief notes.  Her most recent expose of the DOJ's efforts to combat the fentanyl epidemic gave me some hope that actual steps are being taken to end the scourge.

Judd Legum's Popular Information, Cheryl Strayed, and Larissa Babij's a Kind of Refugee are three very different and interesting takes on the world we live in.  I recommend them all. Krassensteins' Democratic Informer - Fighting Hate and Lies is often a video.  The twins who create the content are smart and Jewish and opinionated; if you don't agree with them you might be appalled.  

I'm still browsing and picking new reads, reads which are labeled by the length of time it will take to read them and whose identifying symbolism changes from a red dot to a black check mark once they are finished.  I spend less time rereading stuff; that's a good thing.

Then, there are NOTES, which are restacked and passed on by others.  There are also comments - civil, intelligent, honest comments.  A nasty piece of verbiage was called out immediately.   Substack is aiming to be a respectful forum, and thus far it seems to be meeting that goal.

I left my first comment after Joyce Vance referenced Stephen Beschloss's concerns about Clarence Thomas.  It was a comment I researched and spell checked (twice), comparing Abe Fortas and Clarence Thomas.  If I could find it again I would copy it for you.  Alas, I have no idea where it went after I saw it the first time.  It's a new platform, and they are still finding their way.  Hamish McKenzie, one of the creators, wrote what's quoted below.  Read on, if you're interested.  

***** 

I don’t think it’s helpful to think of Notes as a Twitter alternative. It’s something new and different. It’s a sharing and recommendation system that is part of the Substack network, so it’s about growth and discovery and connection and community. It will reveal itself more over time (in some ways that we can’t anticipate, I bet) and as it does it will become ever more distant from the social networks we know today. It’s a subscription network, not a social network; it’s something different.

As for content moderation: kick the tires for a bit, spend some time on Notes, hang out in your Subscribed tab, then dabble in the Home tab. See what the experience is like. See how often you come across deleterious stuff. Block people you really don’t want to hear from. My bet is that the dynamics of the subscription network and recommendation graph make it default much better than other platforms. We have content guidelines that we will continue to enforce, but it’s the design of the system, and the more power and control that you ultimately have as a user, that will make Notes a great place to spend your time.

We’ll be publishing our vision and philosophy about how we ensure Notes is a good place for discussion later this week. We hope it will spark some productive thought and critique.