Substack and the granting of optionality
Substack's role is to grant its readers/writers optionality. This is what makes it different from a place like X that tries to own and dominate your attention. I want the ability to:
- Determine which Notes feed is the main one.
- Control the main icons in my app (and turn off Reels).
- Let readers opt-in for sections on subscription.
I wouldn’t even be that mad if they brought in advertising, assuming there is optionality (meaning, 1) it’s not in the Notes feed, 2) writers choose to get paid by putting ads in their own posts, 3) readers can pay a monthly fee to turn off all ads).
It is clear that Substack is making moves that lead to revenue (because they get a cut), and that’s fine, so long as they grant us optionality.