Changing How I Use Substack

In my last post, I said I wanted to spend less time on Substack. But it's also introduced me to many wonderful writers. I love how people there take the time to write about their lives and what they're thinking.

It reminds me I'm not alone. There are plenty of people who think along similar lines and use writing to document their lives. The comments are often warm, too. I don't see that nearly as often on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, or X.

To me, Substack sits somewhere between a personal website and social media. Maybe it's a matter of scale, but it doesn't seem to have the same culture of public pile-ons. Posts tend to offer more reflection instead of just venting, while still getting more feedback than they would on a personal website.

Still, I haven't felt like using Substack much lately. The social features are part of it, but I also want to focus more on newsletters. When I open the app now, it drops me straight into the Notes feed. The posts there aren't always about a clear topic, and they aren't quite what I came to Substack to read.

I want to use Substack more as a newsletter platform: spend less time scrolling the feed or watching the numbers, read more newsletters from other writers, and send my own more often. I'd also like a little more feedback than I get on my personal website.