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The first social media platform was launched in 1997 according to Google Insights. It was a platform called 6Degrees and I’m thinking that it was a platform that leaned into the 6Degrees of Separation or Kevin Bacon trope (if you’re old enough to know what I’m talking about). With each new platform the goal seems to be the same but approached in incrementally different ways. Connect through photos, audio, video or conversation. Substack has always been a social space, a place where writers were in community with one another, uplifted and read each other’s works. Compared to other digital platforms, Substack is relatively new as it was launched in 2017. Facebook for comparison was launched in 2004. As Substack adds livestreaming, leans into the “Notes” feature and chat options-I feel like people off the platform are trying to figure out the following question “Is Substack Social Media” Let’s figure that out.
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Show Notes
For the sake of simplicity I’m going to say that Substack is social media. BUT (I capitalized this in the show notes) It’s completely different than any of the current platforms and most people looking to start on the platform will likely have a challenging experience because the way you interact on the platform and the expectation of quality is different.
You can’t just pop off on Substack. The audience is comprised of people who love to read, create and curate a significant amount of long-form content and enjoy a good banter back and forth. This is completely different from my experience on every other platform where you can comment in “real time” Drop a meme, emoji or one word.
That’s not Substack.
Many people on the platform are building the thing that they wished they had. A community of African American Film enthusiasts who are sharing deep dives into their favorite movies with audio clips, photos and video such as the Black Film Archive by Maya Cade. Creators are sharing serialized fiction and non-fiction. There are creators on Substack who are curating opportunities such my friend Danielle Desir’s Grants for Creators.
Substack is slow social vs. the fast social that we’re used to on every other platform. Think of it in the same way that a person who heads to their favorite coffee shop to read an actual book, newspaper or spends some time journaling.
In fact, many creators on the platform have been unhappy with many of the new changes to the platform. They can’t stand the livestreams, Notes (think of it like threads) or chat. I understand their fears. In some ways Substack is very much a walled garden.
By the nature of the platform design, I doubt that Substack will ever become “fast” media similar to Threads, Instagram, etc. it’s just not set up for that and doesn’t attract an audience that is lit up by that type of fast interaction in real time.
Substack is Social Media
For those of you who enjoy sharing obscure details, love words like petrichor and embracing your creativity-Substack will nurture your creative spirit. I thought I would end with some negatives and positives about Substack as a social media platform.
Negatives
- If you’re trying to do hard sales-You will turn off your audience.
- Monetization can be tricky on the platform because of the audience-They are building creative projects too and sometimes aren’t looking to buy stuff from you. They’re also looking for an audience for what they’re building.
- I’ve heard grumblings around customer service-The bigger your project gets the more likely you’re going to need some support. Right now it sounds like the platform needs to work on how they help their creators.
- It can feel like the same creators’ video content are being shared on the platform. I think this will change as other creators reimagine how to incorporate what feels like traditional social media into their approach to content creation on the platform.
Positives
- The longevity of livestream content is unmatched! Myself and two other amazing creators-Corey Gumbs founder of the Black Podcasters Association and Angela Hollowell of Please Hustle Responsibly host a show called “Shh, We’re Talking” we’re still getting reactions to livestreams that we streamed weeks ago.
- You don’t have to engage with the Notes feed as frequently as you would have to on Threads/Instagram. It’s a much slower more thoughtful pace. Many creators report being on Notes a couple of times a week vs. several times a day.
- For me the Chat, Messaging and Livestream features are great for engaging with the community that I’ve been slowly but surely building since 2022. In fact, I find these features to be community first features vs. connecting with random people on the platform.
- One of my favorite social components to being on Substack is the comment section on posts. I feel like this feature doesn’t get discussed enough. When I first started blogging back in the day, comments on posts was what kept me going.
What Is Substack
It is definitely a type of social media. But it has to be approached with care and thoughtfulness. I’m still not sure how certain projects go viral and others don’t-I just know that we’re still in the early stages of growth for the platform and I definitely want to be a part of the group of creators who gets to enjoy that upward organic trajectory.
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