Notes Notes Notes Notes
The not-Twitter social network that Elon Musk was freaking out about is here. Join us!
Hey pals. It’s Emilie from The Culture Journalist. I just published my first note on Substack Notes, which is about an idea I’ve been kicking around for a minute now.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably heard about how Twitter started throttling links from this platform last week after it came out that Substack was creating its own proprietary social network for bloggers and readers. As Andrea pointed out, it felt like a pretty perfect illustration of the dynamics that Rebecca Giblin and Cory Doctorow discuss in their excellent new book Chokepoint Capitalism, and which Cory was kind enough to come on the show to discuss the other week. Which is ironic, because look at what happened when people tried to access that episode via Twitter:
Just like the platform’s decision to label NPR as a “state-affiliated media,” it was a pretty cruel thing to do to bloggers and podcasters at a time when the entire journalism profession is already having a pretty rough year. Kudos to KCRW, Andrea’s place of employment, for being the first major media outlet we know of to ditch the platform entirely — and to NPR itself for following suit this week.
Anyway, Twitter’s apparent retaliation against Substack seems to have come to an end, and Notes, the new social network in question, is now here. Substack describes it as a place to “share links, images, quick thoughts, and snippets from Substack posts.” Andrea and I aren’t exactly sure how we will use it yet. But any place where we can chit-chat with our listeners that isn’t driven by the incentives of online advertising is something we are willing to try, and we would love for you to join us there!
If you’d like to use it to ask questions or suggest topics you’d like us to cover on the pod, we are all ears. Also, let us know if you have any thoughts or personal anecdotes to share about jobflation.
How to join
Head to substack.com/notes or find the “Notes” tab in the Substack app. As a subscriber to The Culture Journalist, you’ll automatically see our notes. Feel free to like, reply, or share them around! If you encounter any issues, you can always refer to the Notes FAQ for assistance.