Even though it’s still strictly subscriber-driven, with no advertising at all, Substack is inexorably converging to the social media norm.
When they introduced Notes as a Twitter competitor, the whole flavor changed abruptly. Notes instantly became Twitter, with most activity from meaningless disputes and bullies. Because Notes was the best way to gather clicks, the writers who participated most often in the Twitter trolling and bullying got richer, and the non-participants got poorer.
Now the ‘Explore’ feature, formerly based on recommendations from your own subscribed authors, is taking the same form as Youtube’s Suggested For You. Explore tries to pull you back toward orthodoxy. Every unorthodox recommendation is followed by a matching orthodox opponent, who was NOT recommended by my faves.
Polistra's Mill 