What happens if enough of us refuse to write for cereal-box attention spans? Are there not enough of us?
This is the equivalent of second-screen writing, only somehow worse. What if we maintained quality instead? Would that increase attention to it, in a similar way that interest increases focus in ADHD?
Can you imagine trying to sell Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance to this crowd? Quality can't be maintained on the fumes of vibes.
The logical endpoint is unimaginable. You're talking about this specific app here, but this is supposed to be an app for writers and thinkers. You are describing a structural redefinition into the opposite of that (and I'm not disagreeing; we can all see it happening). If people stop reading long form, writers will eventually stop providing it, and then we're just running commercials.
I feel like this is a really bad idea to accept, because it won't affect everyone equally. World leaders can't operate on micro-attention spans, for instance.
I get the point of this essay, but it also makes me appreciate: some of us are still here for long-form writing, slow readership, and the freedom to build a body of work over time.
I’ve only been on Substack 20 weeks--I’m already on my 20th long-form essay. A few people show up, ❤️, comment, and I do the same for them. That feels like real writer support to me.
I haven’t imported my email list or tried to force growth, so my audience is still small. But I don’t mind that. What I love here is the freedom to experiment and let my writing become more myself over time. If an audience comes, I want it to come slowly enough that the work stays true.
I have been working on my first novel for the past 3 years. This platform is a reprieve, for sure
That’s what keeps me showing up each week: The memoir style versus fiction.
It’s true, sometimes a tweet-like note (circa 2006) going viral can feel a little crushing. And I work a little harder on my notes, hoping to draw people in to read my essays. But if there were a paywall on creativity, it ends when I create a new article. I release that need to please on the blank page.
I've been on Substack for a few months now, and I rather like the notes and visibility function. The notes expose me to people whose writing I would otherwise have no access to (I'm not on IG or any other social media). It feels like a self-sustaining model: notes to promote long form, long form that can be compressed into a note at certain points. I've found so many people writing openly from their hearts and sharing extermely personal stories, but maybe I missed the early wave of Substack and have no idea what I'm missing.
I think you’re a bit optimistic about what Notes are doing.
In practice, they function like any other short-form feed, and most of what goes viral on Substack now is the post layer, not long-form articles. The discovery and visibility loop is increasingly driven by short, fast content, while articles mostly get traction when they’re already boosted by that layer.
So the “self-sustaining ecosystem” is a bit uneven: the short-form side is what actually carries attention, and the long-form side is increasingly downstream from it.
What happens if enough of us refuse to write for cereal-box attention spans? Are there not enough of us?
This is the equivalent of second-screen writing, only somehow worse. What if we maintained quality instead? Would that increase attention to it, in a similar way that interest increases focus in ADHD?
Can you imagine trying to sell Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance to this crowd? Quality can't be maintained on the fumes of vibes.
The logical endpoint is unimaginable. You're talking about this specific app here, but this is supposed to be an app for writers and thinkers. You are describing a structural redefinition into the opposite of that (and I'm not disagreeing; we can all see it happening). If people stop reading long form, writers will eventually stop providing it, and then we're just running commercials.
I feel like this is a really bad idea to accept, because it won't affect everyone equally. World leaders can't operate on micro-attention spans, for instance.
When there’s an algorithm, there’s a performance. That’s the sad part about all social media.
Agree, the algorithm always seem to win. Sadly
Keep the depth
I get the point of this essay, but it also makes me appreciate: some of us are still here for long-form writing, slow readership, and the freedom to build a body of work over time.
I’ve only been on Substack 20 weeks--I’m already on my 20th long-form essay. A few people show up, ❤️, comment, and I do the same for them. That feels like real writer support to me.
I haven’t imported my email list or tried to force growth, so my audience is still small. But I don’t mind that. What I love here is the freedom to experiment and let my writing become more myself over time. If an audience comes, I want it to come slowly enough that the work stays true.
I have been working on my first novel for the past 3 years. This platform is a reprieve, for sure
That’s what keeps me showing up each week: The memoir style versus fiction.
It’s true, sometimes a tweet-like note (circa 2006) going viral can feel a little crushing. And I work a little harder on my notes, hoping to draw people in to read my essays. But if there were a paywall on creativity, it ends when I create a new article. I release that need to please on the blank page.
I've been on Substack for a few months now, and I rather like the notes and visibility function. The notes expose me to people whose writing I would otherwise have no access to (I'm not on IG or any other social media). It feels like a self-sustaining model: notes to promote long form, long form that can be compressed into a note at certain points. I've found so many people writing openly from their hearts and sharing extermely personal stories, but maybe I missed the early wave of Substack and have no idea what I'm missing.
I think you’re a bit optimistic about what Notes are doing.
In practice, they function like any other short-form feed, and most of what goes viral on Substack now is the post layer, not long-form articles. The discovery and visibility loop is increasingly driven by short, fast content, while articles mostly get traction when they’re already boosted by that layer.
So the “self-sustaining ecosystem” is a bit uneven: the short-form side is what actually carries attention, and the long-form side is increasingly downstream from it.