EEDA Newsletter Vol 6, Res 16: What is Needed to Help People Leave Substack
This is a public issue of Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice. Feel free to share it!
Hi friends! We had a three-day weekend last weekend and used one of the days to go through some of my mother’s boxes for a good 6-7 hours. We didn’t get through everything or even half of things but we made a good dent in the pile. Now that we’re back to it, I plan on getting back to updating Optimistic Hoarder more frequently. There are already five posts in the archive and subscribing is free. I was also motivated to start going through some of my own things. My entire old wardrobe was made of about 95% pinup style clothing. I legit dressed like this every day (photo from early 2017):
I do not wear these clothes anymore and I’d like to recoup some of the money spent (they’re not cheap!) so the process of putting things on Poshmark will probably begin this weekend.
Last week’s EEDA Pod episode: Taking What's Best: A Guide to Self-Help
In this episode of “Enthusiastic Encouragement and Dubious Advice,” Patricia and Nicole discuss how to read self-help effectively. They delve into their views on self-help books, highlighting the trap of constant improvement and sharing methods for effectively integrating helpful insights into daily life. They discuss the importance of discerning valuable advice from what's not relevant, and the need to actively apply self-help tips rather than just consuming them passively. Additionally, they reflect on personal experiences and the significance of their annual cherry-picking tradition.
You can find our show, Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, and wherever else you get your podcasts. You can also support the show on Patreon, where we have some perks for paid subscribers with even more coming this year. You can also just make a recurring donation through subscribing to our Patreon, as our show is independently run and without ads. It helps keep us going!
It’s another resource week and apparently I’m in my feelings so let’s get to it!
Reminder: Substack still actively supports Nazis and is an actual source of income for the far right
Last week I wrote about how much potential I may have sacrificed by not staying on the nazi platform, but this week I was reminded well, I’m also no longer on Twitter and the two platforms are basically brothers. I’m working on setting up shells of my newsletters to claim my names/handles/etc that just have one post with a link to my newsletters on Buttondown.
A couple of Bluesky posts were helpful to me recently. Bluesky user Ketan Joshi says:
I see soooooooo many great writers putting so much of their time, effort, skill and money squarely in the lap of a really evil and untrustworthy company.
Morality questions aside: is it worth planting seeds in THIS soil, in this moment? Does it seem likely to pay off? So many alternatives!
I get that 'the interface is clean' or whatever but folks: you are sending out a newsletter here. This is technology that has been around for DECADES.
He also posted this article from 2023, which, again, incredibly helpful information: Substack Cofounder Defends Commercial Relationships with Nazis
Bluesky user Pavel says:
Substack is not pro-Nazi by accident either, as a side effect of "free speech". It is a vehicle for Marc Andreessen to funnel money to the far right, because the economics of Substack as a business don't make any sense as anything other than a political project worth running at a massive loss.
He also linked this 2024 article, Substack’s problem with racists: The publishing platform has become a major source of income for the far right
And in the same post, quoted Bluesky user Anil Dash who says:
What this means: They either must fundamentally transform the current platform to extract three orders of magnitude more value from the trajectory they're on. (No.) Or, more likely, this is exactly the political project that Andreessen & co said it was when they funded it. Just like Musk buying X.
Some Thoughts on the Above:
Substack is really enticing. Believe me, I get it. People are able to have phenomenal growth and visibility there which can result in actual financial benefits. The fact that writers from historically excluded groups and ones who consider themselves liberal, “allies,” etc. build and remain on Substack is indicative of a larger issue, or rather, an issue that we see pop up in a lot of ways all along the political spectrum: the potential benefits and ease outweigh the motivation to do the things that align with people’s values.
For years people have been telling people to stop shopping on Amazon (if they don’t have to), but some people didn’t stop until just after the inauguration this year (full disclosure: like us). And we’re finding it easier than anticipated. Ditto boycotting Target. But if I want to subscribe to the BroadwayHD streaming channel, it is $19.99 per month; however, if I do it through Amazon, it is $8.99 per month. An $11 monthly difference is a lot of money for most people. It can be more enticing to keep giving money to Amazon because it may be more affordable (of course, then I ask, what is the real cost?)
Those of us who are pro-choice don’t think twice when we ask anti-abortionists about what they are doing to be “pro-life” of the babies when they’re born, or children, or pregnant people (they do nothing, of course). We want to abolish the prison industrial complex and the police but most places don’t have structures and teams in place to call when help is needed or restorative justice is required. While calling for abolition, we also need to invest in the infrastructure we wish to see in the world.
It feels like I’m off the rails but stay with me: We want people to be off Substack so we need to support people off Substack. This means sharing newsletters, like mine and others, that are on Buttondown or Beehiiv or Ghost or wherever else they end up. It means sharing Patreon links. It means sharing podcasts. Please read, subscribe, and listen, yes absolutely. But getting the word out is just as important. Stop giving Substack your money. Message the creators and let them know you want to support them via paid subscription but you will not do it while they are on that platform. Boycotts start from the bottom up. When the creators you like do eventually migrate elsewhere, make sure you show up for them and help be a part of that new infrastructure.
Yes, I recognize that we can’t do everything “right” but that doesn’t stop us from trying to do right by our morals where we can. Before you come in here with any whataboutism, we have a whole podcast episode on this titled “The Impossibility of Being Perfectly Ethical.”
If anyone is interested in moving to Buttondown, I’m happy to share my experience!
Recent & Current Reads
Inclusion of a book in this section is not necessarily a recommendation and these books won’t always be added to my Bookshop. Links are affiliate links.
Recently Read:
Amplitudes: Stories of Queer and Trans Futurity edited by Lee Mandelo
Harmattan Season by Tochi Onyebuchi
We Can Do Hard Things: Answers to Life's 20 Questions by Amanda Doyle, Abby Wambach, and Glennon Doyle
Currently Reading:
Lessons in Magic and Disaster by Charlie Jane Anders (out 8/19)
Dawn by Octavia E. Butler
Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds by Adrienne Maree Brown
That’s it for this week! You can shop many books I’ve mentioned in this newsletter at my affiliate shop, The Infophile’s Bookshop, and support independent bookstores. In fact, any Bookshop, Amazon, or Etsy links in this newsletter are affiliate links so if you shop through those, it helps support my work. Or you can leave me a tip on Ko-fi, Paypal, or Venmo.
If you want to send me some snail mail, you can find me at P.O. Box 21481, Oakland, CA 94620-1481.
You can find our podcast, Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, and wherever else you get your podcasts.