My Thoughts on Notes
Substack Notes: A new place to connect and get to know each other!
Substack recently released their new notes feature, It’s basically Twitter for writers.
Do I like it? Yes. Do I think It’s a step in the right direction? Maybe. As more and more platforms take turns in publishing their version of short-form content, I can’t help but feel that we’re being rushed into a weird world where our attention span is dictated by the length of a Tiktok video. The one thing I love about Substack is that it’s a big online community that has everything under the sun, written in-depth by genuine and respected writers. Now imagine buying your local newsletter to find two small pages with a bunch of headlines and little to no information, you’d feel disappointed, uninformed, scammed even. That’s what a Tiktok feed is.
Another problem with short-form content is that it’s a breeding ground for misinformation; which is harder to spread with long-form content, because a longer publication adds more depth and value to each article and provides the space for a creator to dive into the details, explain his thought process and his actions without being forced to cram everything in a thirty second clip. And while I don’t believe Notes will be used this way, or will follow the dreaded path of Twitter -mainly because this site’s target users are accomplished writers- with a couple more lines of code and a little push of a button, Substack can easily tip the edge and overwhelm it’s audience by staying focused on numbers as well as forgetting the mission and the value of a platform like Substack, which is empowering writers everywhere.
I don’t blame Substack for wanting to get in on the wheel. After all, the whole point of a business is to be profitable, and to do that it has to keep up with the latest trends. I am just concerned that it’s gonna be very hard for that wheel to stop rolling as soon as it starts getting momentum down the hill. It either stops now or it keeps rolling.. and rolling.
The one advantage Substack has over something like Instagram is its shift towards longer more in depth articles which provide value rather then the smaller more chaotic world of short-form videos. If that shift is somehow reversed, If more and more emphasis is being given to notes, and more and more engagement is being driven through using it, Substack might actually become: “The Twitter for Writers”.
Let’s hope that day doesn’t come.
Anyway, here’s the pre-made template Substack wanted me so desperately to post. I edited a few things to make it more fun :)
Here’s your chance to be an active member in the ShieldMe community!
I published my first note on Substack Notes, and would love for you to join me there!
Notes is a new space on
for us to share links, short posts, quotes, photos, and more. I plan to use it for things that don’t fit in the newsletter, like work-in-progress, behind the scenes, small articles or quick questions. The notes community will also participate in making decisions related to ShieldMe by voting on polls. (such as what should the next topic be about)I will try my best to be active on there, so make sure to go say hi!
How to join
Head to substack.com/notes or find the “Notes” tab in the Substack app. As a subscriber to ShieldMe, you’ll automatically see my notes. Feel free to like, reply, or share them around!
You can also share notes of your own. I hope this becomes a space where every reader of ShieldMe can share thoughts, ideas, and interesting quotes from the things we're reading on
, and beyond.If you encounter any issues, you can always refer to the Notes FAQ for assistance. Looking forward to seeing you there!
Hopefully Substack will take strong measures to protect its users