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Thomas Klaffke's avatar

"No sooner do you get used to one pace of production than the platforms seem to demand more. More posts, more microcontent to support those posts, and more networks on which to post and cross-post all of that content. A platform’s profits can’t grow exponentially without accelerating the hamster wheels on which its users run."

This basically describes how Substack is changing as we speak, with all those new social features that accelerate the pace and increase pressure to "produce content"

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Annie Gottlieb's avatar

This is why I was queasy about starting a Substack—I finally did, but with no subscriber buttons or donation appeals. I’m queasy both about adding to the overload and the din, and about shackling myself to the obligation to subscribers, having to look for something to say rather than only write when I can’t contain myself. Substack is the best thing going (especially its comments sections), but the ability to monetize and even make a living from it has brought in professionalism and the PRODUCTIVITY mindset with all its scaffolding of tips’n’tricks, affirmations and procrastination busters. All driven, ultimately, by the competitive demands of the attention economy and the high cost of living

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