VC Andreessen Horowitz invested on Substack in 2019 to support their growth but that kind of funding usually comes with conditions. Although Substack shifted to equity crowdfunding in its latest investment round in 2023, if the platform keeps growing and expanding and needs to rise capital again, crowdfunding won't be enough. With the rapid rise of AI, and with so many VCs worried about copyright protection hindering their returns, I'd say we haven't yet seen the dark side of Substack, but I'd be surprised if the platform remained the same (without ads, free for users, easy to navigate and get used to) for the foreseeable future. Instagram had very noble ideas in its inception until it was bought by Facebook to be exploited first, and then became the only tool Meta had to compete again TikTok. That's when users started to complain and eventually are transitioning to here. Same with Twitter. It's part of the evolution of every platform. Not sure when the day Substack will start shifting will arrive, but like I said it's naive to think it'll always be this oasis of calm.
An important distinguishing feature of SS is that the creator owns the email adresses of his subscribers, and thus can move his newsletter to another platform, or to his owm website easily. The creator is therefore not beholden to SS. All this might change of course.
That is of course a great advantage. Out of all the social media/content creation platforms out there, I really enjoy Substack the most and I'm glad it exists. And while I don't want to sound too pessimistic here nor predict its downfall, I think in 3-5 years it'll evolve.
For what is worth, I do hope Substack stays the same for a very long time. I love discovering new writers, interacting with people like we're doing here, which by the way I love as most people are interested in having a conversation rather than arguing, and all that it's truly refreshing : )
Not sure how substack is the exception to the points you are making....is my thought too....
VC Andreessen Horowitz invested on Substack in 2019 to support their growth but that kind of funding usually comes with conditions. Although Substack shifted to equity crowdfunding in its latest investment round in 2023, if the platform keeps growing and expanding and needs to rise capital again, crowdfunding won't be enough. With the rapid rise of AI, and with so many VCs worried about copyright protection hindering their returns, I'd say we haven't yet seen the dark side of Substack, but I'd be surprised if the platform remained the same (without ads, free for users, easy to navigate and get used to) for the foreseeable future. Instagram had very noble ideas in its inception until it was bought by Facebook to be exploited first, and then became the only tool Meta had to compete again TikTok. That's when users started to complain and eventually are transitioning to here. Same with Twitter. It's part of the evolution of every platform. Not sure when the day Substack will start shifting will arrive, but like I said it's naive to think it'll always be this oasis of calm.
An important distinguishing feature of SS is that the creator owns the email adresses of his subscribers, and thus can move his newsletter to another platform, or to his owm website easily. The creator is therefore not beholden to SS. All this might change of course.
That is of course a great advantage. Out of all the social media/content creation platforms out there, I really enjoy Substack the most and I'm glad it exists. And while I don't want to sound too pessimistic here nor predict its downfall, I think in 3-5 years it'll evolve.
Thank you for your insights. I'll be interested to see how it all evolves over time.
As a result of the originalpost and comments, today I've held a lengthy conversation regarding issues raised.
For what is worth, I do hope Substack stays the same for a very long time. I love discovering new writers, interacting with people like we're doing here, which by the way I love as most people are interested in having a conversation rather than arguing, and all that it's truly refreshing : )