4 ms·

Is that basically like Twitter then? A micro-blogging feature? Maybe that's why Twitter had blocked retweeting links containing to Substack.

ARandomerDude 4y ago
> Maybe that's why Twitter had blocked retweeting links containing to Substack. That seems to have accelerated the shift for some to Substack [1] (imagine if Google blocked searches for Bing or Brave!). Suppressing Substack makes the Twitter brand look weak and nervous. 1. https://reason.com/2023/04/10/elon-musk-matt-taibbi-twitter-substack/ https://reason.com/2023/04/10/elon-musk-matt-taibbi-twitter-...
- gwen-shapira 4y ago
  Substack also removed the "Also publish to Twitter" checkbox from the settings screen before publishing each post.
  - reaperducer 4y ago
    Is that Substack being evil, or the result of Twitter locking almost everyone out of its API recently?
    - gwen-shapira 4y ago
      I just shared an interesting fact that I learned while posting on Substack this morning. I don't know the reason, and generally I don't think of product changes in terms of good and evil.
  - basisword 4y ago
    I think that was because Twitter revoked their API access including breaking their Sign in with Twitter feature (at least that’s what I read a few days back).
- LegitShady 4y ago
  prediction - substack goes nowhere, like they currently are. Suppressing substack when substack is trying to advertise for a twitter competitor is just common sense. There's no need for twitter to advertise for a competitor. That isn't censorship, thats just normal business. If substack was depending on twitter for free data and free advertising they were the ones who were weak and nervous.
  - r053bud 4y ago
    Twitter was supposed to be the "public square", even Elon said as much. Restricting which goods and services are sold or marketed in said square is a shift away from that mentality.
    - mjmsmith 4y ago
      When you're even losing the other billionaires: https://mastodon.social/@malwaretech@infosec.exchange/110172199539446433 https://mastodon.social/@malwaretech@infosec.exchange/110172...
    - pessimizer 4y ago
      Twitter's another monopolist media company with a bunch of debt that needs to drown a potential competitor. I don't see Substack being able to become a direct competitor because the newsletter business is too good, and having closed twitter-like spaces that don't allow organized harassment is a good way for newsletters to build community and conversations. Twitter will remain the public version, where constant harassment from the ill and the covert has to be filtered out like spam. That being said, maybe the important things will start being said in private spaces and only end up in "public squares" via screenshot ten or fifteen minutes later.
    - Shekelphile 4y ago
      Of course. It's never been about free speech, but promoting Musk's personal interests and brand of politics.
  - marcinzm 4y ago
    As I see it if you have a significantly superior product then a competitor advertising on your platform is a positive since it just make you look even better in comparison. And a social media platform with 200 million daily users should be significantly superior to an identical clone with probably 1 million on a good day. Of course if you think you don't have a better product or that people hate your product that much then it's time to build moats and prevent people from jumping ship.
rchaud 4y ago
It's admitting that managing infrastructure for email newsletters is not a viable business. After all, you can't serve people targeted third party ads with just email.
- runnerup 4y ago
  Why not? Could insert an ad into the email. Personalized for each recipient even.
- jabradoodle 4y ago
  It depends what you mean by viable. Substack newsletters have a paid option, substack can take a cut of that and the infra costs of sending emails is tiny. If you want to bethe next massive aquistion/IPO, then maybe not.
dilap 4y ago
I think it was a bad move by Elon to ban (and good move to reverse, though some damage already done), but I see why he was pissed: it's a straight-up Twitter clone.

ARandomerDude 4y ago

> Maybe that's why Twitter had blocked retweeting links containing to Substack. That seems to have accelerated the shift for some to Substack [1] (imagine if Google blocked searches for Bing or Brave!). Suppressing Substack makes the Twitter brand look weak and nervous. 1. https://reason.com/2023/04/10/elon-musk-matt-taibbi-twitter-substack/ https://reason.com/2023/04/10/elon-musk-matt-taibbi-twitter-...

gwen-shapira 4y ago
Substack also removed the "Also publish to Twitter" checkbox from the settings screen before publishing each post.
- reaperducer 4y ago
  Is that Substack being evil, or the result of Twitter locking almost everyone out of its API recently?
  - gwen-shapira 4y ago
    I just shared an interesting fact that I learned while posting on Substack this morning. I don't know the reason, and generally I don't think of product changes in terms of good and evil.
- basisword 4y ago
  I think that was because Twitter revoked their API access including breaking their Sign in with Twitter feature (at least that’s what I read a few days back).
LegitShady 4y ago
prediction - substack goes nowhere, like they currently are. Suppressing substack when substack is trying to advertise for a twitter competitor is just common sense. There's no need for twitter to advertise for a competitor. That isn't censorship, thats just normal business. If substack was depending on twitter for free data and free advertising they were the ones who were weak and nervous.
- r053bud 4y ago
  Twitter was supposed to be the "public square", even Elon said as much. Restricting which goods and services are sold or marketed in said square is a shift away from that mentality.
  - mjmsmith 4y ago
    When you're even losing the other billionaires: https://mastodon.social/@malwaretech@infosec.exchange/110172199539446433 https://mastodon.social/@malwaretech@infosec.exchange/110172...
  - pessimizer 4y ago
    Twitter's another monopolist media company with a bunch of debt that needs to drown a potential competitor. I don't see Substack being able to become a direct competitor because the newsletter business is too good, and having closed twitter-like spaces that don't allow organized harassment is a good way for newsletters to build community and conversations. Twitter will remain the public version, where constant harassment from the ill and the covert has to be filtered out like spam. That being said, maybe the important things will start being said in private spaces and only end up in "public squares" via screenshot ten or fifteen minutes later.
  - Shekelphile 4y ago
    Of course. It's never been about free speech, but promoting Musk's personal interests and brand of politics.
- marcinzm 4y ago
  As I see it if you have a significantly superior product then a competitor advertising on your platform is a positive since it just make you look even better in comparison. And a social media platform with 200 million daily users should be significantly superior to an identical clone with probably 1 million on a good day. Of course if you think you don't have a better product or that people hate your product that much then it's time to build moats and prevent people from jumping ship.

rchaud 4y ago

It's admitting that managing infrastructure for email newsletters is not a viable business. After all, you can't serve people targeted third party ads with just email.

runnerup 4y ago
Why not? Could insert an ad into the email. Personalized for each recipient even.
jabradoodle 4y ago
It depends what you mean by viable. Substack newsletters have a paid option, substack can take a cut of that and the infra costs of sending emails is tiny. If you want to bethe next massive aquistion/IPO, then maybe not.

dilap 4y ago

I think it was a bad move by Elon to ban (and good move to reverse, though some damage already done), but I see why he was pissed: it's a straight-up Twitter clone.