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Lisa Cunningham DeLauney's avatar

I would have thought that social media marketers would be hot on focusing on core business, not trying to be all things to everyone. I guess everyone struggles with niching down!

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Neela 🌶️'s avatar

You raise a great point on the Substack/TikTok split bro. There's a tendency for platforms to chase what's trending without considering core audience fit. I’d love to see Substack double down on sustaining a deeper writing-first community rather than trying to mimic video-first platforms.

I also realized that there is an issue with diversity here. There is a very decent guy, Salvador. He goes around translating notes and helpful articles into Spanish for his audience, except we don't have the proper tags on here for Salvador to grow. He has reached out to Substack. No help.

Writers need sustainable ecosystems just as much as creators do—and that’s hard to build when everyone’s busy changing to keep up with the algorithm.

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Salvador Lorca 📚 ⭕️'s avatar

Many thanks, Neela.

Today I wrote in the “Substack Diary” the following, in relation a Thaddeus Tomas note:

This reminds me of the numerous comments on Substack's management posts asking (such comments) that it focus on being a platform for creators/writers and forget about wanting to be TikTok, and being ignored by management.

Of course, we have some “power”: for example, by ignoring, mutating, or making this an inhospitable place for those who want to import the hatred of X or LinkedIn's generative AI. But that's where our power ends.

If Substack wants to be TikTok (the second most downloaded app in the world last month, since no one believes the rules coming out of the US anymore), I don't think there's much we can do.

https://columnas.substack.com/p/ia-artistas-tiktok-y-substack-3-consejos

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Neela 🌶️'s avatar

So important - 'making it inhospitable' is key - ecosystems shape behavior. If we reward thoughtful writing over viral hooks in our engagement, we create different incentive structures than TikTok-style algorithms would. Ultimately, we can do our part here. So true, Salvador..........

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Salvador Lorca 📚 ⭕️'s avatar

Thanks, Neela.

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Mack Collier's avatar

@Salvador Lorca 📚 ⭕️ is the best! Thank you sis, we are on the same page here, Substack is a platform for writers first. It makes sense to make video creators comfortable here, but not at the expense of the core user.

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Salvador Lorca 📚 ⭕️'s avatar

Many thanks, Mack, you are really kind.

Today I wrote in the “Substack Diary” (a publication about Substack and with commentaries about articles published the day before; a new project) the following, in relation a Thaddeus Tomas Note:

This reminds me of the numerous comments on Substack's management posts asking (such comments) that it focus on being a platform for creators/writers and forget about wanting to be TikTok, and being ignored by management.

Of course, we have some “power”: for example, by ignoring, mutating, or making this an inhospitable place for those who want to import the hatred of X or LinkedIn's generative AI. But that's where our power ends.

If Substack wants to be TikTok (the second most downloaded app in the world last month, since no one believes the rules coming out of the US anymore), I don't think there's much we can do.

https://columnas.substack.com/p/ia-artistas-tiktok-y-substack-3-consejos

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Hans Jorgensen's avatar

Thanks for sharing stats about AI usage. When I shop at Payless, I never worry about AI!

Okay, I don't shop at Payless, but that's mostly because I keep a pair of shoes for decades.

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Mack Collier's avatar

Ha! I don’t shop at Payless cause it’s too fancy for me 🤣.

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