Is Substack Idealistic?

Ruminations of one "Substackero"

I don’t know: Is Substack even possible?

Reflecting on the matter (I know that this is at the risk of turning Substack against itself! Ha ha ha!!!) “social networking” is centrally unified, because there is host, like FB or Subst., and then you get all the members. So, yes it is sort of a social group, but it is also sort of centralized. (This is also how the economics of it works, since the central “host” takes a little money from each member. Yeah, something like that.) You are not relating to others as you were just a group of equals meeting in a cafe or normal community group. There is not physical setting, like meeting at the cafe, or being there physically there with others.

Another thing that “social” networking under a host platform is not is a personal website. There was a time when people had the idea that everyone would get they own personal website. Remember that? I do. Or one would have a blog and at the right hand column would be a “blogroll,” like a Rolodex of all the blogs one has or all the friends one has. That was extremely cumbersome — I thought so!

But with a coordinating host, which is the FB or Subst. method, it is like you ideally have all these persons you are linked to or whom you sort of socialize with but like Cub Scouts, there is a Den Mother. Essentially the host platform is in charge of your social life. That is not what happens in real life where one makes one’s friends all by oneself.

Wow, did we ever really do that?

That sounds really dangerous and unstable

Now, Substack has a policy view. The policy view is that They, the owners, do not want to dominate anybody. Very democratic. So it seems. But at the end of the day they are still in control. Even if they do not want to be.

And, you too can be a minor totalitarian — but first you need to get a whole bunch of followers.

Please follow me. Please be my subscriber

and follower and lover and friend. Oh, and — slave! Don’t forget that one. (I know you wanted to).

I know you wanted to

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p.s. Dear beloved Substack platform: In your defense, in this articel I used both pull quotes and block quotes. And that is only possible on Substack.

I certainly hope I have exhaustively covered all the possibilities of saying “yay.”