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Why Substack Is Poised To Be the Next Twitter
As Twitter goes down in flames, the newsletter platform is quietly stealing its most valuable writers…and features.
In the past week I’ve gotten an email form Substack at least five times a day informing me that someone I follow on Twitter is now publishing on Substack. As we gear up for a mass exodus of Twitter users— although we probably should have left by now, so maybe we’re all just sinking with the ship—in the wake of Musk’s takeover, people are taking precautions. Even if they haven’t left entirely, they’re making alternative plans.
Twitter is, primarily, the social platform for writers. Whereas architects, designers, fashionistas, all cherish the visual emphasis of Instgarm, Twitter is filled with quippy comedy writers, novelists desperate for distraction, and pundits exchanging bite sized op-eds. It makes sense, then, that the heir to Twitter should cater to writers.
Anyone who builds products for writers should know that what we want more than anything is validation.
Substack is smart. It has quickly grown as a top competitor to publishing platforms servicing writers, like, well, Medium. Medium — a far bigger writing ecosystem — is now chasing Substack features like personal newsletters, seeing their rise in popularity. Since its launch in 2017, Substack has been clean and simple about its product approach, offering an appealing simplicity when it comes to both purpose and design. It’s not trying to be more than it is. At least not yet.
Last week Substack announced their verified check mark feature. Sound familiar? Substack sent the email just days after Musk attempted (and extravagantly failed) to launch the shift of Twitter’s own check mark strategy, all but stripping the blue mark — Twitters most coveted asset — of any value other than the cheap eight bucks he will surely not receive. This was a brilliant move by Substack. Anyone who builds products for writers should know that what we want more than anything is validation…
