Substack Ain't No Island
Where to digitally live when the rest of the internet gives you bullshit
YUP, YOU READ THAT right.
Substack isnāt an island. Itās not my island, or your island, or for that matter anyoneās island.
(Okay, okay, Iām sure
and et al., think differently, but youād have to ask them. I dunno.)So if not an island, what kind of landform is it? Maybe
has some insight. Could it be a mountain range, with different peaks to climb? A peaceful valley where everyone is quietly working away in their writing hovels? Maybe itās a vast continent, the opposing shores of which no one has yet seen? Maybe is out there now scouting locationsāafter all, both coasts are true! They exist; we can go to them.However, I donāt know. I donāt have a map or a compass, or even data on the scope of this place where we all have landed. For me, that was only a couple years ago, on July 27, 2021.
Yāall remember that, right?
Pandemic Pants all strapped in for a year and five months with many weary miles to go. I was then probably trying to shave my head since I couldnāt get another living soul to cut what was left of my hair. Wearing masks and āsocial distancing.ā No meals in restaurants. No phone calls. A buddy brought me two cloth masks his wife had made for their family and friends.
was the only person I saw for most of that year.Fun times.
Iād left FB in 2009, Twitter in 2016, Instagram shortly thereafter, and dawdled away on Medium. Just this monthāgiven it has an āMā in itāI gave Medium a proper heave-ho. Buh-bye. Thanks for all the fish.
The only social media I do outside of the āstack is LinkedIn ā¦ but donāt get me started there. LI has helped land extra paying work, so Iām hanging on to it (last year I got a nice bump writing for a national magazineāIād like more of that action, pleeeeease).
So here I am, not stuck on a Non-island, and taking a breather between StoryShed newsletter seasons (weāre cominā up on Season 4, #1 with something on Daytalking, a favorite topic of mine that links conversation, music, culture, and ācommunity.ā That newsletter is due to hit subscriber in-boxes before March gives an icy wink to its rearview mirror.
But we digress. Where to now, St. Peter?
Being the touchy-feely kinda guy I am, Iāve scant data to share. As far as StoryShed goes, since that hugely awkward summer of ā21, this little ditty makes for a total of 96 newsletters mailed outāsomething Iām pleased to announce after two and a half years here on Substack.
So, what are all the feels?
Not a lot of negativeāa blessing coming off FB, Twitter to X, Instagram to InstaZuck, Medium to āRare-ly an Encouraging Word,ā and everything in between. The āNazi Infiltration Flap,ā has passed, of course the 2024 election noise will continue until we get it done for democracy (yeah, I like Blue. Blue is true), so Iām sure something will come up to rattle the base camp weāve all come to know and (in most cases) love.
Some observations, though:
I wish more of my free subscribers would check out Notes. Many donāt want to go there since it reminds them of social mediaās dark side. I get that. Iāve had to mute people who monopolize my thread, but thatās my choice. They can go cray-cray all they wantāI just mute away and get on with my day. As you should too if I make you feel that way. No hurt feelings, gang! Promise.
Maybe itās a pipe dream, but it would be great if heavy-hitting Substack writers (those with more weightāthat is, social media-related, and possibly career-related, not political-political) did some light lifting for newsletters theyāve enjoyed by amplifying and sharing those other writers and creators with their subscribers. I try to help out when I canāhappy to! But for others, one can dream, canāt one? After all, no one is an island. Lol.
Also about Notes: It has been a boon to raising awareness about StoryShed and what I am hoping to achieve here: a book deal. There are mountains of posts on WordPress that need to be sifted and story-shaped into what would be my second book (the first was self-published in 2004). More free subscribers to StoryShed only helps move that needleāthank you! If youād like to financially support what Iām doingāand youāre a music headācheck out The Guy Stevens Weather Report. Thatās entirely paid-only because it supports yet another creative project in the works: a spec pilot teleplay for a drama series Iāve noodled for years now. Itās time to move THAT needle too.
Lastly, I KNOW ā¦ I could do a better job administrating StoryShedās Substack. I get it. Itās my plan to reach out to folks vastly more knowledgeable and get some assistance. It helps them and it helps StoryShedās subscribers: past, present, and future. All good.
So, if Substack isnāt an island, or a mountain range, or that awful nightmarish swirling suckhole between Scylla and Charbydis (yikes!), then what is it?
Probably just me, but Iād guard against making any one place homeādigital or IRL. Maybe Substack isā¦
ā¦like a port-of-call, with a quaint village and a long pier where ships come in and pick up passengers to take them to faraway and fascinating lands.
In that port there are lots of storiesāones from people coming in from those distant lands, and ones about whatās happening in the village. The writers, creators, artists, musicians make things from these stories. The readers feel involved in how these things turn outāmaybe one day they will board a ship and arrive at those lands only to share their own stories when they return to bustling and beautiful Substack Village.
I donāt know.
But I like this metaphor a lot.
Hereās hoping you do too.
We are not islanders...
I agree with the port of call metaphor ... a place like the medieval mid east where many cultures cross paths. I've never used Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any of the thousands of knockoffs, just the old blogs. I also haven't watched a TV show or listened to radio in decades.
And the one thing that makes Substack stand out is ...
NO ADVERTISEMENTS
No homogenized content ultimately controlled by corporate advertising dollars is worth a lot to me.