Your piece lands with the weight of someone who has actually stepped outside the Hall of Mirrors and come back with dirt under their nails. There’s a difference between advice and wisdom, and you articulated that tension beautifully. What you wrote reminded me that the algorithm can only amplify reflections, never origins. It can’t recognize a lived life — only a repeated one.
I’m curious how you navigate this in your own work. When you feel the pull of the “safe” content the algorithm rewards, what signals tell you it’s time to close the tab and go live something worth writing about?
Love it. That IS what I'm trying to do here. To reach the men I'd like to help and connect with, I do have to resort to some of that kind of marketing.
"Build it and they will come" doesn't really work online.
I liken this movement of slow, intentional content in the online space to the shift we are starting to see in the music industry currently, and in fact in most cultural settings.
More artists creating what they want instead of what they know will sell.
I became a full-time novelist in 2017 and "retired" from authorship last year. Nothing has made me a better writer than no longer writing for the money, audience, or external validation. When my first article here goes up in January, my "paid subscriber" option will be off.
I needed this! I am honestly tired of seeing these patterns and I am always on the verge of giving up on this platform. But your message is resonating, it’s something that i write about too.
I can't be the person that has next to no hope for this platform. I don't see it as being anything other than youtube for people that don't know how to make videos but still want to write video scripts.
It’s an odd tension between content that provides the dopamine hit and content that sparks genuine discussion. I personally never thought they could co-exist on a platform….
But Substack is probably the best experiment to find that balance. Time will tell
Your piece lands with the weight of someone who has actually stepped outside the Hall of Mirrors and come back with dirt under their nails. There’s a difference between advice and wisdom, and you articulated that tension beautifully. What you wrote reminded me that the algorithm can only amplify reflections, never origins. It can’t recognize a lived life — only a repeated one.
I’m curious how you navigate this in your own work. When you feel the pull of the “safe” content the algorithm rewards, what signals tell you it’s time to close the tab and go live something worth writing about?
Refreshing to read. Thanks for this post. Let’s hope the message gets out. Keep it up. 👍
Love it. That IS what I'm trying to do here. To reach the men I'd like to help and connect with, I do have to resort to some of that kind of marketing.
"Build it and they will come" doesn't really work online.
Great article.
Great to have you here Vic!
Wisdom comes from doing something hard and failing at it, and then figuring out why.
👌
Sometimes substack's algorythms feels like encouraging writers who write about how to write on substack.
I liken this movement of slow, intentional content in the online space to the shift we are starting to see in the music industry currently, and in fact in most cultural settings.
More artists creating what they want instead of what they know will sell.
I’m so happy to be apart of this movement
I think there are also more platforms that let you embrace that.
Please tell me! I need more places and people to be transparent and true with
Very powerful read
Aren't you doing exactly what your describe? Meta meta is still meta.
I thought the exact same thing. While some of this rings true it's like selling a different product?
Best advice I have read on here yet. Excellent article.
I became a full-time novelist in 2017 and "retired" from authorship last year. Nothing has made me a better writer than no longer writing for the money, audience, or external validation. When my first article here goes up in January, my "paid subscriber" option will be off.
I needed this! I am honestly tired of seeing these patterns and I am always on the verge of giving up on this platform. But your message is resonating, it’s something that i write about too.
Excellent post ✨
Brilliant, again! I very much enjoy reading your letters
I can't be the person that has next to no hope for this platform. I don't see it as being anything other than youtube for people that don't know how to make videos but still want to write video scripts.
It’s an odd tension between content that provides the dopamine hit and content that sparks genuine discussion. I personally never thought they could co-exist on a platform….
But Substack is probably the best experiment to find that balance. Time will tell
Be your own algorithm.