My subscription to Ryan Broderick’sGarbage Day renewed, which means it was time for my annual moment of confusion followed by a chuckle as I try to figure out why my budgeting software thinks I’m paying for trash collection services
Independent publishing is one important facet of the media ecosystem, and while I love it, I know it is not the path for everyone.
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Citation Needed endorses Kamala Harris for president, if you're looking for somewhere to put those WaPo subscription dollars.
https://www.citationneeded.news/
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planned to do some writing today but i seem to be coming down with a cold and the words just aren't coming out. tea and rimworld it is.
when i started my newsletter i thought about trying to publish on a scheduled cadence (e.g. "every thursday"), but i have to say i am very glad i didn't. by now my subscribers still trust that i publish regularly, but i don't have to try to force things if life gets in the way.
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On "What I learned in year four of Platformer"
Really cool to see Casey Newton's update on how things are going over at the Platformer newsletter after they left Substack. A lot of it resonates with my own experiences:
It also feels like more honest, durable growth than we saw in 2023. ...
First and foremost, we have an honest-to-goodness website now. One where we can easily modify the design, add new features, and grow our offering over time. One reason why I write so often about the decline of the web is that I love websites as products. And our new setup gives us almost unlimited flexibility as Platformer evolves. ...
Another key benefit of leaving: We’re much less vulnerable to platform shifts than we were before. I had long worried that Substack’s unprofitable business would eventually lead it to make decisions that were not in the best interest of our readers or our business. (Besides not removing literal 1930s Nazi content, I mean.) I still have that worry for my friends who choose to build their businesses on Substack anyway. But whatever happens, it will no longer affect Platformer, and that gives me me real peace of mind. ...
It’s a decision I’m proud of — because it’s a decision we made as a community. ... Having principles can be annoying and expensive. (And make you insufferable to talk to at parties.) But it beats the alternative.
It's also cool to hear that Platformer has enjoyed solid growth, which I know a lot of people worried about when leaving the promised network effects of the Substack ecosystem:
I’m proud to report that despite leaving Substack, revenue was up about 11 percent year over year.
Not many newsletters operate on the scale of Platformer (mine certainly included), so I'm sure their experience is unique in many ways, but it's great to have another success story from a newsletter choosing to go the even more independent route.
Ever since Platformer left Substack in January, readers have been asking us how it’s been going. Today, in keeping with our annual tradition of anniversary posts (here are one, two, and three), I’ll answer that question — and share some other observations on the state of independent media over the past year.
But being a journalism grad student right now must feel like studying paleontology in the hopes that when you graduate you’ll find a job as a dinosaur.
