Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ Don't call it a Substack

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

Don't call it a Substack

Anil Dash, Nov 19, 2024

It seems like half the learning and development community has started email newsletters on Substack, most of them engaged in the corporate sector. Substack filled a need, as the campaign against email spam has made it really difficult to run your own newsletter. It didn't hurt that you could charge people for subscriptions. But as Anil Dash warns, you don't really own your newsletter when you're on Substack. "Every single new feature Substack releases, from their social sharing to their mobile apps, is proprietary and locks you into their network." You'll also have some unsavory neighbours, warns Dash. "Here's how you can export your subscribers." He also points to a list of alternatives, but it's a Wired article behind a paywall. Here's the list: Ghost, Buttondown, Beehiiv.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Dec 11, 2024 6:51 p.m.

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