Substack is not working correctly yet, in my view.
I have zero subscriptions.
My "Manage Interests" only contains green (thumbs up) for 4 things:
Art & Illustration
Fiction
Humor
Literature
Nonetheless, I am still getting plenty of posts outside this group.
These settings I made because I wanted Substack to be a place to escape what Jung calls the "Rational" in favor of seeing "Irrational" expression by artistic types. Something more like visiting a museum than being persuaded. I joined Substack because I may in the future publish on it, but I want to see it do something else right now.
Sometimes I scroll down a wonderful collection of what I want.
But about a quarter to half the time I spend blocking people trying to inform me about AI, politics, psychology, business, and all the things I do not need or want.
Thank you for the post! I learned a great deal from this. One question: what's the fundamental KPI? Is it engagement? Is it click through rate? Is it eventual monetization? Would love to see a post on what substack is aiming for through the feed, and how that informs the feed structure.
But I would still like the option to read the most recent posts of people I follow. Because just like Facebook before it, this algorithm is hiding content I would like to read from people I have connected to.
Thank you for taking the time on this— and you know what comically comes to mind? The rare times I clicked on something I really don’t give a shit about— yes click bait about the Royal Family— and then, of course, I was inundated with details about the monarchy’s underwear. How could I ever climb out? I want the OCCASIONAL chocolate cake recipe, not the descent into Willy Wonka’s hellfire.
I don’t know how this is working out for my newsletter yet. I still think people are finding me through recommendations, the occasional post that pops. Old readers finally realizing I’m here.
But for my Notes feed, I’m enjoying it as a reader more. Definitely.
Why I am a Substack author and I have been trying to get Substack to answer a question about cross posting. Can you have someone from sub staff DM me?
Question: When I cross post, why does it go out only to email addresses and not over the Substack app. consequently, my cross posts go only to two thirds of my subscriber list. Why?
Fascinating evolutionary journey, Mike. A thought occurred to me when reading the post: are there plans to integrate what creators *write* into their recommendations? I (perhaps naively) assume this could help us form tighter-knit communities for readers to be attracted to and bind with in greater strength and numbers.
Thanks for this explanation! The historical background of algorithms was cool and learning about the new Substack algorithm is great. Seems like it caters more to the current whims of the user which I like.
Neat look behind the curtain! Would it be possible to make the algorithm tinkerable; to give users some agency over the optimization function?
Most social media optimizes for engagement above everything else, it’s a model that works at social and reputational cost (I hate TikTok, I can feel it rotting my brain). Substack could pioneer a new model! I would love to be able to slide my recommendations towards discovery, or entertainment, or pure technical deep dives. If you give me the power to make my algorithm steer me *away* from the doomscroll I would be devoted enough to this platform to literally preach it on a street corner (call my bluff).
This is very informative, thank you. As a newcomer to Substack, I feel there’s something genuinely fresh here and let me tell you, I’ve grown really tired of algorithms elsewhere. My Notes and newsletter are in Turkish, but I mostly engage with English content. Even so, the algorithm still seems to surface material that matches my interests.
İlginç. A Note recently appeared in my feed in Polish. Curious, I used Copilot to translate the note and the post it referenced, which I also translated. While translating a few of his posts and comments, Siri offered to do some on-the-fly translations. Then ChatGPT suggested it could help, too.
So, here I am on my phone, in bed, in the wee hours of the morning conversing with a Polish mathematician and his readers about repetition, persistence, and whether learning math is like learning to draw or play the piano.
Anyway, welcome to Substack, Sila. If you like Jim Jarmusch’s films, I can recommend Paterson (2016), which he wrote and directed, especially if you like poetry.
Thank you very much 🙋🏻♀️ This really is the kind of platform that offers plenty of intellectual stimulation. “Paterson” is actually on my watchlist, but I haven’t had the chance to see it yet. I will! Thank you again.
I happened to see Perfect Days (directed by Wim Wenders, 2023) not long after Paterson. The two go really well together. Both celebrate extraordinary moments in everyday life.
I think it would be great if we could easily read content in other languages and converse with their authors. Substack is using AI in other ways (help chat); translating posts, comments and notes can’t be far away. If my AirPods can do it, I’m sure Substack can.
I can appreciate your hesitancy regarding AI. If I found myself in a foreign country where I didn’t speak the language, I would rather pay a local guide than use my AirPods for translating. Although I’d probably find the guide was using his or her phone to understand me.
I’m wondering why my discovery rate has gone down to close to zero since you’ve made these changes. I have a long record of persistent posting well crafted notes and high-quality newsletter and I’m really curious why my Discovery has fallen so much since 9/19. My new subscriber rate has plummeted.
For example Out of approximately 2,000 total views of a recent post, only 0.85% came from discovery.
Do you also understand discovery as something I can undertake, as part of the experience? Like building my Ikea furniture or using knobs and pushing buttons?
Are you guys thinking about additional discovery surfaces for posts? I find myself wanting the equivalent of YouTube’s “more like this” sidebar, playlists, etc.
Content discovery doesn’t have to be limited to the notes feed.
Substack is not working correctly yet, in my view.
I have zero subscriptions.
My "Manage Interests" only contains green (thumbs up) for 4 things:
Art & Illustration
Fiction
Humor
Literature
Nonetheless, I am still getting plenty of posts outside this group.
These settings I made because I wanted Substack to be a place to escape what Jung calls the "Rational" in favor of seeing "Irrational" expression by artistic types. Something more like visiting a museum than being persuaded. I joined Substack because I may in the future publish on it, but I want to see it do something else right now.
Sometimes I scroll down a wonderful collection of what I want.
But about a quarter to half the time I spend blocking people trying to inform me about AI, politics, psychology, business, and all the things I do not need or want.
Thank you for the post! I learned a great deal from this. One question: what's the fundamental KPI? Is it engagement? Is it click through rate? Is it eventual monetization? Would love to see a post on what substack is aiming for through the feed, and how that informs the feed structure.
There isn’t a single KPI, per se, rather it’s a weighting of many. However, the ones with the most weight are tied to free and paid signups.
But I would still like the option to read the most recent posts of people I follow. Because just like Facebook before it, this algorithm is hiding content I would like to read from people I have connected to.
Thank you for taking the time on this— and you know what comically comes to mind? The rare times I clicked on something I really don’t give a shit about— yes click bait about the Royal Family— and then, of course, I was inundated with details about the monarchy’s underwear. How could I ever climb out? I want the OCCASIONAL chocolate cake recipe, not the descent into Willy Wonka’s hellfire.
I don’t know how this is working out for my newsletter yet. I still think people are finding me through recommendations, the occasional post that pops. Old readers finally realizing I’m here.
But for my Notes feed, I’m enjoying it as a reader more. Definitely.
Why I am a Substack author and I have been trying to get Substack to answer a question about cross posting. Can you have someone from sub staff DM me?
Question: When I cross post, why does it go out only to email addresses and not over the Substack app. consequently, my cross posts go only to two thirds of my subscriber list. Why?
Fascinating evolutionary journey, Mike. A thought occurred to me when reading the post: are there plans to integrate what creators *write* into their recommendations? I (perhaps naively) assume this could help us form tighter-knit communities for readers to be attracted to and bind with in greater strength and numbers.
Thanks for this explanation! The historical background of algorithms was cool and learning about the new Substack algorithm is great. Seems like it caters more to the current whims of the user which I like.
Neat look behind the curtain! Would it be possible to make the algorithm tinkerable; to give users some agency over the optimization function?
Most social media optimizes for engagement above everything else, it’s a model that works at social and reputational cost (I hate TikTok, I can feel it rotting my brain). Substack could pioneer a new model! I would love to be able to slide my recommendations towards discovery, or entertainment, or pure technical deep dives. If you give me the power to make my algorithm steer me *away* from the doomscroll I would be devoted enough to this platform to literally preach it on a street corner (call my bluff).
This is very informative, thank you. As a newcomer to Substack, I feel there’s something genuinely fresh here and let me tell you, I’ve grown really tired of algorithms elsewhere. My Notes and newsletter are in Turkish, but I mostly engage with English content. Even so, the algorithm still seems to surface material that matches my interests.
İlginç. A Note recently appeared in my feed in Polish. Curious, I used Copilot to translate the note and the post it referenced, which I also translated. While translating a few of his posts and comments, Siri offered to do some on-the-fly translations. Then ChatGPT suggested it could help, too.
So, here I am on my phone, in bed, in the wee hours of the morning conversing with a Polish mathematician and his readers about repetition, persistence, and whether learning math is like learning to draw or play the piano.
Anyway, welcome to Substack, Sila. If you like Jim Jarmusch’s films, I can recommend Paterson (2016), which he wrote and directed, especially if you like poetry.
Thank you very much 🙋🏻♀️ This really is the kind of platform that offers plenty of intellectual stimulation. “Paterson” is actually on my watchlist, but I haven’t had the chance to see it yet. I will! Thank you again.
I happened to see Perfect Days (directed by Wim Wenders, 2023) not long after Paterson. The two go really well together. Both celebrate extraordinary moments in everyday life.
Excellent article!
hoping it picks up on my extreme distaste for people repurposing carousels here in Notes! and such a helpful piece - thank you!
Yeah whatever.
I still see plenty of notes on the for you timeline that aren't in English.
This was cute 8 months ago.
I think it would be great if we could easily read content in other languages and converse with their authors. Substack is using AI in other ways (help chat); translating posts, comments and notes can’t be far away. If my AirPods can do it, I’m sure Substack can.
I agree in principle. That said I would not trust AI to translate anything.
Translation itself is a really interesting topic. But if I can't have the best human translations, I'll pass.
I can appreciate your hesitancy regarding AI. If I found myself in a foreign country where I didn’t speak the language, I would rather pay a local guide than use my AirPods for translating. Although I’d probably find the guide was using his or her phone to understand me.
Bing translate works pretty darn good in my experience. And the interface is built for a conversation between two people
Still not trustworthy for scholarly things
Like if I were to read Dante's inferno, I'd research what the best translation was for sure. Or Dostoyevsky
Thanks for the tip. I haven’t used Bing for ages.
You’re right—AI would probably struggle to translate Dante's inferno. But imagine what we could learn about the tenth circle!
Specifically I mean there's an app called Bing translate.
I don't have any opinion on the website.
Also, I hate Microsoft, but the last time I checked it was the best translator.
Super interesting. Thanks for writing this up.
I’m wondering why my discovery rate has gone down to close to zero since you’ve made these changes. I have a long record of persistent posting well crafted notes and high-quality newsletter and I’m really curious why my Discovery has fallen so much since 9/19. My new subscriber rate has plummeted.
For example Out of approximately 2,000 total views of a recent post, only 0.85% came from discovery.
Do you also understand discovery as something I can undertake, as part of the experience? Like building my Ikea furniture or using knobs and pushing buttons?
Are you guys thinking about additional discovery surfaces for posts? I find myself wanting the equivalent of YouTube’s “more like this” sidebar, playlists, etc.
Content discovery doesn’t have to be limited to the notes feed.
Yeah I would like this too! I think finding the right home for something like this is the challenge.
Definitely. There are more limitations due to creators (reasonably) expecting ownership of what appears next to their content.
Maybe some opt-in approach works