I think that's a good approach. I've tried ignoring the problem and it hasn't gone away. I've tried interacting and blocking. I'll try muting more often next. A lot of times I just rattle off a bunch of notes and then go for a walk. It is a nice growth tool and I'm grateful for any growth tools, but the concerns you list are things that bother me as well. Sigh, if only we lived in a society that valued human interaction over money. We can dream I guess. Thanks for writing!
Isn't that the truth, Walter? God, how did I not know we could hide and mute? lol. But now that I know, I'll be using it more, too. Maybe I can turn Notes into the happy place it was for a while there when it launched.
I wish Substack didn’t have Notes. I reluctantly post them sometimes because I’m told I “ought to.” Meh. I don’t need another social media feed. I just want to read people’s essays.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, they help build subscriber lists. But I would argue that if they did away with Notes, we'd be just fine because you can also build lists by offering amazingly clever comments on other Stacks that grip people's imagination to the point where they say, "Oh em gee! I *must* subscribe to this person's stack!!!!!!"
Except that some don't allow comments unless you are a paid subscriber. I would LOVE to afford to pay all the great ones I read, but we just are not there in life. We can't even get groceries except milk, cream, and the odd loaf of bread. I need cat litter and will soon need cat food too.
I didn't realize you can prevent nonpaying subscribers from commenting on Notes. Comments on my posts are open to everyone but I understand why the bigger Substack writers don't do that because of trolls.
Since I made the move to Substack, I've closed or limited other social media accounts. By some aggressive muting of content I don't want to see, Notes is now a much nicer place to spend time.
What I've done? I refused to even engage with Instagram. Or Twitter now X. I briefly tried BlueSky and deleted that too. I rarely get on FaceBook anymore, except to occasionally check in on friends or post a piece of artwork or writing. I have a Substack but I am rarely using it now. Why? Yeah. Because social media sucks the life flow out of people without them even noticing. But I DO like getting emails of a precious few of you on substack.
I hear you, Lee. Attention is something we only have so much of. And I do enjoy getting to know other writers. I just don't want to be worn out in the process. Your last sentence made me smile. Thank you :)
I know it’s just a typo, but the “demoncrats” brought me a smile. I lean left myself, but I pictured some rightie gasping out a, “Yes!” after coming upon the term.
Now I just have to figure out what “Notes” is. Are they the comments on Substack?
They're a lot like Tweets, but without the character limit. They *can* be effective building lists. It's tricky for a fiction writer like me because my politics veer very clearly a certain way that some won't like, but I honestly don't mind culling my subscriber lists in that way.
I laughed Andria, because it wasn't a typo. I hoped someone would enjoy my strange sense of humor. lol. Charles posted a good example of Notes, but you can also see a stream of them if you go to Substack.com homepage.
Ah! That makes more sense. I’ve seen that you’re so very careful with proof-reading, that one caught me. Thanks for both the grin and the point toward Notes.
Gosh, and I'm just over here wanting people to "engage" (another word of the social media era I hate) with my Notes! I wish I had the ease of articulation you do, but I've always said a worse version of this to my friends: "Here’s the funny thing that occurs to me. Put me in a room with any one of those people and we’ll find some common ground. We’ll find something to talk about and laugh and share stories and bond. Because that’s what humans do."
My best friend in this city is an apocalyptic prepper who owns more guns than the state of Massachusetts. But he's also the kindest dude I know, who would drop anything to help you out of a pickle. Another friend, who I share nearly every big belief with, is the most ragey person online I've ever met. You basically can't text him, only communicate in person where you can steer the conversation away from the latest Trump thing.
Brian, I am laughing in utter delight. Aren't we humans strange and funny? I have a relative like the second guy. Omg, just utter rant-fest online, but we can have the most wonderful and fascinating conversations in person for hours. Glad you loved the post, I loved your reply, too.
I’m with you with social media. I’ve struggled with notes. I want to be authentic, and not click baity and I don’t want to follow a strategy. I feel notes are for our random thoughts. Hmmmm I may have to hide and mute more. 😀
You and me both Ali. God, I didn't even know about mute and block. How embarrassing lol. That's how I like to use them too. For random thoughts that aren't a blog post. And I know there's a lot of fun stuff out there. I just ran across this marvelous artist who paints chickens. Omg, what a delight. I want more of that and less angry and click baity stuff.
I actually found the Notes to be relatively soothing after looking at other SM sites. I don't go there often, and sometimes it is Grumpy McGrump face, but other times it is nice.
Yeah, mine started out so nice and slowly devolved. lol. But I hope I can train it to show me all the things I used to like seeing again. I'd love it to be a soothing experience. There's so much fun stuff, I just want to see more of it, you know?
The same with me; so I was wondering what people are talking about. What I DO get is a lot of these boring and sometimes annoying "how-to-grow" notes - I'll start to mute those now!
I agree, it's not all bad at all. It was wonderful until it wasn't. But here's hoping I can turn it into that again by training the algorithm what I like and don't. :)
You are so lucky Paul. Mine was like that for a long time. I hope I can turn it into that again by hiding and muting the stuff I don't want to see more of.
Yep, I'm not on social media anymore. It's exhausting. I just started on Substack so not sure about notes...yet. But I've muted one Substacker so far and it's divine.
June I am laughing. Just remember that blocking makes you invisible to them and muting and hiding makes them invisible to you. I only learned that today and boy I wish i knew earlier. And welcome to Substack. :)
I did not even know about hide and mute. I'm trying to figure out if anyone that I hide and mute would be interested in anything I would write about. But, then, there is no way for me to know. So if blocking is a two-way street, well, I am cutting out potential readers. Thanks for this insight.
Social media is like an invasive weed you don’t want but can’t seem to get rid of. It will be exhausting, but I like your approach! Certainly worth a try!
Omg, right? It's like quack grass. But I'm going to try the mute and hide. Lots of readers posted to say it works really well to train the algorithm what not to show me. Here's hoping! Thanks, Audra :)
Oh there's tons here that's like Medium. Lots of long form articles. Sometimes I find new people to read just by finding interesting people on Notes. Then I go look to see if they also write articles. Have a good weekend too, Karen! :)
Absolutely! I've been hiding and muting occasionally. Thanks to you, I'm going to start doing it every time I see a note that I wish I hadn't seen.
I've never been a check-notes-every-day person. Too much like Twitter or LinkedIn. And way too many notes on how to get more followers, subscribers, or hearts on notes. Reminds me of Medium. Which I accidentally rejoined 3 days ago, thinking you'd finally added paid subscriptions to your SSs. I doubt I'll last long. But during the summer, when I don't have income from subbing at the HS, even $25 a month would help.
Oh my gosh, Linda, as I was reading why it's your pet peeve, I thought, "I could have written this." My energy is drained like it's gushing from a bathtub! I love the approach you suggest and am going to try it. I've also been telling myself that I am here to find likehearted people and engage with them and support them and their work.
You are so welcome. It's always a relief to confess something that drains me and have a whole bunch of people stand up and say they feel the same. Here's to training the algorithm now that we know we can lol. Thanks, Bobbi :)
Yes for sure. I also wish I had a sticker on my account: I dont buy anything you offer cold in my DM.
That made me laugh. I only rarely peek into DMs. It's kind of a scary place. lol
I think that's a good approach. I've tried ignoring the problem and it hasn't gone away. I've tried interacting and blocking. I'll try muting more often next. A lot of times I just rattle off a bunch of notes and then go for a walk. It is a nice growth tool and I'm grateful for any growth tools, but the concerns you list are things that bother me as well. Sigh, if only we lived in a society that valued human interaction over money. We can dream I guess. Thanks for writing!
Isn't that the truth, Walter? God, how did I not know we could hide and mute? lol. But now that I know, I'll be using it more, too. Maybe I can turn Notes into the happy place it was for a while there when it launched.
I wish Substack didn’t have Notes. I reluctantly post them sometimes because I’m told I “ought to.” Meh. I don’t need another social media feed. I just want to read people’s essays.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, they help build subscriber lists. But I would argue that if they did away with Notes, we'd be just fine because you can also build lists by offering amazingly clever comments on other Stacks that grip people's imagination to the point where they say, "Oh em gee! I *must* subscribe to this person's stack!!!!!!"
Agreed. I’m just rubbish at them. :)
Except that some don't allow comments unless you are a paid subscriber. I would LOVE to afford to pay all the great ones I read, but we just are not there in life. We can't even get groceries except milk, cream, and the odd loaf of bread. I need cat litter and will soon need cat food too.
I didn't realize you can prevent nonpaying subscribers from commenting on Notes. Comments on my posts are open to everyone but I understand why the bigger Substack writers don't do that because of trolls.
Yep! I started it with George Saunders, and thought of it as a writer’s platform. Easy to get caught-up in scrolling the notes
Since I made the move to Substack, I've closed or limited other social media accounts. By some aggressive muting of content I don't want to see, Notes is now a much nicer place to spend time.
What I've done? I refused to even engage with Instagram. Or Twitter now X. I briefly tried BlueSky and deleted that too. I rarely get on FaceBook anymore, except to occasionally check in on friends or post a piece of artwork or writing. I have a Substack but I am rarely using it now. Why? Yeah. Because social media sucks the life flow out of people without them even noticing. But I DO like getting emails of a precious few of you on substack.
I hear you, Lee. Attention is something we only have so much of. And I do enjoy getting to know other writers. I just don't want to be worn out in the process. Your last sentence made me smile. Thank you :)
No BS, no FB, no Tweetie, no TT.
I know it’s just a typo, but the “demoncrats” brought me a smile. I lean left myself, but I pictured some rightie gasping out a, “Yes!” after coming upon the term.
Now I just have to figure out what “Notes” is. Are they the comments on Substack?
This is a Note:
https://substack.com/@charlesbastille/note/c-121112525
They're a lot like Tweets, but without the character limit. They *can* be effective building lists. It's tricky for a fiction writer like me because my politics veer very clearly a certain way that some won't like, but I honestly don't mind culling my subscriber lists in that way.
Nice catch.
I laughed Andria, because it wasn't a typo. I hoped someone would enjoy my strange sense of humor. lol. Charles posted a good example of Notes, but you can also see a stream of them if you go to Substack.com homepage.
Ah! That makes more sense. I’ve seen that you’re so very careful with proof-reading, that one caught me. Thanks for both the grin and the point toward Notes.
"Demoncrats" is not a typo - it's what Fox non-news calls half of the country. The half that doesn't believe in literal demons.
Gosh, and I'm just over here wanting people to "engage" (another word of the social media era I hate) with my Notes! I wish I had the ease of articulation you do, but I've always said a worse version of this to my friends: "Here’s the funny thing that occurs to me. Put me in a room with any one of those people and we’ll find some common ground. We’ll find something to talk about and laugh and share stories and bond. Because that’s what humans do."
My best friend in this city is an apocalyptic prepper who owns more guns than the state of Massachusetts. But he's also the kindest dude I know, who would drop anything to help you out of a pickle. Another friend, who I share nearly every big belief with, is the most ragey person online I've ever met. You basically can't text him, only communicate in person where you can steer the conversation away from the latest Trump thing.
Loved this post.
Brian, I am laughing in utter delight. Aren't we humans strange and funny? I have a relative like the second guy. Omg, just utter rant-fest online, but we can have the most wonderful and fascinating conversations in person for hours. Glad you loved the post, I loved your reply, too.
I’m with you with social media. I’ve struggled with notes. I want to be authentic, and not click baity and I don’t want to follow a strategy. I feel notes are for our random thoughts. Hmmmm I may have to hide and mute more. 😀
You and me both Ali. God, I didn't even know about mute and block. How embarrassing lol. That's how I like to use them too. For random thoughts that aren't a blog post. And I know there's a lot of fun stuff out there. I just ran across this marvelous artist who paints chickens. Omg, what a delight. I want more of that and less angry and click baity stuff.
I didn’t know about it either until reading your words, so thank you. All the AI life advice out there in notes… it can go bye bye now 😀
I actually found the Notes to be relatively soothing after looking at other SM sites. I don't go there often, and sometimes it is Grumpy McGrump face, but other times it is nice.
Yeah, mine started out so nice and slowly devolved. lol. But I hope I can train it to show me all the things I used to like seeing again. I'd love it to be a soothing experience. There's so much fun stuff, I just want to see more of it, you know?
I must be lucky. My feed has notes that are mostly creative and beauty filled. I don't see any hate. Small corner of the stack perhaps? Who knows.
The same with me; so I was wondering what people are talking about. What I DO get is a lot of these boring and sometimes annoying "how-to-grow" notes - I'll start to mute those now!
Yeah i get those but just scroll on by.
I agree. There's a lot of good notes out there too. It's not all bad : )
I agree, it's not all bad at all. It was wonderful until it wasn't. But here's hoping I can turn it into that again by training the algorithm what I like and don't. :)
You are so lucky Paul. Mine was like that for a long time. I hope I can turn it into that again by hiding and muting the stuff I don't want to see more of.
I am sure it is a visibility thing. More followers more traffic perhaps?
Same here. Maybe it depends on what subjects interest us. I rarely see negative stuff. I stay clear of politics for sure.
I really appreciate the explanation! Well-articulated, too. Thank you!
You are so welcome and thank you, too!
Yep, I'm not on social media anymore. It's exhausting. I just started on Substack so not sure about notes...yet. But I've muted one Substacker so far and it's divine.
June I am laughing. Just remember that blocking makes you invisible to them and muting and hiding makes them invisible to you. I only learned that today and boy I wish i knew earlier. And welcome to Substack. :)
Yep, I know. I no longer see them on my wall (is it called a wall)?
I did not even know about hide and mute. I'm trying to figure out if anyone that I hide and mute would be interested in anything I would write about. But, then, there is no way for me to know. So if blocking is a two-way street, well, I am cutting out potential readers. Thanks for this insight.
Blocking is not a two way street, nor is muting. Blocking means they can't see you. Muting means you don't see them. lol
Oh. Thanks for the clarification.
Oh you're very welcome! I just learned that today, too lol
Social media is like an invasive weed you don’t want but can’t seem to get rid of. It will be exhausting, but I like your approach! Certainly worth a try!
Omg, right? It's like quack grass. But I'm going to try the mute and hide. Lots of readers posted to say it works really well to train the algorithm what not to show me. Here's hoping! Thanks, Audra :)
Where is the writing beyond Notes? Maybe I'm looking for something that resembles Medium?
Mute and blocks work fine.
What does everybody want and need? Do we give social media too much emotional energy?
Have a good weekend!
Oh there's tons here that's like Medium. Lots of long form articles. Sometimes I find new people to read just by finding interesting people on Notes. Then I go look to see if they also write articles. Have a good weekend too, Karen! :)
Absolutely! I've been hiding and muting occasionally. Thanks to you, I'm going to start doing it every time I see a note that I wish I hadn't seen.
I've never been a check-notes-every-day person. Too much like Twitter or LinkedIn. And way too many notes on how to get more followers, subscribers, or hearts on notes. Reminds me of Medium. Which I accidentally rejoined 3 days ago, thinking you'd finally added paid subscriptions to your SSs. I doubt I'll last long. But during the summer, when I don't have income from subbing at the HS, even $25 a month would help.
Thanks again for an excellent suggestion!
Hugs,
Linda
Oh my gosh, Linda, as I was reading why it's your pet peeve, I thought, "I could have written this." My energy is drained like it's gushing from a bathtub! I love the approach you suggest and am going to try it. I've also been telling myself that I am here to find likehearted people and engage with them and support them and their work.
Thanks for the post!
You are so welcome. It's always a relief to confess something that drains me and have a whole bunch of people stand up and say they feel the same. Here's to training the algorithm now that we know we can lol. Thanks, Bobbi :)