Substack is Social Media Now, I Guess

Damn those check marks.

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When I started my Substack over three years ago, things were pretty quiet on this platform.

So quiet that I didn't call Substack a platform at all. Now, with the advent of “Notes,” which functions almost exactly like Twitter, plus a new influx of (talented and lovely) writers, many of them well-known, Substack has started to overwhelm me. After quitting social media over a month ago I started to ask myself: is Substack social media?

The answer? Well, it can be. Yes. But it can also remain a place where I write my little newsletter and engage with friends and readers.

I must admit, though, I’ve started to get the same kinds of feelings here that I had on social media: like there are clubs to which I’ll never belong. I’ve felt this way forever— first as a kid moving from place to place, t…