Substack Cofounder on the Internet's Content Problem

Substack’s core mission is to build a new economic engine for culture, moving away from the incentive structures of legacy social media platforms that were, in the founders’ view, “driving us crazy.” The foundational idea is that independent voices, given editorial freedom and a direct connection to their audience, are a crucial ingredient for a healthy culture and a free society.

The Cultural Impact and Defense of Free Speech

The cultural impact of Substack is deeply rooted in the media environment of 2020-2021. Katherine Boyle emphasizes how fraught the landscape was for anyone in media or thought leadership. It was a period marked by deplatforming, firings, and a pervasive fear of expressing unorthodox or questioning views.

In 2020, there were mass firings. Um, you know, Twitter deplatformed a sitting president. … it was an extraordinary time and and and I would say a fearful time where ve very many people were afraid to say what they were thinking.

Amidst this, Substack stood out as a platform committed to protecting free speech, providing the necessary infrastructure for writers who were being pushed out of traditional institutions. This stance was not just a philosophical one; it had significant business implications, as many of the most interesting writers at the time were leaving their longtime employers and needed a new home. Substack provided that home, establishing itself as a crucial bastion for independent thought years before shifts at other major platforms.

Reinventing the Business Model for Writers

Andrew Chen highlights that Substack’s emergence was a pivotal moment for saving the dying ecosystem of blogging. The old model, reliant on Google AdSense or Amazon affiliate fees, was failing, leading to spam-filled and poorly maintained sites. While pioneers like Ben Thompson of Stratechery demonstrated an alternative subscription model, it was technically cumbersome for the average writer to implement.

Chris Best recalls the early, often accusatory, sentiment: “Substack is just blogging with a business model.” His response was, “that sounds pretty good.” By simplifying the process of starting a paid email newsletter, Substack provided a direct and viable economic model for writers, allowing them to focus on creating content rather than managing infrastructure.

The Power of Direct Connection and Independence

A key philosophical and practical decision was giving creators full ownership of their audience, including their email lists and the right to exit the platform at any time. This “right to exit” was seen as foolish by some but created the right long-term incentive structure for Substack. It forced the company to continuously build a network valuable enough that creators choose to stay.

This direct connection does more than just ensure portability; it empowers creators to take creative risks. Unlike platforms where content must constantly “please the algorithm” to gain visibility, a direct subscription model builds a trust relationship. A writer can ask their audience to pay attention to something new or different, knowing they have a direct line of communication that bypasses algorithmic gatekeepers.

From Platform to Network: The Evolving Vision

Substack’s ambition was always larger than just being a newsletter tool. The vision was to create a comprehensive network—a first-class destination on the internet with a different “laws of physics.” The realization was that for writers to be truly independent, they couldn’t remain downstream of other platforms like Twitter or Facebook for audience growth. Those platforms have their own business models and incentives, which often conflict with the interests of independent creators.

This led to the development of features like Notes, creating an integrated network where the discovery and consumption of content are governed by a business model that aligns with creators’ success. The goal is to build a place that actively wants users to find and fall in love with long-form, valuable content they might pay for, rather than just maximizing time on screen.

Rethinking Algorithms and Incentives

The conversation pushes back on the simple idea that “algorithms are bad.” Instead, the view is that algorithms are powerful tools that serve the objectives they are given. Traditional social media algorithms are optimized to sell ads, which leads to maximizing engagement at all costs.

Substack’s approach is to build algorithms with a different objective function—one that serves the user’s own interests. The goal is to create a system that helps users find things they will deeply value in the long run, content that makes them “a better person,” rather than simply keeping them glued to the screen.

AI, Attention, and the Future of Media

In a world where attention is the scarcest resource, the value proposition of media is changing. The future of media is bifurcating into two paths:

1. Low-Effort, Addictive Content: This path is supercharged by AI, leading to “AI slop” and “goon bots” designed to be compelling in the moment but ultimately degrading to the consumer, akin to a drug.
2. High-Value, Enriching Culture: This path uses technology, including AI, to provide creative leverage. It empowers creators to produce better, more ambitious work that helps people become who they aspire to be.

Substack is firmly focused on building for the second future. The fundamental insight is that people are willing to spend money to get better culture, better ideas, and a more valuable use of their time. AI is viewed not as a threat, but as a tool to lower the barrier to entry for high-quality creation, enabling a single person to produce what once required a full studio.

Unbundling, Rebundling, and the New Media Economy

Substack has been a primary driver of the “unbundling” of talent from legacy media institutions, allowing individual writers to capture more of the value they create. This is now being followed by a “rebundling,” where ambitious founders are building new, Substack-first media companies on the platform.

The parallel is drawn to the venture capital industry’s effect on tech. Before VC, talented software developers worked for large corporations. VC enabled them to become founders, “putting the lunatics in charge of the asylum,” which unleashed a renaissance in technology. Substack aims to do the same for the cultural industries, providing the tools and network for the creators themselves to build the future.

• Tags:
• Feature
• Attention Economy
• Business Models
• Substack
• Creator Economy
• Media
• Free Speech
• Algorithms
• AI Content Creation