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Karl Straub's avatar

I like your writing, and it’s in my interest to check in at least once in a while with a European perspective. I can’t promise I’ll read your stuff regularly— but if you promote your writing on Notes, it’s more likely that I’ll see it. Good luck! Although I’m American, I can afford to commiserate a bit with a fellow writer who finds the American dominance of substack— or of anything— a frustrating obstacle.

Re: substack’s commitment to trying to bring in money— it doesn’t make you cynical to observe this, any more than (to me) this tendency makes the substack team dishonest or immoral. I believe them when they say they like what they’ve done for public discourse, non-famous writers, the media ecosystem, etc. I believe they are justifiably proud of the people who don’t make tons of money, but contribute something of value. That’s where I am, and I appreciate the opportunity they’ve given me to grow slowly. I’m glad there’s a place for you here!

But they also are a business, and while I don’t love all the writing that thrives here, I’m glad when people bring in money for this venture. There are people who have made various predictions about how substack will crumble or be corrupted, and I don’t know. I’ll believe it when I see it.

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Pablo Naboso's avatar

Beautifully and logically written. I liked this paragraph the most: “the process of writing hones my opinions – not just how I structure and express them, but the opinions themselves. In a world of political polarisation, it’s all too easy to see an absurd position online and instinctively take the opposite view. In fact, the extreme views surfaced by social media algorithms are typically exaggerated expressions of ideas that, at their base, have some merit. Researching an essay unearths these moderate views, and writing it forces you to engage with them.”

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