What is Substack? Here's My 3-Month Assessment.

Is Substack just another Social Media platform? It is a place to Read, Learn, and Connect. Is it a place for Reflection, Healing, and Reinvention?

As I approach my 90-day mark since publishing my first post here on Substack, I've been thinking a lot about what this place means to me - and what Substack "is" ...from my perspective, anyway.

I'm not going to give you data - just my personal experience. I'd love to hear how yours differs from mine. 8^)

Several times people have asked me: What is Substack? I feel like I should be prepared to give a solid, quick, thoughtful response.

So far, my simple answer is: it's different.

... but that's not enough - and it doesn't work in conversations. I can do better.

The official line is that Substack is: "Building a new economic engine for culture."

I tend to think of Substack as a home for writers. Clearly, you reading this does not imply you're on Substack to write, so my baseline thought misses something. As I've spent some time and looked around, I've discovered this is an awesome place to read, learn, and connect.

Since I came here to write, I've been trying to make the mindset shift from content consumer to content creator. I've found that difficult, and not simply an easy mental switch to flip. Today's article is a result of me trying to sort out what this odd place is ... to me.

The following opinions are obviously my own - but I say this because I am particularly curious about your opinions today. I am curious what kind of experience you've had on Substack, and I imagine yours may differ a bit from mine. Leave a comment below if you’d like to weigh in! :)

Okay, let's go. 8^)

Outline:

• What is Substack?

• What is Substack NOT?

• What will we make of this space?

What is Substack?

I came here to write, and I discussed why in my first post.¹ Bottom line: I promised to post weekly for personal accountability, personal therapy, and to attempt to figure out or explain my mental health struggles since my Air Force retirement in 2023. In 3 months, Substack has become a bit more to me than that. :)

A place for me to ramble a bit.

When I posted on Facebook to invite my friends, I said this: "If you think I talk too much, you may be happy to hear I've found an appropriate outlet for my ramblings."

A place for writers.

As a new writer, this place feels like a "safe" public space (so far seems to have a generally positive vibe) to start writing. Substack feels like it allows me to express myself and find my "tribe." I guess you can do this on other social media, but it feels more natural here. I'm confident this is the right platform for me to slowly write my book(s).

Ownership of content was a huge draw for me. As a simple test, I did a "download all" of my Substack posts, drafts, and data, and I was very pleased with the quantity and quality of everything they packaged up for me.

A versatile place for content creators - with many options available.

"Newsletters" are the main model for Substack. This post and my weekly missives are examples of that concept.

The Notes feature is the closest resemblance to a typical social media "scroll." (I'd love to hear your thoughts on success curating your feed!)

Substack's Chat feature allows an interesting interaction between subscribers and publication authors. I think solid community building may take place here. I've been slow to utilize it because personally I find it a little too invasive at this point. My thoughts here may evolve. ;p

Podcasts are also integrated into the platform and I look forward to taking that for a spin at some point. This is separate from the post voiceover feature and apparently interfaces to "broadcast" to global podcast services.

Live Video is new and seems to be getting quite popular quickly. I'll be doing my first Substack live stream next Saturday! (More info at bottom of this post)

A place for Reflection.

Slowing down to organize my thoughts in a coherent manner drives reflection. Knowing you will read my writing (coupled with my desire to make that experience a generally positive and enjoyable one) also drives additional reflection. Since my topics so far have been generally introspective in nature, this led to...

A place for Healing.

Knowledge and understanding gained from reflection and writing here lead to healing - for me and my family. Learning about Stoicism and Empathy helped smooth out many rough edges in my personal relationships, at home and in public. My thoughts on task prioritization² still help keep me grounded on a daily basis. As some of my rough edges slowly smooth out, evidence of healing is encouraging - but demonstrates there is still much work to be done.

A place for Reinvention.

Writing here seems to be leading to a personal reinvention. (Is this a mid-life crisis?) This is an ongoing process that requires continued reflection and healing. I'm not sure where I'll be or who I'll be "on the other side" of this transformation, but I already feel I've become a generally better person, or at least, a more pleasant to be around, after just a few short months of writing. I have a feeling this personal reinvention will be an ongoing challenge without a clear end goal. This may be a good thing. :)

A place to connect with new people.

It has been fun to meet new people on Substack. Connecting with others who share similar interests (and in many cases intriguing writing) feels different here than other social media. It feels a little off to say things are "deeper" or more "authentic" here - there is still plenty of surface level interaction on Substack - but connections feel a little deeper or more genuine here. I've never really felt any desire or ability to build relationships on social media, but it feels like I'll find that here. Ask me about my thoughts on this again in 3 or 6 months. :)

A place to train a new algorithm.

I felt I lost control of my Facebook feed some time ago. Starting with a fresh algorithm here allowed me to be a little more deliberate with training and so far, it seems to be doing a decent job showing me what I want. I've also been pleasantly surprised with a few connections directly from intuitive recommendations from the Substack algorithm. I look forward to spending more time tweaking and tuning my Notes feed.

What success have you had training your algorithm here? Do you

What is Substack NOT?

A few quick thoughts are probably important about what Substack is NOT.

With my personal penchant for trying to do too many things, I need to remember that:

Substack is not a full or even part-time job - at least, not for me... not yet.

I dove in pretty hard here at first and decided writing a book was part of my plan. It is true the book will not write itself and I do need to spend time and effort to make it exist. That being said, it is vital I acknowledge my pace needs to be sustainable and consistent, not a full-throttle effort.

Just three short months ago I wrote these quotes in my first missive:

I have healed enough to take my first peek back into the real world. After exploring many different options, doing it this way simply feels right.

I can keep a promise to publish something once a week. That wasn’t necessarily the case until recently.

It's important I keep in mind where I was mentally just a short while ago.

Substack is not a quick fix. Though writing here and sharing my thoughts and ideas with you has already been an enriching experience, this is a long journey, not a short trip. Apparently processing mental health issues takes some time, and I have plenty of things to write about. Who knew? ;p

And this leads me to my final question: What will we make of this space?

What will we make of this space?

First, I am thrilled you've chosen to include me in your avalanche of information. I hope you find more of what feeds your soul on Substack, and maybe occasionally here at jofty's Corner as well. ;^)

Here at jofty's Corner, I am building something - but really, we are building something. You essentially have early access to see my book writing process and the opportunity to help set the foundation for the community growing around it.

I'm still looking for clear direction on where to go here, but some viable paths are beginning to emerge.

Curiosity is likely to be a big key or repeating theme.

Empathy will certainly come up again. Stoicism may as well, but I don't think I want to make those the main focus of my future writing.

As promised, I will continue to tell my story. I've identified some important gaps to fill in and will address my plan to do so in my live stream next Saturday. :)

As I've said, Substack is a place for me to maintain consistency and accountability. I first began here with this promise:

I don't know exactly what this will be, but I will start by telling my story. If you find it interesting, perhaps I'll continue for a while. 8^P

Writing here is my first guardrail or check valve or something to fight my "all afterburner, no rudder" issue and create some focus and balance in my life.

Bottom line, I came here to write for me and my family, but in the process, I'm learning how to write for you. I'm starting to figure out what I want to do, how to do it, and how to present it in a way that you, my dear reader, may want to return for more. ;^)

So, what's next? I think I have a better idea now. I'll discuss it with you next Saturday in my first live stream. :)

For now I'm going to stay steady at one post every Saturday.

Thank you again for reading. I look forward to seeing you, maybe also live, next week!

Until next time, best wishes.

Take care,

- jofty 8^)

jofty's Corner -- 3-Month Anniversary Stream

You are invited to join me next Saturday, 22 February 2025, at 4pm EST for my first Substack live stream. I'm ready to try this new feature and look forward to seeing how it works. I don't know how long the stream will go, but I imagine it'll be 30 minutes to an hour, so feel free to hop in after we start if you like! We'll see how it goes.

Likely Topics:

• Recap of my first writings

• Highlights and thoughts on reader comments

• Book plans / Updated title announcement(s)

• jofty's Corner - future post topics

• Saving Wisdom - podcast concept

I hope to see you there! 8^)

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