(2023-04-11) Solana Substacks Easter Miracle

Mike Solana: Substack's Easter Miracle. Wednesday, Substack announced the beta release of Substack Notes, a Twitter-like scrolling feed for short-form content, which immediately attracted the unbridled wrath of Twitter’s Lord Commander Elon Musk. By Thursday morning, it was no longer possible to embed tweets on Substack, and by Friday it was total war.

In conversation with ‘someone’ at the company (who could it be!), journalist Matt Taibbi, who publishes on Substack, alleged he was given the option of publishing on Twitter — his only recourse — if he didn’t want his work suppressed. In response, Matt, a favored writer of Elon’s and the principal reporter for the Twitter Files, announced his permanent departure from Twitter.

by Easter Sunday, for reasons unknown, the broader embargo was lifted, and Substack rose from the grave. A miracle in keeping with the holiday.

Embedding tweets is still prohibited

Elon’s decision was nonetheless as alienating as it was destabilizing, not only of Substack but of the entire alternative media landscape — which Twitter largely developed, to this day representing one of the company’s most vital long-term value propositions

this should have been a major story. It wasn’t

Why? In hindsight, the problem is obvious, and I feel stupid for not realizing it sooner: we already know the press is incapable of complimenting Elon, and how could they attack him for a decision they liked? They did, however, inadvertently remind us of the stakes.

Substack’s suppression was the same method employed by Twitter’s previous management when targeting President Trump for “misinformation.” This is to say, sure, he can post, but his posts can’t be liked or shared, which means they die. The tone, here, seemed to imply the following: a once important tool for the ‘good and healthy’ suppression of political dissidence was now being used for Elon’s personal gain, which is bad.

Today, the rules on Twitter, at least, are much simpler. In fact, there’s just the one: Elon Musk is king. Don’t piss him off. That’s a rule that clearly gives and takes. But it is at least honest, in its own way.

In the first place, and most inscrutably, Elon made the decision to suppress Substack links with no alternative in place (Revue, Twitter’s Substack competitor, was recently shut down)

But then, more obviously, by suppressing links to the information ecosystem’s primary, if still relatively tiny alternative to the mainstream press, Twitter — despite everything Elon ostensibly fought for in securing the platform — dramatically handicapped independent writers in favor of the Death Star, and very briefly became the most censorious version of the platform that has ever existed.

Twitter is unpredictable. Is it just a place to shit talk incredibly dimwitted politicians, or is it a place where people like I can build a company? Because, at the end of the day, I’m a red blooded American Male who needs both, and, in terms of the latter, I no longer feel secure on the platform.