Going mainstream – Retirement Confidential

Hear ye, hear ye. This is my final word on the temptress we know as Substack.

Even though I said I wouldn’t do it, I messed around for hours with Substack this week thinking I could post some of my stuff over there but keep this blog, too. I finally got it going when I saw another writer left the platform because it hosts Nazis and other extremists. All in the name of anti-censorship.

I once again paused to sort it all out, and here’s where I landed. No media is perfect, and some of it is less perfect than others. For writers, what I have to say might make a difference in where you publish your work. For readers, it’s about how much information you really need and the credibility of your sources.

It seems like a lot of pro-Democracy writers migrated to Substack after Trump was elected for the second time, and mainstream media failed to muster the courage to call him out for his authoritarian tactics. I like the writers who jumped ship, but sucking in all that political content is depressing at best.

I never saw Substack as the holy grail of elevated thinking, mostly because I read the co-founder is the same guy behind the mobile messaging application called Kik.

The only reason I even know Kik exists is because I served on a jury last year, and the app was integral to the case. Kik does not require a phone number or email to sign-up, and the anonymity is one of the reasons people are drawn to it.

The defendant in the case admitted he used it to chat about his fetishes and even to hook up with strangers for sex, but that wasn’t the charge. He was accused of downloading child pornography on the Kik app. Investigators testified about how that all happens and how they become alerted to bad actors. Although Kik was not invented for this purpose, pervs love it and the company makes millions.

That’s why I never thought Substack was about lofty ideals. Just another way to make money. It’s hard to know what to believe anymore, but there’s something to be said for mainstream media, warts and all. At least they have guard rails. And if you read a hard copy or limit yourself to one daily reading session, it’s contained. There’s no continuous flow of information.

Substack hosts many excellent writers, but there’s no barrier to entry, and you need to factor that in when you decide what to read. And as soon as you get on there, more is pushed your way. For me, and for all of those who are trying to survive these challenging times without going batshit crazy, it’s easy to become overwhelmed.

Although I may regret what might be called an impulsive move, I shut down my Substack account. Yes, there is a lot of good content there, but it stresses me out. I’ll stick with a cursory review of the NY Times and my local newspaper and call it a day.

As for my blog, I don’t presume WordPress is saintly, but I’m pretty sure it’s not the platform used by nine out of 10 Nazi sex predators. To some extent, what I write is in its own little bubble, and I don’t share common space with whack jobs. The only community I connect with is a lovely group of intelligent kind-hearted readers.

Not a bad gig. Thanks for being part of the journey. I very much appreciate your support.