Introducing "Notes"
ISO a better social media experience
Happy Friday!
At the risk of inundating your inbox, I wanted to let you know that Substack has rolled out a new “Notes” feature that I think is worth checking out. Basically, it’s a social media feed that’s internal to Substack and intended to provide a space for sharing ideas and resources that’s actually worthwhile.
I just shared yesterday’s “What’s Woke? #3” post as my first “note”:
If you go to the “Notes” site, you should see all sorts of material from other Substack writers and readers there. If you’re interested, you can engage with their posts and also share your own links, quotes, photos, etc.
Technical details
You can access “Notes” by going to substack.com/notes or finding the “Notes” tab in the Substack app. As a subscriber to Liberal Confessions, you’ll automatically see my notes in your feed. Feel free to like, reply, or share them around. And again, you can also share your own notes if you wish.
This is what the “Notes” icon looks like using the Substack app on your phone (look across the bottom of your phone screen).
This is what it looks like on the Substack Reader on your desktop (left column).
Why Substack Notes
Fellow writers and readers are spending time in Notes for a variety of reasons.
Ted Gioia sees Notes as a forum for dialogue.
The idea behind Notes is simple. Millions of people now participate in Substack as writers and readers—but much of this is built on long articles and essays. We now have a forum for dialoguing and sharing shorter posts.
Chris Ryan is drawn to Substack as an alternative for legacy social media.
One of my main reasons for joining Substack was to wean myself off exploitative social media platforms. I’m hoping this is going to help move us along on that journey!
Sherman Alexie wants to create a kind and creative new space in Notes.
I’m going to focus on being positive, with my own thoughts and photos and by linking to songs, stories, poems from around the web and from other Substacks.
If you encounter any issues, you can always refer to the Notes FAQ for assistance.
Best wishes for a great weekend and hope to see you there :)