Hello, world!
I'm an infamous live tweeter currently trying to figure out who or what a Substack is.
I don’t know anything about Substack, but I’m eager to learn more
I’ve been on Twitter for 15 years, but given the direction it’s going, it’s time to explore other options. Substack has been recommended by a few people, and I have a dormant website-slash-blog that I was planning on reviving this summer, so Substack may be able to serve both purposes. I will follow the outline of their sample post to get started.
1. Why this, why now
I’m following Substack’s sample template, which doesn’t know that I just answered this question in the previous paragraph!
2. What kind of community are you looking to build here
I’ve been fortunate enough to be part of a community on Twitter and elsewhere online with people who are interested in a variety of issues (such as worker rights, universal health care, and climate justice) related to progressive politics, and who either like dad jokes or are willing to put up with them.
Many, if not most, of my Twitter friends know me through my live tweets and comments that I’ve been lucky enough to be read on air during The Young Turks and other TYT shows. TYT has the distinction of being able to regularly piss off people on the Left and the Right because they call out corruption and hypocrisy. I don’t agree with them on everything, but if you agree with everything your news sources say, you’re probably either in a cult or not paying enough attention.
I also enjoy other random things (whence the name Eclectic Miscellanea) such as the word “whence” apparently, but also Star Trek, classic rock, tech news, the French language, Wheel of Fortune,
3. Be specific
I think I was fairly specific already! See above?
4. Use an image and “subscribe” buttons
Here’s a picture of Scrappy, and a subscribe button is at the bottom of this post. Voilà! Scrappy is a Yorkie who looks sweet and innocent, but who in his spare time is secretly planning the revolution.
5. Ignore our advice
So NOW you tell me I can ignore your advice. Thanks a bunch, Substack!
If YOU have any advice for someone starting out on Substack for the first time, please let me know. I welcome any and all advice and want to be a good member of the community, and not be seen as just one of those people who left Twitter and are ruining the neighborhood.
In any case, thanks for reading this far and I hope to be publishing actual posts soon, so if you’re interested click that Subscribe button on your way out. ¡Hasta la vista!