{"id":840336,"date":"2025-12-03T13:05:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T10:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=840336"},"modified":"2025-12-03T13:05:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T10:05:00","slug":"has-substack-entered-its-slop-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=840336","title":{"rendered":"Has Substack entered its slop era?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As a writer in New York, I couldn\u2019t count on two hands the number of times I\u2019ve been told to \u201cstart a Substack\u201d. After launching in 2017, the online publishing platform has, slowly but steadily, been attracting some of the most exciting emerging and established writers of the moment. The promise to make the internet better for writers and readers \u2013 to give writers the power to directly reach and keep track of their audience and make money directly from their subscribers \u2013 is compelling amid media layoffs and an unreliable freelance market. So compelling, in fact, that it\u2019s easy to feel left behind, or not ahead of the curve, to be a writer who <\/span>doesn\u2019t<\/span><\/em> have a Substack. (I still swear I\u2019ll join one day.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Over time, Substack started drawing comparisons to other social media platforms, especially by those who saw the platform as a slower, more intention refuge from scrolling through slop. As interest grew in a space for writers and readers, and stories shared about people making six figures on the platform, it made sense that more and more people wanted to join. The likes of <\/span>Patti Smith<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Pamela Anderson<\/span><\/a> started sharing weekly thoughts and musings. Then, Substack launched <\/span>Notes for short-form content in 2023<\/span><\/a>, and influencers, publications and brands like <\/span>American Eagle<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Tory Burch<\/span><\/a> flocked to the platform. <\/span>This year alone, <\/span>Lena Dunham<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Lily Allen<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Rosal\u00eda<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Joseph Gordon Levitt<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>Ballerina Farm<\/span><\/a> have joined Substack. Last month, Charli XCX posted a photo of her laptop to Instagram, captioning it \u201c<\/span>I wrote on Substack <3\u201d. Her <\/span>first post<\/span><\/a> has over 11 thousand likes. Even this week, Lizzo wrote a think piece on cancel culture, <\/span>saying<\/span><\/a>, \u201cI\u2019m having too much fun on Substack yall\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s important not to get too exclusive with who can or can\u2019t be considered a writer (institutions have been doing exactly this for decades). It is, however, fair to say that once even our favourite celebrities and brands join a space, it\u2019s no longer exactly the same. Also, just because there\u2019s a current level of social capital that comes from being a cultural critic and thought leader, doesn\u2019t mean everyone is taking the time, care and research required to become one. <\/span>(Cue FKA twigs<\/a> with, \u201cWhere are the thinkers?\u201d) \u201cThis is supposed to be a space for us to experiment outside of traditional media, and instead we\u2019re getting more slop,\u201d writer Najma Sharif <\/span>recently posted on Notes<\/span><\/a>. It\u2019s a shift fashion theorist <\/span>Rian Phin<\/span><\/a>\u00a0compares to when celebrities started blogging. \u201cIt didn\u2019t destroy blogging; it revealed who could hack it,\u201d she says. \u201cFor the people who joined for the fleeting status of being \u2018in the know\u2019 about this area of the internet, it didn\u2019t last, and neither did they.\u201d Many well-known creatives did get their start on Tumblr, after all.<\/span><\/p>\n

While people debate whether the <\/span>Substack bubble is \u201cpopping\u201d<\/span><\/a>, a Substack representative told me that, at the core, Substack is still very much a place for writers. Substack, which calls itself \u201ca different kind of social media\u201d, <\/span>has been open<\/span><\/a> about how its feed differs from traditional social platforms (most notably, no endless-scroll incentive). \u201cCelebrities and influencers joining doesn\u2019t crowd writers out either; it actually lifts the Substack ecosystem,\u201d they say. \u201cWhen someone like Charli XCX shows up, she brings her community with her.\u201d Today, there are more than 5 million paid subscriptions to writers and creators on Substack, up from 4 million in November 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, for writers who rely on paid Substack subscribers to pay rent, the reality is this: people can only read so many newsletters and only subscribe to so many $6 regular newsletters. Ahead, writers who have been on the platform for years weigh in on the celebrification (and potential slop-ification) of Substack.<\/span><\/p>\n

ZACHARY ZANE, BOYSLUT ZINE<\/a><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n
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