Breaking away from the world of social media’s centralized control, Substack has officially announced a major update to their platform’s peer-to-peer recommendation system. The new changes are aimed at empowering writers to extend their audience reach and potentially increase their number of subscribers and followers. Writers can now curate and share a personalized list of publications for their readers to explore and subscribe to.
In a blog post, Substack states that this update marks a significant step towards a future free from the limitations of centralized discovery and control on social media.
This revolutionary new feature allows writers on Substack to recommend a network of other writers to their subscribers. By doing so, Substack is fostering a community where writers can support and uplift each other, ultimately aiding in the growth of their audiences. Unlike traditional social media platforms that rely on algorithms for recommendations, Substack is giving writers the power to curate their own list of recommended publications.
Upon subscribing to a writer’s publication, readers will now have the option to opt-in to a package of recommended writers and their publications. In the past, this option was limited to only three publications, but with the new update, readers can now see as many recommendations as the writer chooses to share.
Readers also have the freedom to select or deselect the recommended writers and publications, which will then be reflected in their feed, where they will start to see posts and updates from those in their chosen network.
According to Substack, this new update has the potential to not only foster goodwill between writers, but also help readers shape their own unique worldview. The platform will also provide writers with data on how many subscriptions and follows their recommendations have driven for others in their network.
- Substack sheds light on just how impactful recommendations can be on their platform, stating that they drive 50% of all new subscriptions and 25% of new paid subscriptions. Early data also shows that Substack’s approach to recommendations has led to an increase in both subscriptions and followers for both publications and users.
With this update, Substack also announced that their platform has now reached over three million readers who subscribe to paid newsletters, a significant jump from just two million a year ago.
However, this update comes at a time of controversy for Substack as they faced backlash at the beginning of the year due to their decision not to ban Nazi newsletters on their platform. Substack CEO Hamish McKenzie clarified that while they do ban posts inciting violence, they will not take a centralized approach to content moderation. As a result, notable writers such as Casey Newton and Ryan Broderick have decided to leave the platform.
