I think the answer is fear. I am terrified what’s happening will harm my children and grandchildren. I know I’m considered disposable because I’ve “aged-out” of the higher profit centers. I’m constantly scanning the headlines to determine direct threats to my family and only doing deep dives on those things that have a direct influence on our lives. It’s not who I am. I prefer to read and understand everything. The truth is, it has all become so dark and overwhelming that I can no longer absorb it all. If I thought that could do something to change it all, I would. Perhaps, being an elder and remembering the stories of the greatest generation will be enough to incentivize those coming behind me.
I am 82...you are right about the attitude towards aging...such a disgrace to elders. I also fear what is happening in the governance of our nation. Everything I admired about the system of government is being systematically destroyed. Even as a child I saw what I perceived as a balance between two psychologies, one for the people and one for financial, i.e. left and right. Negotiation is the key and we have lost that with nasty infighting and a "war" mentality. Our founders worked very hard to create a way to allow negotiation between the two psychologies to work for everyone. While not perfect, it has been a shining example for 250 years!
Mark, it's a much broader problem that has infected Substack, too: it's the appeal of the quick punchy jab, at the expense of the much more developed and considered discussion. Some Substackers, like Coffman Chronicle and Steve Vladek, simply won't shorten their written discussions. If readers are interested in what they have to say, it will take them some time.
As you mentioned, you, and no doubt others, get caught up trying to apply a quicker sting for attention and restacks. As you describe, that comes at a price. The fact is that your normal posts are generally to the point, and not comparatively long, and I, as a very devoted follower, encourage you to keep taking your time. Your discussions are magnificent, and they're worth the time you spend writing them, and we spend reading them. You're extremely knowledgeable, and it's well worth our time to derive the advantage or your knowledge and perspectives.
Mark, please understand that my comment comes from what you mean to us. I'm not just blowing smoke. A nice and careful consideration of what's on Mark Mansour's mind is worth far more than a reminder that you're still around and feisty. Anybody who can't spend the few or several minutes it takes to absorb your topic of the day, and think about it, and react to it, doesn't deserve anything from you.
I am so sorry to see this happening to great writers...there are so many of you on substack! I think you hit the point that the "notes" grab attention, and take away from more substantial work, but with the short attention span of so many, it is hard to imagine that it will be any time soon before we have our students learning to critically think about issues. I am sure that the problem has developed over several decades...at least from the 80's. My own children were in the beginning of the disconnect, but thankfully they got through unscathed. At this point it may be decades before it can be reversed.
Also I agree with you wholeheartedly. The reason why I don’t want to get took engaged is: I’m 83 years old and are worried for my family and grandchildren here and in Germany. I grew up in Germany after Worlds War II and never wanted to see another dictator nor another war again. I I worked as a translator during unification of Europe, which was the greatest time of my life.
I deleted my Meta accounts because I was sick to death of all the AI-generated memes, pages, ‘people’. I’ve never had Twitter/X, TikTok, WhatsApp etc. BlueSky is too much noise for me. Substack brings me thoughtful writing across genres, as well as humor, art, exposure to new ideas. I am grateful for all the long form essays, analyses from journalists who are not beholden to corporate interests. I wish my pension allowed me to take on more paid subscriptions. For now, you have my thanks.
I think this is a deeper societal problem than just the format. People have now been conditioned to read in a very shallow manner. I see this all over. I will write an email and the recipient will not respond. Respond to the three questions I ask I am not being overly verbose in that but they read the first two sentences. I think the question you pose would be much better analyzed by psychologists and us average readers, but thank you for pointing out this.
The creator's dilemma. We all struggle against an ever-decreasing attention span, and the sheer volume of violations, desecrations and outrages perpetrated by the Regime. I don't know the answer, either. Does anyone?
I think this trend goes way, way back.The era of in depth reporting on every media has moved to sound bites, headlines and “easy” everything. Think about it. Fast food, fast and easy online shopping, emails and texts! Most people do not want to think independently, be patient but do want easy! Trump has exploited this through the FOX freaks who are all too agreeable to his conspiracies and rants (earn multiples of more than any of us can hope to).
Whole generations of people have only known this environmental rather than support in depth reporting. Look how easily the PBS and other similar outlets have disappeared in favor of new bites.
Your longer essays are always excellent. Insightful, highly relevant, and well-written. I share your concern. My subscribers increase more through Notes than my Substack essays. I therefore continue to do both on an almost daily basis. And the total number of subscribers and followers has remained fairly consistent. I lose some and gain some. That’s ok with me so long as I feel fulfilled by my writing.
Mr Friedman, you put me in mind of what has happened to comedy over the past several decades or more. In the old days, comedy was a comedian doing stand-up jokes. The jokes commonly had nothing to do with each other. Nowadays, maybe since Carlin, or maybe before, comedy is a much more extended and coherent presentation. It's sort of an extended funny story about some sustained topic. To me, it's an evolution, since I like it better. I think most people like it better, and fewer people would go to hear a comedian who just told one joke after another unrelated joke.
Substack notes are like stand-up jokes. They're punchy and cute, or incisive, but...yeah...so...? I much prefer Mark's explanations, or Coffman Chronicles' or Steve Vladek's longer ones. There's no chuckle, but I learn more. And when I get the occasional e-mailed list of a few notes, they're always from Substackers whose work I already know. There's not even any novelty.
So much of what you're saying here is hitting home, Mark. I love being on Notes, but I worry that it's those quick bites that will define me rather than my essays. I'm grateful to Notes for giving me the following I have, but it's three times my subscriber list and much of it comes from items I restack from somewhere else. It's not all me.
I like the Twitter-like aspect of Notes and I think it's what draws me there nearly every day. I like finding interesting and esoteric things written by people who are clever and creative and knowledgeable. I go there now for breaking news, just as I once did on Twitter before it became evil. I even like sharing memes, though it drives me crazy that a meme I've dragged from somewhere else will get tens of thousands of likes and a few thousand restacks when I can't get my own works or comments to do even a tiny percentage of that.
But it's the community that draws me most. I wouldn't want to lose that. Writing essays at my publication is what I strive for and how I want to be known, but sharing my thoughts on Notes is an important part of who I am now. Can't deny it.
I agree completely with all of that. While I love the engagement, I wish I would get 3,000 likes for my posts rather than my notes. But it is what it is.
I definitely appreciate the broader essays, especially yours. There comes a time with a few writers when I think "enough already, you've made your point!" I want more than sound bites, but there are limits, and I appreciate the fact that your pieces seem to hit the sweet spot with that.
It's rare for me not to get to your long-form pieces, and while I have the attention span for them, there is *so* much information out there [gestures vaguely], it would take me half the day or more to get to all I'd like to see. Substack says I have 23 subscriptions right now, and while they thankfully aren't all daily writers, it's tough to give them all attention. Then there are the writers I only "follow."
We have subscriptions to The Atlantic and have stuck with the NYT, which I rarely get to but dumped WaPo when 250,000+ other people did. There's TV news, which I usually record and delete without watching, although I do catch bits and pieces of MS NOW a few times a week. Unlike the majority of sentient beings in this country, I don't live with a cell phone in my hand, but I do check AP New headlines on it halfway regularly. For those of us really interested in what's going on in the country--not nearly as many people as would be helpful in saving it--I'm thankful to have good writers here, but it's all overwhelming
Not sure what the solution is. Even though I haven't done a lot of writing here, I've noticed this site's trend more towards social media-style, too, and I've thought, "I don't want this to be Facebook" or any of the other, more current social media sites. I do find myself more drawn to essays in general that have an easily visible synopsis with them, but then those are usually from whatever Substack calls their equivalent to Facebook's news feed.
Good luck in finding a solution, Mark, and let us know where this takes you.
Subscribers, whether free or paid, get emails with the longer pieces. That’s how I prefer to read articles from my favorite Substackers. After I’ve read all the articles sent to my email, I then turn to the app to read notes as well as longer pieces by Substackers I don’t subscribe to.
I am glad for the inbox function where I can scan my subscriptions for more meaningful content that has been carefully written and edited. I like notes for highlighting columns that I may wish to read. I dislike that there is no way to filter all of the video content or notes that are reposting screenshots from other venues.
I am also not a fan of the volume of live content. Video is valuable for thoughtful discussions or interviews with experts but so much of it feels like people just like to post videos of themsleves talking. The same set of people go back and forth appearing on each other's substacks. All the energy spent creating fleeting content is churn that won't help advance topics in any direction.
I always look at posts from my subscriptions before I look at notes.
That’s great to hear. Thank you.
I do the same.
I think the answer is fear. I am terrified what’s happening will harm my children and grandchildren. I know I’m considered disposable because I’ve “aged-out” of the higher profit centers. I’m constantly scanning the headlines to determine direct threats to my family and only doing deep dives on those things that have a direct influence on our lives. It’s not who I am. I prefer to read and understand everything. The truth is, it has all become so dark and overwhelming that I can no longer absorb it all. If I thought that could do something to change it all, I would. Perhaps, being an elder and remembering the stories of the greatest generation will be enough to incentivize those coming behind me.
I am 82...you are right about the attitude towards aging...such a disgrace to elders. I also fear what is happening in the governance of our nation. Everything I admired about the system of government is being systematically destroyed. Even as a child I saw what I perceived as a balance between two psychologies, one for the people and one for financial, i.e. left and right. Negotiation is the key and we have lost that with nasty infighting and a "war" mentality. Our founders worked very hard to create a way to allow negotiation between the two psychologies to work for everyone. While not perfect, it has been a shining example for 250 years!
Our 250th Celebration of our forefathers will be quite different from theirs. That is a good thing!
Mark, it's a much broader problem that has infected Substack, too: it's the appeal of the quick punchy jab, at the expense of the much more developed and considered discussion. Some Substackers, like Coffman Chronicle and Steve Vladek, simply won't shorten their written discussions. If readers are interested in what they have to say, it will take them some time.
As you mentioned, you, and no doubt others, get caught up trying to apply a quicker sting for attention and restacks. As you describe, that comes at a price. The fact is that your normal posts are generally to the point, and not comparatively long, and I, as a very devoted follower, encourage you to keep taking your time. Your discussions are magnificent, and they're worth the time you spend writing them, and we spend reading them. You're extremely knowledgeable, and it's well worth our time to derive the advantage or your knowledge and perspectives.
That means a lot to me Fred. Thank you.
Mark, please understand that my comment comes from what you mean to us. I'm not just blowing smoke. A nice and careful consideration of what's on Mark Mansour's mind is worth far more than a reminder that you're still around and feisty. Anybody who can't spend the few or several minutes it takes to absorb your topic of the day, and think about it, and react to it, doesn't deserve anything from you.
I often write a longer piece and put a « pointer » of sorts on Notes and on Facebook to let people know about it.
I do too. That’s the only way I can think of to promote the posts.
Definitely a question for psychologists. Thank you for your thoughtful comment.
I am so sorry to see this happening to great writers...there are so many of you on substack! I think you hit the point that the "notes" grab attention, and take away from more substantial work, but with the short attention span of so many, it is hard to imagine that it will be any time soon before we have our students learning to critically think about issues. I am sure that the problem has developed over several decades...at least from the 80's. My own children were in the beginning of the disconnect, but thankfully they got through unscathed. At this point it may be decades before it can be reversed.
Also I agree with you wholeheartedly. The reason why I don’t want to get took engaged is: I’m 83 years old and are worried for my family and grandchildren here and in Germany. I grew up in Germany after Worlds War II and never wanted to see another dictator nor another war again. I I worked as a translator during unification of Europe, which was the greatest time of my life.
I deleted my Meta accounts because I was sick to death of all the AI-generated memes, pages, ‘people’. I’ve never had Twitter/X, TikTok, WhatsApp etc. BlueSky is too much noise for me. Substack brings me thoughtful writing across genres, as well as humor, art, exposure to new ideas. I am grateful for all the long form essays, analyses from journalists who are not beholden to corporate interests. I wish my pension allowed me to take on more paid subscriptions. For now, you have my thanks.
And you have mine.
I think this is a deeper societal problem than just the format. People have now been conditioned to read in a very shallow manner. I see this all over. I will write an email and the recipient will not respond. Respond to the three questions I ask I am not being overly verbose in that but they read the first two sentences. I think the question you pose would be much better analyzed by psychologists and us average readers, but thank you for pointing out this.
The creator's dilemma. We all struggle against an ever-decreasing attention span, and the sheer volume of violations, desecrations and outrages perpetrated by the Regime. I don't know the answer, either. Does anyone?
I think this trend goes way, way back.The era of in depth reporting on every media has moved to sound bites, headlines and “easy” everything. Think about it. Fast food, fast and easy online shopping, emails and texts! Most people do not want to think independently, be patient but do want easy! Trump has exploited this through the FOX freaks who are all too agreeable to his conspiracies and rants (earn multiples of more than any of us can hope to).
Whole generations of people have only known this environmental rather than support in depth reporting. Look how easily the PBS and other similar outlets have disappeared in favor of new bites.
I agree with you. This is a much broader issue.
Your longer essays are always excellent. Insightful, highly relevant, and well-written. I share your concern. My subscribers increase more through Notes than my Substack essays. I therefore continue to do both on an almost daily basis. And the total number of subscribers and followers has remained fairly consistent. I lose some and gain some. That’s ok with me so long as I feel fulfilled by my writing.
Mr Friedman, you put me in mind of what has happened to comedy over the past several decades or more. In the old days, comedy was a comedian doing stand-up jokes. The jokes commonly had nothing to do with each other. Nowadays, maybe since Carlin, or maybe before, comedy is a much more extended and coherent presentation. It's sort of an extended funny story about some sustained topic. To me, it's an evolution, since I like it better. I think most people like it better, and fewer people would go to hear a comedian who just told one joke after another unrelated joke.
Substack notes are like stand-up jokes. They're punchy and cute, or incisive, but...yeah...so...? I much prefer Mark's explanations, or Coffman Chronicles' or Steve Vladek's longer ones. There's no chuckle, but I learn more. And when I get the occasional e-mailed list of a few notes, they're always from Substackers whose work I already know. There's not even any novelty.
Agree. The longer articles make me think.
So much of what you're saying here is hitting home, Mark. I love being on Notes, but I worry that it's those quick bites that will define me rather than my essays. I'm grateful to Notes for giving me the following I have, but it's three times my subscriber list and much of it comes from items I restack from somewhere else. It's not all me.
I like the Twitter-like aspect of Notes and I think it's what draws me there nearly every day. I like finding interesting and esoteric things written by people who are clever and creative and knowledgeable. I go there now for breaking news, just as I once did on Twitter before it became evil. I even like sharing memes, though it drives me crazy that a meme I've dragged from somewhere else will get tens of thousands of likes and a few thousand restacks when I can't get my own works or comments to do even a tiny percentage of that.
But it's the community that draws me most. I wouldn't want to lose that. Writing essays at my publication is what I strive for and how I want to be known, but sharing my thoughts on Notes is an important part of who I am now. Can't deny it.
I agree completely with all of that. While I love the engagement, I wish I would get 3,000 likes for my posts rather than my notes. But it is what it is.
I definitely appreciate the broader essays, especially yours. There comes a time with a few writers when I think "enough already, you've made your point!" I want more than sound bites, but there are limits, and I appreciate the fact that your pieces seem to hit the sweet spot with that.
It's rare for me not to get to your long-form pieces, and while I have the attention span for them, there is *so* much information out there [gestures vaguely], it would take me half the day or more to get to all I'd like to see. Substack says I have 23 subscriptions right now, and while they thankfully aren't all daily writers, it's tough to give them all attention. Then there are the writers I only "follow."
We have subscriptions to The Atlantic and have stuck with the NYT, which I rarely get to but dumped WaPo when 250,000+ other people did. There's TV news, which I usually record and delete without watching, although I do catch bits and pieces of MS NOW a few times a week. Unlike the majority of sentient beings in this country, I don't live with a cell phone in my hand, but I do check AP New headlines on it halfway regularly. For those of us really interested in what's going on in the country--not nearly as many people as would be helpful in saving it--I'm thankful to have good writers here, but it's all overwhelming
Not sure what the solution is. Even though I haven't done a lot of writing here, I've noticed this site's trend more towards social media-style, too, and I've thought, "I don't want this to be Facebook" or any of the other, more current social media sites. I do find myself more drawn to essays in general that have an easily visible synopsis with them, but then those are usually from whatever Substack calls their equivalent to Facebook's news feed.
Good luck in finding a solution, Mark, and let us know where this takes you.
Thanks so much for reading first of all. I really was just gently ranting. I don’t think anything can be done about it, I’m afraid.
Gentle rants are necessary sometimes, and I sympathize.
Don't know if my note with the share will get any responses or not.
Subscribers, whether free or paid, get emails with the longer pieces. That’s how I prefer to read articles from my favorite Substackers. After I’ve read all the articles sent to my email, I then turn to the app to read notes as well as longer pieces by Substackers I don’t subscribe to.
I am glad for the inbox function where I can scan my subscriptions for more meaningful content that has been carefully written and edited. I like notes for highlighting columns that I may wish to read. I dislike that there is no way to filter all of the video content or notes that are reposting screenshots from other venues.
I am also not a fan of the volume of live content. Video is valuable for thoughtful discussions or interviews with experts but so much of it feels like people just like to post videos of themsleves talking. The same set of people go back and forth appearing on each other's substacks. All the energy spent creating fleeting content is churn that won't help advance topics in any direction.
Thanks for providing meaningful content.
Thank you for reading and for your thoughtful comments.