Something I didn’t mention in the newsletter this week that is always haunting me is access to analytics. I feel like YouTubers will talk about optimizing thumbnails and seeing where there’s drop-off in the video and feeling pressured to focus on brute growth. On Substack, I can see the open rate and who clicks links and even though the numbers don’t mean a ton I still feel this compulsion to check them.
Last year, I saw King Princess perform and she introduced “You Destroyed My Heart” by pointing out that she can see it’s the least streamed song on the album but she likes it anyways. There just didn’t used to be that kind of quantitative feedback, like you couldn’t know what song was a common skip. Of course, everyone can see their likes and retweets and whatnot.
Would love to hear thoughts on this in particular, or anything in general about Content! Because on the flip side, I totally get why writers flocked to Twitter because sometimes publishing something feels so lonely without immediate feedback (but that’s probably also because social media has really cultivated the impulse for instant feedback).
I like the idea of how quantitative feedback affects how we see our own work - I guess as opposed to qualitative feedback, like does it mean more to the creator if it’s extremely popular & visible vs if it has made a personal connection to the audience even in smaller numbers. In general I feel we’re heading toward a place with less qualitative feedback, bc there’s too much content to feedback meaningfully on, especially with the peak of individual subscriptions model you described in your newsletter. I also feel that with twitter slowly being deserted + so many publications shutting down, it’s increasingly harder to connect with writers beyond popularity / influence, especially newer voices or topics that aren’t as likely to be viral - lots of popular content is great but I’d like the option to connect beyond that too.
yes!! on your last point, we’re in this precarious place where publications don’t really want to boost the journalist-influencer rep and I hate the pressure for journalists to be like influencers, but I also definitely will read something about a topic I don’t think I care about *because* a writer I trust is covering it and that trust feels very valuable and hard to create and maintain
Yes exactly & often i end up loving these pieces especially - things I wouldn’t have read but read because I like the writer’s style / approach - because in addition to just being interesting stories, they also give you insight into how a writer crafts a story, since you’re seeing a style you are familiar with in a story you’re not.
I think a lot of what makes this constant tracking of analytics so attractive is that it is partly a craving to go "full time" as a creative as fast as possible.
Tracking analytics, theoretically, aids in increasing visibility as fast as possible.
To me, though, that overtly damages my art. It's something I consciously have to push back on in my internal dialogue.
That’s an interesting take! I feel like analytics feel unindicative to me because I know how cursory people’s scrolling is and so like “impressions” or “views” can mean nothing
I like the idea of how quantitative feedback affects how we see our own work - I guess as opposed to qualitative feedback, like does it mean more to the creator if it’s extremely popular & visible vs if it has made a personal connection to the audience even in smaller numbers. In general I feel we’re heading toward a place with less qualitative feedback, bc there’s too much content to feedback meaningfully on, especially with the peak of individual subscriptions model you described in your newsletter. I also feel that with twitter slowly being deserted + so many publications shutting down, it’s increasingly harder to connect with writers beyond popularity / influence, especially newer voices or topics that aren’t as likely to be viral - lots of popular content is great but I’d like the option to connect beyond that too.
yes!! on your last point, we’re in this precarious place where publications don’t really want to boost the journalist-influencer rep and I hate the pressure for journalists to be like influencers, but I also definitely will read something about a topic I don’t think I care about *because* a writer I trust is covering it and that trust feels very valuable and hard to create and maintain
Yes exactly & often i end up loving these pieces especially - things I wouldn’t have read but read because I like the writer’s style / approach - because in addition to just being interesting stories, they also give you insight into how a writer crafts a story, since you’re seeing a style you are familiar with in a story you’re not.
I think a lot of what makes this constant tracking of analytics so attractive is that it is partly a craving to go "full time" as a creative as fast as possible.
Tracking analytics, theoretically, aids in increasing visibility as fast as possible.
To me, though, that overtly damages my art. It's something I consciously have to push back on in my internal dialogue.
That’s an interesting take! I feel like analytics feel unindicative to me because I know how cursory people’s scrolling is and so like “impressions” or “views” can mean nothing
Absolutely how I feel too, but when your mindset is in that monetization space engagement is engagement, and it rules all.