Hello from Devon,
A person who is too nice an observer of the business of the crowd, like one who is too curious in observing the labor of bees, will often be stung for his curiosity.
—Alexander Pope
After a lot of research and frenetic activity on the computer keyboard that could, to the casual observer, look like a load of messing about on the internet, I’m testing out substack as a new home for the VIP Readers Club.
I’ve looked at this solution before, but only briefly, and this time I shall try harder to bend it to my will. There will almost certainly be teething problems, but with a bit of luck and patience, we’ll get through them.
There’s a chance that subscribers will get some extra messages in their inbox from substack, but readers can always unsubscribe, and this minor inconvenience is offset by the fact that there are no ads on substack. Yes, substack wants to grow, but nobody is tracking you, and if you happen to comment on a picture of a garden, no one will suddenly try to sell you a lawnmower.
Life will be simpler for you and I. At the moment, I have a Facebook page and two Facebook groups, a website along with a membership system, several newsletters, a podcast, a youtube channel, other social media accounts and Uncle Tom Cobley and all.
Most of those things will become very much secondary, e.g. on my Facebook page I might share a link to a new substack post.
This is Our New Community
There are lots of built-in features on substack, and I need to get to grips with them, but we already have an area called Notes which is a bit like Twitter used to be in the time before it was spoiled. I can post quick updates and readers can comment: See the Notes Feature
Newsletters are automatically posted on my substack publication, so they form a blog.
Substack also has its own app, which I think is quite nifty. To my mind, it’s better to spend a spare few minutes reading content from someone I’ve actually chosen to follow, as opposed to scrolling through the seemingly random nonsense thrown at me by the deranged algorithms of Facebook and Instagram and so on.
Here’s a smart button if you’d like to try out the app:
That’s Enough Housekeeping
Time for the Featured Photos
Here’s a gallery from our recent trip to Plymouth - click on a photo to expand:
What’s next?
I’m going to be trying out all the features on substack, and seeing how I can use it to deliver extra value to my readers while, at the same time, making my life a little easier.
The less time I spend wrangling websites and social media to try and make the all sing in harmony, the more time I can spend writing books, responding to your comments, and generally serving you, dear readers.
Trying something new is always a risk. Am I finding a great solution to an ongoing problem, or am I simply chasing something shiny and new?
As Pope implies, am I observing the crowd too closely? Will I be stung for my curiosity?
I don't think so.
I’ll keep on writing things that I hope you’ll enjoy, and I’ll keep sharing photos.
It’s simple. We can figure it out.
Until next time,
Happy reading and take care,
Mikey