Why I Quit Social Media and Spend 14 Hours a Day on Notes Instead
It’s so much better than Instagram!
After years of grinding away on social media, I finally broke free! I got rid of Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and all 600-or-so Twitter-like platforms that have popped up in the last two years. Thanks to Substack, I’m no longer subservient to shadowy algorithms and infinite feeds designed to sap all of my time, energy and attention. Now I spend 14 hours a day on Notes instead!
Notes is different from a social media platform. Instead of being run by a large, sketchy corporation, it’s run by a smaller, slightly less sketchy corporation. Giant tech companies use algorithms specifically designed to keep you on their platforms for as long as possible by showing you polarizing hot takes and pictures of adorable animals. Notes, on the other hand, uses algorithms specifically designed to keep you on the platform for as long as possible by showing you writing advice, inspirational quotes, pictures of adorable animals, and, for some reason, everything Ted Gioia posts.
The Notes feed is also way more civil than other apps. The only polarizing content you’ll ever see on Notes is when there’s some internal debate about Substack, like whether Nazi ideology has no place in society, or whether Nazis really aren’t that bad if you just give them some apple juice and let them tucker themselves out. But those discussions only take over the entire feed for 2-3 months at a time, 6-9 months out of the year.
Notes is also a great tool for building your audience! Post regularly and you’ll slowly amass followers, which are just like subscribers, except you have no idea who they are, they never see your newsletter, and you have no way of contacting them. Why try to gain followers on Twitter with the hope of getting them to subscribe to your Substack when you can try to gain followers on Notes with the hope of getting them to subscribe to your Substack? As of last week, you can even see the total number of followers you have! How many social media platforms will tell you THAT, huh?
But how do I get started on Notes, you might ask? If you’re a new Substacker struggling to gain any sort of traction, there’s a simple solution. Just find an account that’s big (but not too big! The huge accounts never post on Notes) and comment on every single one of their Notes for the next year. You’ll rack up tens of subscribers in no time!
Now that I spend 14 hours a day on Notes instead of on social media, I have so much more time to devote to writing. I can get an entire hour of writing done every single day in between the time I spend restacking writing advice and the time I spend looking up Oscar Wilde quotes.
So join me on Notes — the water’s perfect! Until the next big Substack debate, of course. Then it’ll kinda suck for a bit.
And now…the disclaimer. I always debate whether or not to write these disclaimers because part of me says “screw your feelings,” but (because I’m the eldest child of an immigrant parent) another, louder part of me says “please don’t be mad at me!” So, just to be crystal clear, I don’t have a problem with Notes, or with anybody who uses Notes. I use it all the time, and it’s a genuinely nice way to connect with people (especially other writers). In fact, you might even be reading this because you found me on Notes.
But haven’t you noticed that Notes feels a bit…overly exuberant sometimes? A tad self-congratulatory? If you quit all of your other social media because that feels right for you, that’s excellent. And I’m all for the fact that Notes is usually a less toxic place to be online than other places. But let’s not pretend Notes isn’t also social media. It’s just social media that’s more in the service of writers than other social media platforms.
Do I have a better suggestion for helping Substackers get their work out there? Of course not. I’m not here to provide “solutions.” I’m just here to point out stuff and make fun of it – 0% useful, 100% catharsis.
I’d write more about this, but
already articulated this better than I can (re: I’m just a silly dude who writes jokes). So consider everything up top to be my jokey, Carlos-y contribution to this discussion, and go read this for a more substantive view:
In the meantime, I’ll be on Notes, posting, commenting, and scrolling just as I have been for months. But don’t worry, I can quit anytime I want!
Best thing I ever did was change my settings in the app so I didn’t open to Notes
I was getting spun about Notes last month. Somehow I had managed to ignore it until it consumed me and I went metric manic. It was HARRIBLE. I decided only to promote other people here, not myself unless I’ve written something that really delights me (very rare). I feel like karma will do its thing and all will be well. Grace for the machine. And I DID find you through a note during that frenzied time. So, lucky me.