Twitter and Substack War
In the past few days, a war between Substack and Twitter has started.
Substack is a popular subscription newsletter platform. Last week, it introduced a new feature called Notes. It is somehow similar to the microblogging platform Twitter.
Twitter responded by disabling the ability to like, retweet or reply to a post that contains the word “Substack.” You will get a warning message if you click on a Substack link.
The majority of Substack users are independent small business owners. They rely on the platform as an enterprise software provider. After learning about the restrictions, most of them responded by saying they would use Substack Notes over Twitter.
Why did Twitter decide to Implement These Restrictions?
Elon Musk, the current owner of Twitter, said that he decided to restrict Substack on his platform because it was trying to “download a massive portion of the Twitter database.” It did so to support Substack Notes, a Twitter clone.
What Actually Happened?
On Wednesday, Substack rolled out a new feature called Notes. As mentioned, it is similar to Twitter. Users can post short-form content and share their ideas. People could like and comment on the post. Again, it is similar to Twitter.
Although Notes is similar to the blue bird, there is a huge difference. The network does not depend on ads. Rather, it relies on subscriptions.
Then, on Thursday evening, Substack bloggers who are using Twitter to promote their work started to notice that their Substack links are suppressed on the microblogging platform. If Twitter users would interact with the post linking to Substack, they would get an error message.
On Friday, Matt Taibbi, a Substack blogger and one of Elon Musk’s journalists wrote that he would use the Substack Notes, instead of Twitter to share his work. He has amassed thousands of paid subscribers. Subscribers will have to pay $5 a month to access Matt’s content.
Musk clarified that Twitter did not block Substack links. However, Twitter users pointed out that the platform prevented users from interacting with posts containing Substack links.
Substack writers utilize Twitter as a primary source of traffic and growth. Many were left disappointed by the news.
The platform offers more power to creators and writers. For Substack, “writers deserve the freedom to share links to Substack or anywhere else. However, even if this change is not temporary, it is a reminder of why cracks are starting to show in the internet’s legacy business models. When it comes to any of the other large platforms, the rules are the same. If writers and creators don’t own their relationships with their audiences, they’re not in control.”
Several high-profile journalists have started to use Substack Notes.
Twitter remains one of the fast and most efficient ways to stay up-to-date with news and events happening around the world. Many people utilize Twitter to follow news organizations, journalists, and influencers to get the latest information on topics that interest them.
Businesses, individuals, and organizations also use it to promote their products, services, or causes.
