I hate Substack Notes. I love Substack Notes!
A friendly debate, featuring @Harjas
Hi all! Today I’m trying something different. Last week I asked if anyone wanted to collaborate on a post, and
from the Substack publication Hardly Working has taken up my invitation.Since we both spend a lot of time on this app, we decided to do a little debate on the resolution: Is Substack Notes the Worst? If you’re not familiar, Notes is Substack’s version of Twitter. It allows you to follow writers, retweet “restack” quotes from long-form posts, etc.
Harjas has taken the affirmative position: he thinks Notes is the worst. He will open, I will respond, and he will conclude! Hope you enjoy.
I hate Substack Notes (by Harjas)
1. Any platform that has both infinite scrolling features and algorithmically-driven recommendations naturally lends itself to brain-numbing, dopamine-seeking behavior, which is the opposite of what I use Substack for.
Sure, I can find new and interesting writing, but I can’t really read long-form content on Notes. I usually end up saving the post for later, when I’m in a state of mind that hasn’t been disintegrated by the endless feed of hot takes and funny jokes and attempted pithy one-liners.
It’s a struggle to avoid scrolling notes like how I used to scroll Instagram or Reddit or YouTube Shorts; I resent Notes for it. I’m generally pretty critical of algorithmically-driven entertainment, no matter how informative it claims to be, and Substack Notes is no exception.
2. Even if I do manage to avoid falling into a Substack Notes scrolling session, posting notes is still not what I really want to be doing on Substack.
Posting on Notes makes me feel like I’m doing something productive, but in reality, it just eats up all of my creative brain juice that I would prefer to save for long-form content. I would way prefer to write a complete Substack post instead of writing twenty notes, because the Substack post is the harder and more rewarding task. But notes are too easy to write, too tempting.
After I write a post, I normally have a better understanding of the thing I’ve written about. After I write more than three Substack Notes notes,1 I lose all recollection of what I’ve said or done. As someone who is trying to increase his sense of intentionality and choice, the latter sensation is very disconcerting. I don’t like the feeling of lost time or brainpower, and Notes makes me feel those feelings often.
3. The notes I write are different from my long-form content.
Fundamentally, I just don’t like the way my brain starts working when I’m trying to make calculations on gaining popularity or going viral, and I feel like that’s what notes is all about: discoverability. I write my posts to be correct and interesting. But I write my notes to be engaging and attract attention.
Even worse, I don’t think that writing for Notes makes me a better writer. At best, I might improve my skill of crafting viral content, hopefully while preserving my ability to write thoughtful long-form content. I really value improving my writing, so I don’t like the idea of spending so much time and energy to develop a skill—getting popular—that I really don’t value.
4. Notes itself just isn’t that great.
There’s a pretty hard upper limit on how correct or useful a Substack Note can be. When you’re communicating with only a handful of words, it’s hard to say something that isn’t either obviously true, extremely oversimplified, faux profound, or just flat-out wrong. And to truly understand an aspect of reality, you need to capture the nuances that are inherent in our world.
Doing that requires writing something that is at least one post long, if not longer! Otherwise, you risk making something that is trite at best and wrong at worst. The notes that drive engagement aren’t the most informative or useful notes: they’re the catchiest, funniest, and pithiest. Notes is being overwhelmed by this sort of hyperpalatable infotainment gruel. Even worse, AI lends itself very well to mass-generated intellectual-cosplaying navel-gazing woolgathering, and so my feeds are full of this crap. And I’m sick of it!
Look. Substack Notes isn’t ontologically evil or whatever. But right now, I can’t seem to think of any redeeming qualities. I’m really just annoyed that my long-form content newsletter app is turning into Twitter 2.0.
Notes is great, actually (by Jordan)
1.
I just made the kids mac & cheese. It’s a high-value food for them, so they’re actually focused on eating. The baby is down. I’m eating some leftover rice. I have no bandwidth to really think or write or do anything productive. Next thing I know, my phone is in my hand. Time for some humorous, algorithmically-curated short-form vertical videos.
But wait—a few minutes later, I realize that’s not what’s happening at all. Instead, I’m reading a long-form piece about the pitfalls of gentle parenting, or ethical use of artificial intelligence, or…shrimp welfare?
Wait a second, am I getting smarter? That can’t be right—I’m staring at my phone. I should be zoning out. But sure enough, I’m encountering ideas that will legitimately shape how I see the world. How did I get here?
I got here through Substack Notes.
A million years ago, I was a little bit of a Twitter addict. I was fascinated by the brilliant writing and writers there, especially the humor. It was like a bottomless Jack Handy generator. But over time, Twitter turned into the internet’s most toxic and bot-filled cesspool. I was angry every single time I opened the app. I cut that garbage out of my life.
Substack Notes isn’t Twitter circa 2012. (I low-key wish it was.) But it’s close enough to make me want to open that little orange icon instead of Instagram or YouTube Shorts, my usual mind-numbers. I open it to scroll through easy little quips and mine for tiny dopamine hits.
But Notes tends to bait and switch me in the best way. Because virtually everyone on here wants to be writing long-form, and because Notes’ UI is explicitly designed to pull you into actual essays, I keep scroll-stopping at articles that I want to read. Next thing I know, I’m reading something that has me wondering whether Latter-day Saints really actually have figured it all out.
Harjas is right that algorithmically-curated media is addictive and probably not healthy. But let’s be real: I’m not going to stop using it. And Notes has somehow figured out how to make me reach for a spoonful of honey and end up with broccoli in my mouth—and I like the broccoli.
2.
Harjas says he doesn’t like posting notes on Notes. That’s fine, because I like it enough for the two of us. Back in the Golden Age of Twitter, I fancied that I might someday join the ranks of the brilliant microhumorists I found on there. I learned how to pay attention to any passing thought that I might have, check if it was interesting, and if so, communicate it as a bite-sized thesis or joke.
This is such a good exercise for a writer. Recording your ideas? Imperative. Expressing your ideas in one dense, tight sentence? That’s called a thesis, baby. Seeing what ideas resonate with people? Completely invaluable. I don’t see how this isn’t a perfect dojo for the writer/thinker honing their craft.
Plus, not all ideas need a 1500 word think-piece. And when they do, you tab over to “New Post” and you’re off to the races. Moreover, you’ll have a lot more posts to write if you’re tracking your thoughts, something a Notes habit encourages.
My Twitter skills have laid dormant for nearly a decade. But finally, with the advent of Substack Notes, I have somewhere to apply them again. And it’s on a platform that’s dominated by thoughtful people who want to write and read long-form essays. It rocks.
3.
Speaking of people, Notes is where I’ve found my community on Substack. The older I get, the more I realize that almost everything noteworthy happens in Scenes. Being one dude doing stuff in isolation doesn’t tend to get you very far (I’ve tried). But it can be hard to develop a community in, like, the comments section of a one-off article.
Notes is where I find people, and seems to be where people find me. People signal-boost great pieces on Notes, which helps me navigate the sea of content on the platform. And Notes is a chance for me to provide value for people I find interesting—mostly by flagging interesting things for them. I try to make a habit of sharing a little something about almost everything I read on Substack, which helps me feel more engaged rather than entirely consumption-focused. Even though I’m still fairly new to Substack, I’ve already made some connections I really value through Notes. To pick an example at random—I became aware of Harjas through our interactions on Notes, and to pick a second example at random, this essay came about because I solicited collaborations on—you guessed it—Notes!
Harjas is definitely right that Notes has pitfalls. If you scroll Notes during time you would have used to save the world, or even to write long-form pieces, that’s a net loss. But if you use it for what it is, in parallel to your long-form efforts and all the grass-touching we’re supposed to be doing anyway, then you may find it provides a lot of value. It has for me. Long live Notes!
Concluding remarks (by Harjas)
Jordan makes some strong arguments. Substack Notes might be bad, but it’s not as bad as TikTok or Instagram. Posting more on Notes has forced me to tighten up my writing, and there’s a lot of value in learning how to adapt to the platform you’re reliant on. Also, I did meet him on Notes. Got me there.
Still, I stand by most of what I said. If I’m not careful, Notes can be a dangerous time sink, and I can easily find myself at the end of a scroll with nothing to show for it. And many of the highest-boosted notes are still algo-slop. One thousand likes does not a banger make.
Ultimately, it all comes down to one question: what are you using your technology for? How intentional are you with your actions?2
Technology is a force multiplier on your habits, good and bad. Some technology trends in a particular direction—I think Substack is a little better than most (and fine, maybe Notes too) just by virtue of avoiding advertisement-driven profit, whereas a particular formerly bird-shaped app has lost its old charm. But only you will know whether Notes is good for you, bad for you, or some secret third option.
So if you’re going to use an algorithmically-driven entertainment platform such as Notes—like we are—I guess I’m warning you to be mindful. There’s a lot to be discovered here, if you have the wherewithal to find it.
Just make sure you’re using Notes, and not the other way around.
Thanks for reading! Leave a comment and let us know who has the better of the argument.
Many thanks to
for the guest post. Make sure to subscribe to his publication, , in which he armchair analyzes whatever he finds interesting, and also writes personal reflections on learning how to live life better.As usual, you’re reading the Fare Well Files, my blog about creativity, ambition, quitting my career, parenting, crows, etc.
Also, if you’d like to collaborate on something, please reach out! Just imagine all the fun we could have. Until next time!
This capitalization scheme is confusing! My apologies.
I realize this is two questions.
 | A guest post by
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Jordan you won. I hate it but you’re right. Just wanted to be fair and square.
I wish I could eliminate the notes tab altogether. Since I can't, I am actually deleting the app RIGHT NOW. I'll just use my computer and write real posts, because it's too hard for me to avoid falling into a notes-hole, much like with "bad" social media. Although there are some very interesting thoughts that do lead to "community" (but come on, not really) or new authors to read, ultimately it leaves me feeling depleted, like I should be striving and engaging instead of creating.