I'm really disappointed my feed and who I care to read are being manipulated. I've stopped exploring on the site because "suggestions" do not align with my interests. I get particularly annoyed with political directions. Thanks for the update, some of it I don't even understand so won't worry about it yet.
Yes, the feed is now based on the publications you have susbcribed to, the ones you are recommending and maybe notes you read/or persons you follow though less likely.
I have found the inline content menu to be clunky. I don't understand the Notes feed at all in the Inline Content menu. It is not fluid line Notes. It's more static and honestly to me I'd rather see a feed of newsletter posts than Notes.
Well, I just spent a hour trying to find out how to "Manage Interests" until I found this article which said it's gone.
So now basically since my feed is loaded with stuff which I no longer care about, I guess I'm just going to ignore my feed entirely and rely only on emails from my subscriptions.
Hmm, having worked on the product side in both established and growth products I think i’ts unfair to compare substacks release process to a Google. Substack needs to keep scrambling and innovating for growth and I’m sure they do a lot of A/B testing to see what works so you may even have a different experience than another user sometimes. I’m game to play along but I can see how it’d be frustrating for a bigger pub. Does Substack have a ring zero/early adopter/beta program? Those are always a cool way to get closer to feature changes but they may not be big enough to formalize something like that
Hi Andrew, apologies for missing your comment earlier. Substack's focus has leaned heavily toward celebrity writers and mega influencers, with less emphasis on enhancing the user experience for everyday creators. Their 'labs' and beta testing largely cater to high-profile users with large followings, rather than solopreneurs, yet they take a 10% cut from everyone.
Given this, it's reasonable to expect better communication from a platform intended to support writers.
and check its comments, you'll find a long list of basic issues. After this was published, and got some attention, they addressed some of these, so it is worth raising concerns.
With hundreds of millions in investment and profitable revenue, Substack is in a stronger position than most startups—justifying the need for clear communication, especially when changes appear sudden or disruptive.
By comparison, startup peers like Medium, beeHiiv, Ghost, and Notion all prioritize better communication with their users. A GenAI chatbot could streamline updates, and a monthly product update from a product manager would be a reasonable expectation.
Sure, Google sets a high standard, but even Word maintains compatibility with its 2004 versions—20 years later! If Substack aspires to be the best, it must learn from the best.
Thanks for sharing your perspective!
Startups or not, SaaS platforms should always put users first.
I have a friend, a paid subscriber, who wants to comment on my posts, but every time she does a substack message appears telling her that to comment she needs to give substack access to ALL her contacts. I think this is outrageous. But I don't even know who to complain to. In addition, I have found when I subscribe to other newsletters, I am automatically subscribed to their recommended newsletters, also outrageous.
Hmm. That sounds like a strange bug if she is being asked for access to her contacts just to comment. I haven't seen that. It may help if you open your post for all to comment, then reset it to paid only in Settings.
The second issue - you need to uncheck the boxes that appears on top or bottom of the menu 'Later' or 'Skip' to avoid being subscribed randomly. This is super annoying, I know!
I'm really disappointed my feed and who I care to read are being manipulated. I've stopped exploring on the site because "suggestions" do not align with my interests. I get particularly annoyed with political directions. Thanks for the update, some of it I don't even understand so won't worry about it yet.
Yes, the feed is now based on the publications you have susbcribed to, the ones you are recommending and maybe notes you read/or persons you follow though less likely.
I don’t like it. I like scrolling and finding new publications and people to discover.
Agreed, that is a better option.
I have found the inline content menu to be clunky. I don't understand the Notes feed at all in the Inline Content menu. It is not fluid line Notes. It's more static and honestly to me I'd rather see a feed of newsletter posts than Notes.
True, and users should be able to set a preference on a writing platform! Thanks for sharing, Pamela!
I agree Jayshree. Tech is always messing with things. Happy to share!
Also, your point is valid on seeing the articles directly versus landing in Notes.
Well, I just spent a hour trying to find out how to "Manage Interests" until I found this article which said it's gone.
So now basically since my feed is loaded with stuff which I no longer care about, I guess I'm just going to ignore my feed entirely and rely only on emails from my subscriptions.
Stupid move, Substack...
I agree, it is frustrating! THe algorithm is still wonky on tailoring the feed. Making simple things complex is an art too :-) Thanks for sharing!
Hmm, having worked on the product side in both established and growth products I think i’ts unfair to compare substacks release process to a Google. Substack needs to keep scrambling and innovating for growth and I’m sure they do a lot of A/B testing to see what works so you may even have a different experience than another user sometimes. I’m game to play along but I can see how it’d be frustrating for a bigger pub. Does Substack have a ring zero/early adopter/beta program? Those are always a cool way to get closer to feature changes but they may not be big enough to formalize something like that
Hi Andrew, apologies for missing your comment earlier. Substack's focus has leaned heavily toward celebrity writers and mega influencers, with less emphasis on enhancing the user experience for everyday creators. Their 'labs' and beta testing largely cater to high-profile users with large followings, rather than solopreneurs, yet they take a 10% cut from everyone.
Given this, it's reasonable to expect better communication from a platform intended to support writers.
If you check out my earliest post here - https://open.substack.com/pub/techmadesimpleguide/p/why-substack-is-engineering-led-and?r=1si0oc&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
and check its comments, you'll find a long list of basic issues. After this was published, and got some attention, they addressed some of these, so it is worth raising concerns.
With hundreds of millions in investment and profitable revenue, Substack is in a stronger position than most startups—justifying the need for clear communication, especially when changes appear sudden or disruptive.
By comparison, startup peers like Medium, beeHiiv, Ghost, and Notion all prioritize better communication with their users. A GenAI chatbot could streamline updates, and a monthly product update from a product manager would be a reasonable expectation.
Sure, Google sets a high standard, but even Word maintains compatibility with its 2004 versions—20 years later! If Substack aspires to be the best, it must learn from the best.
Thanks for sharing your perspective!
Startups or not, SaaS platforms should always put users first.
I have a friend, a paid subscriber, who wants to comment on my posts, but every time she does a substack message appears telling her that to comment she needs to give substack access to ALL her contacts. I think this is outrageous. But I don't even know who to complain to. In addition, I have found when I subscribe to other newsletters, I am automatically subscribed to their recommended newsletters, also outrageous.
Hmm. That sounds like a strange bug if she is being asked for access to her contacts just to comment. I haven't seen that. It may help if you open your post for all to comment, then reset it to paid only in Settings.
The second issue - you need to uncheck the boxes that appears on top or bottom of the menu 'Later' or 'Skip' to avoid being subscribed randomly. This is super annoying, I know!
Do no trust the chat
The feed is also determined by Who follows, right?
Not that I know of - they are using publications as the measure, not people - Follows is for posts by that person that appears in Notes.
Thanks a lot, and for your reply.