First, thank you for your diligent work with your Substack blog, Meryl.
I know I'm not the only one who turns off and on subs because I can't afford much but want to offer something. So I rotate paid subs with just a few authors per month.
I generally get multiple emails from you on a given day, so assume I'm not missing any. Because my interests are so broad, I have free subs to many. I usually breeze what comes into my email, then decide if I want more info, or to take time to 'like' the post (no small task with 50+ posts arriving daily!).
It is disappointing that Substack is not more helpful to its content producers. Seems to be the trajectory of $ucce$$.
This is also true on Rumble, numbers creep up ever so slowly. Rumble notifies subscribers, 24 hour hours after our most recent podcast. Much shadow-banning with likes diminishing as I watch...very frustrating.
This is mostly to aid OTHER Substack creators. Meryl, you do a very good job of using your headline and first line, so that the subject of your email is easy to discern.
Content creators have two lines that will show up in a SmartPhone’s mail app. Each line can differ, and add more info. I KNOW what your email is about before I open it. These two lines are often the crucial factor in whether I open an email or not.
I am reminded of Naomi Wolf’s emails, which only tell me that she has sent a new email. IMO, she is wasting valuable screen space by not utilizing her two lines with more content describing the subject that she will actually be discussing. She is asking her readers to click, just to find out what her email is about. I don’t always have the time for that extra click.
One aspect of the email numbers being lower is functionality in email readers, e.g. in the one built into macOS on Macs and iOS on iPhones, that doesn't automatically load remote images and other files by default. This can result in trackers not logging the fact that you've read the email.
FYI I also subscribe to the daily WaPo newsletter and every few months it asks me to confirm that I still want to receive the emails, because their logs don't know I'm reading them because I don't let my email program radio home.
So this may not be a conspiracy, it may just be more of your readers turning on privacy-focused functionality in their email programs/apps.
Substack was such a bit of fresh air when it first started, but it has continually added needless features and tried various ways to force readers to pay for content. If you read a lot of online material, there's no way you can afford to pay for all the people you follow. Newspapers have never figured this one out. I didn't realize though that their posting of posts didn't reach some of the followers. Really appreciate your posts!
To be fair, newspapers had fantastic reach in their hey-day, charging something affordable (when I was coming up, $0.10 - $0.25). So they *had* actually "figured it out" in the now-obsolete context of issuing daily physical papers.
The problem with Substack (and other sponsorship platforms) is that the subscription price to a single author is relatively quite high. Let's say you pick up an actual local newspaper these days, at a cost of $250-350/year. That gets you local and national reporting, plus opinion and sports and other ancillary things (my pricing numbers are taken from the NH/VT "Valley News"). Yes, it's likely to be tendentious, captured, and 'normie'.. but I'm mainly looking at the costs in this context. Outside of subscribers and the now-rare retail sale, publication costs are shared by advertisers.
For $350/year on Substack, with what appears to be their minimum monthly payment of $5, one can only access 6 authors. No advertisers, but SS doesn't have the overhead of physical printing and distribution to offset, either.
I think reader wealth could really spread itself around if SS subscriptions could be lowered to the range of $0.50-$2/month. Not knowing what SS's production and distribution costs may be as compared to inky piles of paper that need to be trucked around each day at 5am (been there, done that), still it's hard to see why they can't offer more affordable access.
Or, with our ongoing economic shrinkage/de-growth/collapse, it may just be that "newspapers" in whatever format go back to being something of a luxury item, as in the 18th century.
I am unsure how substack works collecting data from outside of its "app" (that I do not use) but to add to this, I use degoogled devices that are designed to block tracking cookies which probably does not assist substack with tracking "read" posts. I do notice when I log in to the website on a browser, articles that I have already read and 'liked' do not show that they have been read (although the 'like' does remain, which is a curious anomaly)
I sometimes forward your posts by email to a few people (as I'm sure many of your subscribers also do).
How can we tell how many of the audience are bots these days? Might be part of the puzzle too.
I don’t know why,but,your stack almost always comes into my junk folder. But,lately,at least 80% of the “likes” people give me on any stack I comment on is ending in my junk…🤷🏻♀️ I have taken to useing my junk file as regularly reading…
After 4 years of a steady growth in subs and followers, the past year has been static. This is happening in spite of the fact that reader participation with likes and comments is at an all time high. I may lose dozens of subs on any random day, with there being no connection to any recent post.
One would think that a big increase in comments and likes would result in an increase in subs and followers. Apparently not on Substack.
At bottom, there is no way of knowing whether *any* of the likes/reposts/subscribers/followers displayed on *any* software platform are in *any* way accurate, or just another vehicle for manipulation of perception.
My feeling is that it's all jiggered—was never not designed for jiggery. What else would be the point of them offering up to us these "free" (at the cost of one's soul) sandboxes?
I much prefer readers to paid subscribers who don't read my work. My goal is education. I just wanted to point out some anomalies in the data. Thanks for reading!!!
hopefully you were one of the few who did not inject people with aborted fetal serum, formaldehyde, mercury, and aluminum. If you were one of them, that does not bode favorably.
the persistent problem with over 99% of Medical Dieties is that
they run cover for each other not matter what.
30 million dead from the mRNA Quaxcine, they are still happy to kick the can down the road. The public ain't having it no more.
That is a very very good thing. The Medical Cartel cannot and must not use one of their infinite get out of jail free passes. The people will not allow it.
your comment is actually stupid, as it was not even in response to the fair and accurate outing of vaccines. That is a million x more important than the latest
Here’s one you’ll like. I was a paying subscriber to at least 8 authors since the inception of Substack. Until one day, though noted as a subscriber , I could no longer post comments. A check with Substack led to them asking for ALL my credit cards info so they could double check their records. I refused. And lost over $300 of subscriptions. And have refused to purchase any subscriptions the last few years. Always willing to toss a tip in a tip jar ( I’m a half-assed musician) or buy someone a cup of coffee, but subscribe again? Nah
Yes--I sometimes am unable to comment on my own posts, depending on the browser and the day. I used to think they were being attacked. Now I'm not so sure. I GET IT.
One problem is that Substack uses mailchimp and other bulk emailers to send mail, and its IP addresses end up on blocklists; which means that, randomly, emails get dropped enroute to recipients. I wrote an article on it once here on my lotecnotec blog.
The question is, is this unique to you? Being part of the medical freedom group, is it possible that you are somehow being targeting? Interesting to see if others share similar issues.
to me, both substack and rumble seem like ops. something to make us believe there's a haven where we're safe from the tech bros and oligarchs. but everything I see tells me otherwise.
First, thank you for your diligent work with your Substack blog, Meryl.
I know I'm not the only one who turns off and on subs because I can't afford much but want to offer something. So I rotate paid subs with just a few authors per month.
I generally get multiple emails from you on a given day, so assume I'm not missing any. Because my interests are so broad, I have free subs to many. I usually breeze what comes into my email, then decide if I want more info, or to take time to 'like' the post (no small task with 50+ posts arriving daily!).
It is disappointing that Substack is not more helpful to its content producers. Seems to be the trajectory of $ucce$$.
This is also true on Rumble, numbers creep up ever so slowly. Rumble notifies subscribers, 24 hour hours after our most recent podcast. Much shadow-banning with likes diminishing as I watch...very frustrating.
This is mostly to aid OTHER Substack creators. Meryl, you do a very good job of using your headline and first line, so that the subject of your email is easy to discern.
Content creators have two lines that will show up in a SmartPhone’s mail app. Each line can differ, and add more info. I KNOW what your email is about before I open it. These two lines are often the crucial factor in whether I open an email or not.
I am reminded of Naomi Wolf’s emails, which only tell me that she has sent a new email. IMO, she is wasting valuable screen space by not utilizing her two lines with more content describing the subject that she will actually be discussing. She is asking her readers to click, just to find out what her email is about. I don’t always have the time for that extra click.
One aspect of the email numbers being lower is functionality in email readers, e.g. in the one built into macOS on Macs and iOS on iPhones, that doesn't automatically load remote images and other files by default. This can result in trackers not logging the fact that you've read the email.
FYI I also subscribe to the daily WaPo newsletter and every few months it asks me to confirm that I still want to receive the emails, because their logs don't know I'm reading them because I don't let my email program radio home.
So this may not be a conspiracy, it may just be more of your readers turning on privacy-focused functionality in their email programs/apps.
Substack was such a bit of fresh air when it first started, but it has continually added needless features and tried various ways to force readers to pay for content. If you read a lot of online material, there's no way you can afford to pay for all the people you follow. Newspapers have never figured this one out. I didn't realize though that their posting of posts didn't reach some of the followers. Really appreciate your posts!
To be fair, newspapers had fantastic reach in their hey-day, charging something affordable (when I was coming up, $0.10 - $0.25). So they *had* actually "figured it out" in the now-obsolete context of issuing daily physical papers.
The problem with Substack (and other sponsorship platforms) is that the subscription price to a single author is relatively quite high. Let's say you pick up an actual local newspaper these days, at a cost of $250-350/year. That gets you local and national reporting, plus opinion and sports and other ancillary things (my pricing numbers are taken from the NH/VT "Valley News"). Yes, it's likely to be tendentious, captured, and 'normie'.. but I'm mainly looking at the costs in this context. Outside of subscribers and the now-rare retail sale, publication costs are shared by advertisers.
For $350/year on Substack, with what appears to be their minimum monthly payment of $5, one can only access 6 authors. No advertisers, but SS doesn't have the overhead of physical printing and distribution to offset, either.
I think reader wealth could really spread itself around if SS subscriptions could be lowered to the range of $0.50-$2/month. Not knowing what SS's production and distribution costs may be as compared to inky piles of paper that need to be trucked around each day at 5am (been there, done that), still it's hard to see why they can't offer more affordable access.
Or, with our ongoing economic shrinkage/de-growth/collapse, it may just be that "newspapers" in whatever format go back to being something of a luxury item, as in the 18th century.
Some Substack writers ask the reader to "buy me a cup of coffee" or some such thing. That's another way to spread the wealth.
I definitely think I am not getting emails from a lot of my Substack subscriptions. The posts do appear on my home page though.
Also Outlook mail sends a lot of Substack emails to the junk folder.
Substack are now way too big for their boots !
They continue to ….irritate me.
My mantra since a pre-Covid encounter with an established System:
"Their agenda is not your agenda."
Don't expect it to serve you, ever.
I am unsure how substack works collecting data from outside of its "app" (that I do not use) but to add to this, I use degoogled devices that are designed to block tracking cookies which probably does not assist substack with tracking "read" posts. I do notice when I log in to the website on a browser, articles that I have already read and 'liked' do not show that they have been read (although the 'like' does remain, which is a curious anomaly)
I sometimes forward your posts by email to a few people (as I'm sure many of your subscribers also do).
How can we tell how many of the audience are bots these days? Might be part of the puzzle too.
Thanks for keeping up the good fight Dr Nass.
I don’t know why,but,your stack almost always comes into my junk folder. But,lately,at least 80% of the “likes” people give me on any stack I comment on is ending in my junk…🤷🏻♀️ I have taken to useing my junk file as regularly reading…
After 4 years of a steady growth in subs and followers, the past year has been static. This is happening in spite of the fact that reader participation with likes and comments is at an all time high. I may lose dozens of subs on any random day, with there being no connection to any recent post.
One would think that a big increase in comments and likes would result in an increase in subs and followers. Apparently not on Substack.
Appreciate your work!
At bottom, there is no way of knowing whether *any* of the likes/reposts/subscribers/followers displayed on *any* software platform are in *any* way accurate, or just another vehicle for manipulation of perception.
My feeling is that it's all jiggered—was never not designed for jiggery. What else would be the point of them offering up to us these "free" (at the cost of one's soul) sandboxes?
TY❤️ I love your posts but I'm an out of work doctor and I can't afford anything🤷♀️
I much prefer readers to paid subscribers who don't read my work. My goal is education. I just wanted to point out some anomalies in the data. Thanks for reading!!!
hopefully you were one of the few who did not inject people with aborted fetal serum, formaldehyde, mercury, and aluminum. If you were one of them, that does not bode favorably.
get lost, troublemaker
the persistent problem with over 99% of Medical Dieties is that
they run cover for each other not matter what.
30 million dead from the mRNA Quaxcine, they are still happy to kick the can down the road. The public ain't having it no more.
That is a very very good thing. The Medical Cartel cannot and must not use one of their infinite get out of jail free passes. The people will not allow it.
I suspect that Truth Seeker was referring to Sharon Olson, also an MD as cited.
Whoops, reading more, I am likely mistaken
Merle, would you like to have a conversation with colleage Andrew Kaufman?
And explain your "virus" beliefs?
One of you would look sophomoric.
Go away tard! If you don't know who Dr Nass is, you don't belong here!
your comment is actually stupid, as it was not even in response to the fair and accurate outing of vaccines. That is a million x more important than the latest
WHO nothing burger
I understand loyalty, however value knowledge about health 1000x more
Am here to study belief systems... Oink
Study away. You are now banned from commenting.
Here’s one you’ll like. I was a paying subscriber to at least 8 authors since the inception of Substack. Until one day, though noted as a subscriber , I could no longer post comments. A check with Substack led to them asking for ALL my credit cards info so they could double check their records. I refused. And lost over $300 of subscriptions. And have refused to purchase any subscriptions the last few years. Always willing to toss a tip in a tip jar ( I’m a half-assed musician) or buy someone a cup of coffee, but subscribe again? Nah
Yes--I sometimes am unable to comment on my own posts, depending on the browser and the day. I used to think they were being attacked. Now I'm not so sure. I GET IT.
One problem is that Substack uses mailchimp and other bulk emailers to send mail, and its IP addresses end up on blocklists; which means that, randomly, emails get dropped enroute to recipients. I wrote an article on it once here on my lotecnotec blog.
WQell, this is very informative!
The question is, is this unique to you? Being part of the medical freedom group, is it possible that you are somehow being targeting? Interesting to see if others share similar issues.
I have all notifications disabled. I check all unread post in my Substack Inbox at least one a day. No need for emails or notifications.
I do read most of your post. I find them informative and enjoy reading them. I also save a numer of you post for later reference or for sharing.
to me, both substack and rumble seem like ops. something to make us believe there's a haven where we're safe from the tech bros and oligarchs. but everything I see tells me otherwise.