What’s going on with my newsletter?
After five years using the newsletter platform Substack, I have moved The Third Something over to a new provider, called Beehiiv. They’ll be managing the mailing list and firing out my emails on Sundays. If you signed up to my newsletter on Substack, I have ported your email address over to Beehiiv and deleted it from Substack’s list.
Why did I leave Substack?
It is really important to me that I own not just the words and pictures I create but also their distribution – as much as is possible. I’ve been using social media for 20 years and I’m painfully aware of the risks that come with letting another company distribute my work. More so, it seems to me that the algorithms of these big platforms have failed in their promise to creators: to connect us with the people who love our work. A.I. is, in the short term at least, going to make that problem worse.
So my general policy in life is to be as platform independent as I possibly can. That’s why I built this website myself from scratch and self-host it. Beehiiv is still a platform (mailing lists are, it turns out, technologically complicated); but it is a platform that I pay for and have more control over.
The change brings The Third Something back to its home - this website. It’s where the letters look their best and where the archive is explorable. Instead of being directed to a version of the letter on Substack, you’ll now be sent to my website.
There will be some cost to this — my newsletter is now out in the wild. Your recommendations and word of mouth are more important than ever. Please spread the word!
Don’t like the change?
As the emails are coming from a new provider, they might be flagged as spam by your inbox. Please check your spam folder and move the email to your inbox.
If, for some reason, you’re unhappy with me no-longer being on Substack, you are welcome to unsubscribe from the list at any time. There is a link at the bottom of the latest letter from me.