Substack is my new Twitter

Elon Musk's $44B right-wing toy is toxic and no social platform can replace it.

People are once again deleting their Twitter/X accounts and, this time, it seems like more than a fad.

I’ve lost substantial followers in recent days and noticed an uptick in activity on Threads. It’s not hard to figure out why. Elon Musk in 2022 turned his Twitter addiction into a $44 billion acquisition and has since renamed it X and made the platform his personal toy to promote right-wing causes.

I think it’s an exaggeration to suggest X played a substantial role in President Trump’s election last week. I also don’t think X has become quite as awful or unusable as many people say it has. But I agree X has grown increasingly toxic while also cutting features I used to enjoy. That makes me want to use it less.

The problem is, there really is no replacement. I’ve tried Threads, Bluesky and other platforms whose names I’ve forgotten. X, for all its weaknesses, has remained the best platform for microblogging.

I’ve decided Substack is the best way forward for me. I already subscribe to several great newsletters through Substack and I’ve watched the platform become increasingly social, with tools for short posts, chats and other features. I plan to become more active here.

Photo by visuals on Unsplash

As part of that plan, I’m starting a free newsletter. I hope you’ll subscribe. If you follow me to Substack, you can expect at least one post a week that recaps my work for IndyStar and offers additional thoughts that don’t quite fit into columns (similar to how I use Twitter now).

I expect to also write some personal posts on topics ranging from parenting to pro wrestling (if I had Musk’s money, I would 100% acquire a wrestling promotion). At least, that’s what I think I’ll do. Part of the fun of doing this is I don’t actually know how I’ll use it.

Back in more innocent times, Twitter offered similar possibilities. The platform developed a distinct online culture. It had, and has, many problems, but it also connected people through shared interests, information and good discussions. I hope to find something like that here.

I don’t really want to drop X. But I take seriously the downsides of X, especially when someone I trust, like tech journalist Kara Swisher, warns people to get off asap. I’m not quite there yet. But I’m getting closer and thinking seriously about how to replicate my favorite things about X.

I think Substack is the best option for me. I know you’ve likely already got a dozen or two (or three or four) newsletters hitting your inbox already. I’ll try to make this one worthwhile if you decide to add it. At the very least, I promise it will be worth what you pay for it (nothing) and it will be easy to drop.