"What is this Substack anyhow?" I ask myself today while zoning out at a red light on Harden St., in Columbia, South Carolina. Or: "Seriously, but Lightly," a story in at least three parts.
I make a very earnest vow to arrive here with a Beginner’s Mind. I even read the first part of the welcome email instructions. People who make software put so much energy into this copy if they really care, which they clearly do:
[I remember when my co-founder and I started our software company (Switchboard). We both wanted so badly to make things easy for people. Our first Reed Switchboard tumblr, back in 2013, really captured The Vibe. This was the type of company I wanted to create:]
“Okay, Mara,” I think to myself. “You can do this. You know you’re not an Instagram person really, and we won’t talk about Twitter. Slack, Signal , WhatsApp, Notion…have mercy.
So just commit to something for now, as an experiment.
Shucks. Okay. The image gallery feature is frozen tonight.
Oh wait! The gallery came back. OK! Here’s what I wanted to say to you. CTA: people who subscribe will receive early access to an annual Camp experience I’m hosting. So answer that call to action and…
For those of you asking the question, “But will these machines really replace people” I present to you a little performance in 9 screenshots below. The answer is: no. And also: expect a lot more stickies in this space.