How To Make Substack the Greatest Subscription Network of All Time

An open letter to the leaders of Substack about our shared path forward to protect free speech and empower creators, sprinkled with spicy Yuri original Substack related memes

To the brilliant humans who built and run Substack:

Hold the line. Protect free speech. Empower creators. Subvert subversion.

What you have accomplished so far is a shining light in the demoralized darkness of modern discourse. What you can still achieve would be nothing short of revolutionary. As more people find this desert oasis, welcome them with open arms. Let everyone quench their thirst for knowledge and contribute what they wish. However, do not give in to any demands to “moderate content” or censor.

Yuri original memes:

For Chris when “journalists” throw gotcha word salad at you - are you The One that will ward off swarms of Agent Smiths?

For Hamish because Hamish is an awesome Scottish name:

For the BBC/NPR regime-funded propagandists and their obedient NPC regurgitators:

For Sinocism publisher, China “expert”, and first Substack writer Bill Bishop when he rants about needing block lists:

Ironically, he blocked me for this response to one of his now-deleted aggressive Notes (his words in quotes): With all due respect, Bill. Mao also believed in punishing “shit for brains” dissenters who were “polluting” the ideals of the “collective community”. How did that turn out?

Building a new economic engine for culture necessitates risk. Authors take risk that their content may not be well received. Readers take risk that they may encounter content they don’t like. The petulant children will block and throw tantrums. Karens will start complaining to you, the managers, to do something. They have their right to free speech and to curate their information diet, but please resist any of their calls to censor others. Let the adults navigate the messiness of disagreement at our own risk. Sticks and stones may break our bones, but words (and spicy memes) should never hurt us.

With regards to Substack Notes, maximize signal and minimize noise. Keep experimenting. Perhaps limiting authors to ~5 notes per day with unlimited replies/likes will help. I have been impressed with your team’s responsiveness to feedback, delicately balancing speed and thoughtfulness in communication and iterations. Orange check vs blue check is friendly fire. Both platforms are vital to counter the domestic color revolution against free speech. You could even host writers with differing opinions on your podcast to have a spirited debate.

On a personal note, I will be forever grateful that you have given me and many other writers a platform to express ourselves while generating income to support our families. In early 2022, I launched this Substack during the depths of COVID/jab hysteria because my employer issued a booster mandate. I was forced out right after returning from a brief paternity leave. The anti-science anti-human thuggery was quite distressing, as was the silence of the NGOs dedicated to defending human rights.

The entire Bezmenov family appreciates every comrade who upgrades to commissar. For every $90 annual subscription, $9 goes to Substack and all the great work they do:

Substack helped me stay sane by providing the ability to laugh, learn, build a community, and generate revenue. While it hasn’t replaced the income lost from the booster mandate, every bit of diaper money makes a difference. It has given me confidence to keep growing this samizdat so that, hopefully soon, I never have to rely on another person for a paycheck again. I never took a writing class or published anything on social media until I became Yuri on Substack. Now I take joy in waking up every morning to new readers and comments.

I have seen many startups come and go, but precious few possess all the ingredients that Substack has assembled: stellar team, fantastic product, solid business model, network effect, and benefit to humanity. My favorite readers and Substack writers come from different perspectives and walks of life. Some have become friends who I’ve spent quality time with IRL. Keep your north star of free expression shining bright so that more people can see the light and exit the cave.

The actions you take over the next few months will be critical in determining whether Substack will be a real paradigm shift or just another Current Thing Company. At some point, the deep state censorship octopus and its commissars may come knocking on your door. As I have experienced first hand, your largest authors are your most censorious. They will also pile on the pressure as they whip their readers into frenzied mobs. You will be forced to make difficult decisions that have professional, personal, and societal ramifications.

As my namesake warned us in 1984: “You have precious little time… the disaster is coming closer and closer… the danger is real.”

I pray that you will stay true to your mission to protect free speech and empower creators. You have more leverage than you think as long as you prudently manage your runway and cash burn. Take courage that we all have your backs. Let the many speak and live in freedom, rather than letting the few silence and enslave us. I can’t imagine a world without Substack. Hopefully the dialogue here can improve the world’s discourse and information diet.

I and all my readers stand ready to support you in any way. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. Will this bastion become a citadel for human flourishing? Or will it fall to censorship swarms as we sink deeper into a new dark age? Your mission is too important to fail - no pressure ;)

Subversively Yours,

Yuri

PS: WWEGMD - What would el gato malo do?