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They aim at different markets. Substack is for writers that already have a following, it is more like a SaaS. Medium is for upstarts trying to gain a following through the platform, it is more like a social network.

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Is this really true? I thought that Substack allowed for discovery because you could see what other publications someone followed. So if you saw a smart comment on a popular substack, you could then click on the author and discover what else she was reading. They obviously also promote rising stars, but IDK what it takes to become a rising star in the first place.

it's basically true. Yes Substack has discovery mechanisms but given that most successful people on the platform are former social media personalities I doubt this cross pollination matters much.

It's effectively a blog generator with a built in payment button. A lot of the success of Substack hinges on the fact that Twitter exists. It's the social media funnel to the site where most of the actual value is.

Now that Substack is on the offense they are trying to branch into the social network market. Time will tell how successful they can be. Or there will be another SaaS encroach into their stronghold should Substack become too social-ly and antagonize the writers.

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