Your question sounds confused. You did social for years and have "huge rewards" from it and yet want to quit it because, reasons. Yet you seek social alternatives that are also social networks of their own (substack, github, etc).

If you're going to do social, do whatever you find rewarding. If not, then don't.

Personally, I find zero value in becoming an "influencer" or having a well known blog/industry creds. I'd rather let my creations speak for themselves.