Should I Substack?
Any interest in 30+ years of my writing?
Confession: I had no intention of writing substacks when I signed up. I mistakenly believed that I had to sign up in order to read substacks. Hence, this account has lain dormant, even as people have, unsolicited, started to subscribe. I am retired from professional writing and teaching, which means I don’t spend the time I used to spend thinking, researching, and drafting. I haven’t stopped thinking about what is happening in the world, though, so I write about AI, social media, art and the life force, technology criticism, futurism for my Patreon account. Some of that is reserved for paying patrons and much of it is available to the public.
My question for those who read this: I have located more than 90 articles I have written over the past 30+ years, plus dozens of newer pieces I have written for Patreon. Does it make sense for me to showcase any of that in the form of substacks? At present, I don’t plan to monetize. If there is interest, I can grow my audience and maybe later think about that.
Here is an example. In 1996, I published this page to showcase my interviews and syndicated columns about the future. If one forecasts the future and lives long enough, that future catches up. I got some things right, I think.
More recently, I wrote this series of posts about “Art Making and the Life Force,” and five years ago, when Covid pushed teachers at all levels to try to shoehorn their curriculum through Zoom, largely ineffectually, I wrote this about how “Online Learning Can Be Engaging and Effective.”
I will continue if I receive sufficient positive feedback. If not, I will continue to allow this accidentally-created account to remain fallow.