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<Mary L. Tabor>'s avatar

Lovely interview. Agree with what you say here about "going paid" -- Have to admit how much I miss you as a reader .... Love to you, ~ Mary

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John Halbrooks's avatar

Thank you Mary! Love to you right back. And I promise to catch up...

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A. Jay Adler's avatar

Poetry (how'd I miss it?), fiction by John Halbrooks? Out with it, man!

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Zina Gomez-Liss's avatar

Love this so much. I’m behind in my Substack reading, but I’m glad I caught up with this post! It’s a blessing to see you here on Substack.

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John Halbrooks's avatar

Thank you, Zina. The feeling is entirely mutual.

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David Roberts's avatar

I think it's inevitable that some advertising will come but it will be optional, confined to those creators who decide to use it. Some are already having sponsored posts but Substack is not currently getting any of that revenue.

And hi John!

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John Halbrooks's avatar

Hola, David!

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Richard Donnelly's avatar

"This à la carte paid-subscription model is actually what makes me worry about the longterm health of Substack" I think Substack is adopting the same social media model as the all the bigs. The top 1% pay the bills, with the rest fighting to get into that 1%. By making participation free they guarantee a vigorous site.

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John Mitchell's avatar

Thanks fir this insight. We are very lucky to have substack and thoughtful writers, musicians, artists, snd photographers. I have been overjoyed to find it.

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Matthew Long's avatar

Thanks for this interview with John! I have been a big fan of his since I came to Substack and love his ability to frame erudite topics for the common man, among which I count myself the most common. Glad to see him here and look forward to his words in my inbox.

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Eleanor Anstruther's avatar

He was on my wish list for so long! Finally got him…

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Larry Bone's avatar

This interview reminds me of my English English Shakespeare professor who was incredibly brilliant and wrote his thesis in Italian. If an excellent academic could write brilliantly in common agreed upon vernacular then that is good for them and good for us. All good for everyone! If they could make Milton and Chaucer into legendary literary rock stars through more practical perspectives on their writing it is all to the good. In fact, the major mission of committed universities like Cambridge, Oxford and Princeton is to improve the capability of the common person to deal better with life by making better choices and decisions based on having a more complete understanding it in all its aspects. Because if academics write for the general reader then there best insights are passed on to enquiring souls. I think brilliance will sustain itself and make it's way because it's only really the brilliant things that will last at least in anyone's mind. And Substack continually outflanks the competition and will continue to do so. As long as it continues growing, there isn't anything to worry about. It is so awesome to have brilliant people writing on Substack.

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Eleanor Anstruther's avatar

Well said 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

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