The way in which #Substack has promoted their new #Notes microblogging feature is very similar to how they promote all their other new features, mainly by fawning on all the writers publishing on Substack who gained large followings elsewhere. They just don’t seem too concerned with making something that can help smaller writers to grow their audiences.
My blinkered idea of what the internet should be for writers is along the line that if you write well in a way that truly differentiates you from others, then maybe a few thousand people might enjoy what you do. It then becomes a case of letting those people find you or make them aware of what you do. After all these years, I don’t think a single centralised platform has shown any meaningful intention to initiate this kind of growth. It’s all too parallel in nature for a centralised platform to facilitate.