Skip to content
By using Twitter’s services you agree to our Cookies Use. We and our partners operate globally and use cookies, including for analytics, personalisation, and ads.
  • Home Home Home, current page.
  • About

Saved searches

  • Remove
  • In this conversation
    Verified accountProtected Tweets @
Suggested users
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @
  • Language: English
    • Bahasa Indonesia
    • Bahasa Melayu
    • Català
    • Čeština
    • Dansk
    • Deutsch
    • English UK
    • Español
    • Filipino
    • Français
    • Hrvatski
    • Italiano
    • Magyar
    • Nederlands
    • Norsk
    • Polski
    • Português
    • Română
    • Slovenčina
    • Suomi
    • Svenska
    • Tiếng Việt
    • Türkçe
    • Ελληνικά
    • Български език
    • Русский
    • Српски
    • Українська мова
    • עִבְרִית
    • العربية
    • فارسی
    • मराठी
    • हिन्दी
    • বাংলা
    • ગુજરાતી
    • தமிழ்
    • ಕನ್ನಡ
    • ภาษาไทย
    • 한국어
    • 日本語
    • 简体中文
    • 繁體中文
  • Have an account? Log in
    Have an account?
    · Forgot password?

    New to Twitter?
    Sign up
vgr's profile
Venkatesh Rao
Venkatesh Rao
Venkatesh Rao
@vgr

Tweets

Venkatesh Rao

@vgr

Conversational account. For work follow @ribbonfarm, @breaking_smart, @artofgig. Tweets are 90% vacuous views, apathetically held. Mediocritopian. IKEA builder.

Los Angeles, CA
venkateshrao.com
Joined August 2007

Tweets

  • © 2020 Twitter
  • About
  • Help Center
  • Terms
  • Privacy policy
  • Imprint
  • Cookies
  • Ads info
Dismiss
Previous
Next

Go to a person's profile

Saved searches

  • Remove
  • In this conversation
    Verified accountProtected Tweets @
Suggested users
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @

Promote this Tweet

Block

  • Tweet with a location

    You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more

    Your lists

    Create a new list


    Under 100 characters, optional

    Privacy

    Copy link to Tweet

    Embed this Tweet

    Embed this Video

    Add this Tweet to your website by copying the code below. Learn more

    Add this video to your website by copying the code below. Learn more

    Hmm, there was a problem reaching the server.

    By embedding Twitter content in your website or app, you are agreeing to the Twitter Developer Agreement and Developer Policy.

    Preview

    Why you're seeing this ad

    Log in to Twitter

    · Forgot password?
    Don't have an account? Sign up »

    Sign up for Twitter

    Not on Twitter? Sign up, tune into the things you care about, and get updates as they happen.

    Sign up
    Have an account? Log in »

    Two-way (sending and receiving) short codes:

    Country Code For customers of
    United States 40404 (any)
    Canada 21212 (any)
    United Kingdom 86444 Vodafone, Orange, 3, O2
    Brazil 40404 Nextel, TIM
    Haiti 40404 Digicel, Voila
    Ireland 51210 Vodafone, O2
    India 53000 Bharti Airtel, Videocon, Reliance
    Indonesia 89887 AXIS, 3, Telkomsel, Indosat, XL Axiata
    Italy 4880804 Wind
    3424486444 Vodafone
    » See SMS short codes for other countries

    Confirmation

     

    Welcome home!

    This timeline is where you’ll spend most of your time, getting instant updates about what matters to you.

    Tweets not working for you?

    Hover over the profile pic and click the Following button to unfollow any account.

    Say a lot with a little

    When you see a Tweet you love, tap the heart — it lets the person who wrote it know you shared the love.

    Spread the word

    The fastest way to share someone else’s Tweet with your followers is with a Retweet. Tap the icon to send it instantly.

    Join the conversation

    Add your thoughts about any Tweet with a Reply. Find a topic you’re passionate about, and jump right in.

    Learn the latest

    Get instant insight into what people are talking about now.

    Get more of what you love

    Follow more accounts to get instant updates about topics you care about.

    Find what's happening

    See the latest conversations about any topic instantly.

    Never miss a Moment

    Catch up instantly on the best stories happening as they unfold.

    1. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 17
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      The thing is, the easiest cross-promotion to do is the kind that reinforces existing tribes. A "if you like this, you'll like this also" approach will hook greenwald subscribers up to writers who are also like greenwald. Going against grain will be hard.

      1 reply 0 retweets 18 likes
      Show this thread
    2. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 17
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      Along-the-grain cross-promotion will lower fragility a bit wrt single 800lb bluechekerillas, but simply bump the fragility up a level to an existing tribe. Patreon discovered this the hard way. Now you have to scenario-plan the exit risk revenue hit of entire tribes.

      1 reply 1 retweet 9 likes
      Show this thread
    3. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 17
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      Worse, the tribes will realize it too, and will achieve a platform-local tribal consciousness and begin trying to "own" the platform, regardless of whatever the cross-promotion algorithms do along/against the grain. The platform will be drawn into a fight against its own readers.

      2 replies 1 retweet 9 likes
      Show this thread
    4. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 17
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      I think Substack is doing many of the right things for the current stage of the platform. For example, focusing hard on empowering writers rather than readers, and doing a lot for beginning writers trying to build an audience... that's all good.

      1 reply 0 retweets 9 likes
      Show this thread
    5. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 17
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      Reshape the curve away from 800lb bluecheckerrila dependence. Ideal for people like me, the mid-level non-brand-name types would be if substack could afford to lose any single bluecheck and never have to go to cross-promotion at all. This requires healthy margins from long tail

      1 reply 0 retweets 11 likes
      Show this thread
    6. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 17
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      This is why it is short-sighted to complain about their high fee percentage (10% on top of credit card fees as opposed to say the fixed fee of ghost or mailchimp). They need to be making enough money off the long tail to resist the pressures created by 800lbers.

      3 replies 0 retweets 11 likes
      Show this thread
    7. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 17
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      I don't grudge them that. I'm open to things like ghost and memberful, but it is polyannish to believe they resolve the issues. I was on mailchimp for a long time (still am for my basic ribbonfarm list) but their incentives for eg. push the product towards marketing clients.

      1 reply 0 retweets 6 likes
      Show this thread
    8. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 17
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      Ghost is new enough that it isn't showing its own vulnerabilities, but there will be some. No free lunch. Content platform Pick 2 of 3 triangle: optimal featureset for you, low cost, high variance/low-bias.

      3 replies 0 retweets 15 likes
      Show this thread
    9. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 17
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      An instructive precedent is the adjacent courseware sector. The el cheapo platforms really don't work for indie course creators. Teachable does, BUT costs an arm and a leg and STILL had to sell itself to a Brazilian PE firm to survive.

      2 replies 0 retweets 7 likes
      Show this thread
    10. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 17
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      Courses require way more work to turn into profitable low-touch income streams. My teachable account just barely pays for itself because I don't put in the work to keep publishing new courses, running live cohorts, or updating old courses.

      1 reply 0 retweets 5 likes
      Show this thread
      Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 17
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      I'm considering EITHER kicking my teachable stuff up a notch next year or shutting it down entirely. I'm in an untenable place with it long term. Kicking it up a notch will require periodic effort spikes, as opposed to newsletters which require steady effort commitments.

      12:31 PM - 17 Nov 2020
      • 3 Likes
      • Rahul Ramchandani Matt Kent Based Prophet of the Lethe River
      1 reply 0 retweets 3 likes
        1. New conversation
        2. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 17
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          But to return to substack. I a) like the product b) am willing to continue paying the price premium to keep it long-tail/variance oriented c) don't like the alternative incentive pressures competing platforms face.

          1 reply 0 retweets 6 likes
          Show this thread
        3. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 17
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          But one thing I'm not doing is moving home base from blogging like I was considering last year. Wordpress is an aging monster in many ways, but it is still the worthwhile foundational piece of the puzzle.

          2 replies 1 retweet 10 likes
          Show this thread
        4. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 17
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          The one wildcard in this picture is where static sites will go -- gatsby, jekyll etc. I've now been on the sidelines of one pretty ambitious static site (http://yakcollective.org ) and developed a better appreciation of the potential there, but definitely not for pure writers

          2 replies 0 retweets 7 likes
          Show this thread
        5. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 17
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          Still rounding out the views I put forth in my text renaissance post earlier this year, and might potentially use the ideas to expand the longform course on teachable so I can make money off all this content industry prognisticationhttps://www.ribbonfarm.com/2020/02/24/a-text-renaissance/ …

          1 reply 1 retweet 6 likes
          Show this thread
        6. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 17
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          This is my art of longform course. I need about 2-3 weeks uninterrupted time to record a 2x expanded version covering all this new stuff, but haven't been able to find the time. I don't think I'll have the time to run a live cohort, which would be ideal. https://ribbonfarm.teachable.com/p/the-art-of-longform …

          1 reply 0 retweets 6 likes
          Show this thread
        7. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 17
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          Venkatesh Rao Retweeted mrgunn

          This is a good point. WordPress violates my platform point by... simply not being a platform at all. It is featureset optimal, can be low cost (if you self host and have low traffic) and high variance.https://twitter.com/mrgunn/status/1328800252141334528 …

          Venkatesh Rao added,

          mrgunn @mrgunn
          Funny how bluechecks never ruined blogging, or even WordPress. This is how having a brand cuts both ways. https://twitter.com/vgr/status/1328789670570848258 …
          1 reply 0 retweets 7 likes
          Show this thread
        8. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 17
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          I think this is because Automattic failed at making wordpress dot com a true platform level competitor to things like Medium. It never outgrew roots as basically an open source product rather than a platform. What it actually competes with are hosted WP players like WPengine

          1 reply 0 retweets 8 likes
          Show this thread
        9. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 17
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          I've been on WPEngine a long time, happily paying premium to not have to think about the headaches of self-admin'ed WP. But hosted WP is not a platform and can never be. The tech is fundamentally a digital mansion. At most you can create a feudal landscape of mansions. Not a city

          1 reply 0 retweets 6 likes
          Show this thread
        10. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 17
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          This article has apparently been doing the rounds ht @noupsidehttps://www.cjr.org/special_report/substackerati.php …

          2 replies 0 retweets 5 likes
          Show this thread
        11. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 17
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          Will read and comment later on this thread. Stopping for some Real Work™

          1 reply 0 retweets 4 likes
          Show this thread
        12. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 17
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          Ok, read it. Kinda meh. The writer kinda doesn't get it I think. The choice to center the kind of writer who is hoping to go to a secure paid gig at the same level of effort, lower risk, and more pay, is not really the interesting kind of writer for the future.

          1 reply 0 retweets 10 likes
          Show this thread
        13. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 17
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          Like many rearview mirror analysis, the writer is looking at this through the lens of old media and the unexamined assumption that the same people must succeed on the new medium, for the same kinds of value/recognition. Begging the question basically.

          1 reply 0 retweets 7 likes
          Show this thread
        14. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 17
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          If you assume the status hierarchies of the old world must self-evidently be sustained in the new world, of course you'll reach the conclusion that that is what will happen. The problem is there may soon be no "traditional" world for people "passing through" substack to aspire to

          1 reply 0 retweets 6 likes
          Show this thread
        15. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 17
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          If you've been substacking with the hope of getting a NYT op-ed gig... you are kinda missing the whole point. The point is that utopian destination is increasingly not a tenable one at all and its own top people are abandoning ship. So this sort of thing is "it."

          1 reply 1 retweet 14 likes
          Show this thread
        16. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 17
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          Also, I'd like to know how many fires I have on their 1-4 fire scale. I'm guessing a 1-fire.

          1 reply 0 retweets 7 likes
          Show this thread
        17. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 17
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          My unsolicited top-3 advice items: 1. Stay the course focusing on writers over readers 2. Avoid cross-promotion 3. Build more individual writer branding tools and push tech into the background. Avoid temptation of making the platform the brand.

          2 replies 0 retweets 20 likes
          Show this thread
        18. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 17
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          Basically the product would benefit from being more product-driven. True north is not NYT but WordPress. Deeper, more feature-ful product, more customizable for all. Definitely do NOT create 2 classes of writers (rating system is fine, different feature sets starts to get dicey)

          2 replies 0 retweets 9 likes
          Show this thread
        19. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 17
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          tldr of strategy recommendation for substack: commoditize your complement, ie writers to the tune of 90% but not 100%. Putting all writer brands on an equal level playing field instead of creating *feature* tiers for bluechecks is the key to being a good platform.

          2 replies 0 retweets 7 likes
          Show this thread
        20. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 17
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          There is no royal road to geometry There is no special iPhone for special people, everybody gets the same price points. No special substack for special writers. But fee tiers for ++ services are okay. Like the extra fee for own domain mapping.

          1 reply 0 retweets 5 likes
          Show this thread
        21. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 17
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          Venkatesh Rao Retweeted Eric Richards

          This is possibly a problem for history-completist readers, but is frankly not a big deal for me. I'd be fine with most of my content just vanishing into random blackholes so long as I've gotten what I want out of creating it.https://twitter.com/EricRichards22/status/1328812337785081857 …

          Venkatesh Rao added,

          Eric Richards @EricRichards22
          We just need to go back to blogs. This cycle keeps happening, and all of this content is going to end up in abandoned silos. https://twitter.com/vgr/status/1328789670570848258 …
          1 reply 0 retweets 7 likes
          Show this thread
        22. End of conversation

      Loading seems to be taking a while.

      Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.

        Promoted Tweet

        false

        • © 2020 Twitter
        • About
        • Help Center
        • Terms
        • Privacy policy
        • Imprint
        • Cookies
        • Ads info