Viral ambition essays seem to have gone out of fashion. Kinda cringe to even aim at that now. Substack has a professionalized energy, Wordpress feels quiet and suburban, and the rest is emo-jewel craft pieces. Even nakedly mercenary clickbait seems in decline.
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I think a contemplative mood has descended on the reader-writer contract now. Like everybody’s switched from uppers to downers.
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Haven’t seen a piece even aiming at, let alone hitting, the kind of manic-aha note the entire blogosphere was aiming at 2000-20. Covid killed that mood. I snuck in a last post of that sort just a month before Covid, with internet of beefs 🤔
Can’t imagine writing like that now.
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Blogs remain the bellwether of where writing is headed. I enjoy my substacking but money does alter how things evolve there. Goodhart’s law etc. And the emo static site game still hasn’t grown up. And possibly never will.
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I’m shocked, shocked… that an “Anglican curate/deep churchman” with the handle wyclif and bitcoin eyes would think that 🤣
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I’m familiar with the lot, but self-hosted Wordpress works just fine for me.

