I echo the kudos of previous commenters. Competition for eyeballs has never been greater, and the advent of ChatGPT creates the illusion of effort-free wealth. More than a few other excellent writers are grappling with this problem. I support as many as I can, but my limited pension resources put hard limits on my subscription budget. I'm also a writer, though my Substack is so bad that I'm going to take it out behind the barn and shoot it. The audience I write for is limited to iPhones and iPads owned by a very narrow niche of people. But the niche is mine alone - nobody else would touch it, due to the small audience size and the required knowledge to serve it. Seth Godin's concept of the "minimum viable audience" has worked well for me. It's not quite the same thing as Kevin Kelly's "1,000 true fans", but the end result is the same. We live in an age of endless choices, and it's just about impossible to do anything of a one-size-fits-all nature.
Hey Gunnar, for what it’s worth, I derive a ton of value from seeing your words in my inbox every week. I suspect a lot of people feel the same way. That being said, prioritize your health and happiness. We’ll be behind you whatever you decide.
Gunnar, I always read you with interest, tho I don’t always agree with you, and I enjoy your quirky humor. It’s unfortunate the internet is swamped with interesting newsletters that hope to carry their authors to the sunny shore, and too many of us without the means to contribute. Is there any reward in knowing perhaps your insight sometimes gooses a reader into a more positive frame of mind? Is there something to be gained by contributing to the raising of the state of human consciousness? It might not deposit in the bank, but you are helping to raise awareness. Thank you for that. I wish you well.
There is tremendous reward in nudging someone to a happier day, and it brings me great joy to hear that I do that sometimes. Warms the heart, thank you.
Thanks so much, Geoff. Good questions. A place to write without too much constraints, perhaps, a place to connect and interact with people interested in random ideas rumbling through my brain.
I appreciate that you acknowledged me long ago (if my memory serves me right) as one of your inspirations to start writing (in general) and maybe also for the newsletter. I internally applauded your courage to move forward with the idea, as I would never dare to. It's too daunting to think how I could market and SEO my writing to the great world out there (yes, everything I heard from the science writing world is that SEO optimization is what gets eyeballs on articles. I wish it weren't so.)
Writing is a long hard road and while assessments are good, I think it would be helpful to try to "fail forward" and not let the great disappointment get you. Many of the funded projects I did had little to no impact. But I got paid, the products are out there, and I put them in my job portfolio. How can this attempt fail forward for you?
Thanks, Lynn, for the inspiring comment ;). In this case, it's not only about the (honestly, self-inflicted) disappointment, but also the time and mental bandwidth. This newsletter is not something that pays or will end up on a portfolio, so your question hits the nail on the head. How can this fail forward? (Then again, does it *need* to go anywhere? Maybe it can just be what it is, without expectations one way or the other...)
*You're* nailing it! Indeed, there is no need for anything to serve a forward purpose. I'm sure the experience itself would be meaningful one day. Just today, I told a colleague that I wasted a huge amount of grant $ and time on a failed project (more than ten years ago now...). I realized that something going on at the moment very much resembled that failed project of mine & perhaps... there's a chance that thing doesn't have to undergo the same fate if I can learn from my past lessons.
Pt1. Don't let the influencers euh...influence you, take your own decision. Pt2. I always read your articles with care and attention, although I don't always agree (of course not!). Pt3. It's sad to see you go because I know you have a lot of brilliant ideas in that 'strange' head of you.
I like to think your reach is further than you think it is. I diary about you at least weekly, and as much about things you said in the past as your most recent post. And you probably come up in conversation every other week. I’d be short the one thing I read whenever it comes out. Me me me me me me me. Gunnar, you’re such a good dude, and I’d dearly miss not reading what you’d been chewing on every week.
I echo the kudos of previous commenters. Competition for eyeballs has never been greater, and the advent of ChatGPT creates the illusion of effort-free wealth. More than a few other excellent writers are grappling with this problem. I support as many as I can, but my limited pension resources put hard limits on my subscription budget. I'm also a writer, though my Substack is so bad that I'm going to take it out behind the barn and shoot it. The audience I write for is limited to iPhones and iPads owned by a very narrow niche of people. But the niche is mine alone - nobody else would touch it, due to the small audience size and the required knowledge to serve it. Seth Godin's concept of the "minimum viable audience" has worked well for me. It's not quite the same thing as Kevin Kelly's "1,000 true fans", but the end result is the same. We live in an age of endless choices, and it's just about impossible to do anything of a one-size-fits-all nature.
Thanks, Jim. Appreciate it!
Hey Gunnar, for what it’s worth, I derive a ton of value from seeing your words in my inbox every week. I suspect a lot of people feel the same way. That being said, prioritize your health and happiness. We’ll be behind you whatever you decide.
Thanks, Nita. Much appreciated!
Gunnar, I always read you with interest, tho I don’t always agree with you, and I enjoy your quirky humor. It’s unfortunate the internet is swamped with interesting newsletters that hope to carry their authors to the sunny shore, and too many of us without the means to contribute. Is there any reward in knowing perhaps your insight sometimes gooses a reader into a more positive frame of mind? Is there something to be gained by contributing to the raising of the state of human consciousness? It might not deposit in the bank, but you are helping to raise awareness. Thank you for that. I wish you well.
Thanks for this wonderful comment, Sara!
There is tremendous reward in nudging someone to a happier day, and it brings me great joy to hear that I do that sometimes. Warms the heart, thank you.
We gain lots. What do you gain? What’s the return on your investment?
Thanks so much, Geoff. Good questions. A place to write without too much constraints, perhaps, a place to connect and interact with people interested in random ideas rumbling through my brain.
I appreciate that you acknowledged me long ago (if my memory serves me right) as one of your inspirations to start writing (in general) and maybe also for the newsletter. I internally applauded your courage to move forward with the idea, as I would never dare to. It's too daunting to think how I could market and SEO my writing to the great world out there (yes, everything I heard from the science writing world is that SEO optimization is what gets eyeballs on articles. I wish it weren't so.)
Writing is a long hard road and while assessments are good, I think it would be helpful to try to "fail forward" and not let the great disappointment get you. Many of the funded projects I did had little to no impact. But I got paid, the products are out there, and I put them in my job portfolio. How can this attempt fail forward for you?
Thanks, Lynn, for the inspiring comment ;). In this case, it's not only about the (honestly, self-inflicted) disappointment, but also the time and mental bandwidth. This newsletter is not something that pays or will end up on a portfolio, so your question hits the nail on the head. How can this fail forward? (Then again, does it *need* to go anywhere? Maybe it can just be what it is, without expectations one way or the other...)
*You're* nailing it! Indeed, there is no need for anything to serve a forward purpose. I'm sure the experience itself would be meaningful one day. Just today, I told a colleague that I wasted a huge amount of grant $ and time on a failed project (more than ten years ago now...). I realized that something going on at the moment very much resembled that failed project of mine & perhaps... there's a chance that thing doesn't have to undergo the same fate if I can learn from my past lessons.
Pt1. Don't let the influencers euh...influence you, take your own decision. Pt2. I always read your articles with care and attention, although I don't always agree (of course not!). Pt3. It's sad to see you go because I know you have a lot of brilliant ideas in that 'strange' head of you.
Thanks. Appreciated.
I like to think your reach is further than you think it is. I diary about you at least weekly, and as much about things you said in the past as your most recent post. And you probably come up in conversation every other week. I’d be short the one thing I read whenever it comes out. Me me me me me me me. Gunnar, you’re such a good dude, and I’d dearly miss not reading what you’d been chewing on every week.
Thanks, Ben. This means a lot to me!