Paul Davis

Developer at @Ghost

[John O'Nolan @JohnONolan]

Every time Substack make a move that serves the business, they disingenously play it off as something that's in the best interest of users.

> [Email is getting less reliable, so we had to build an app.]

"I know I've said this a lot, but I cannot emphasize enough that email will continue to become less deterministically reliable as a means for distributing your work; this is a huge part of why we got into the app and feed business!"

Sure. And there's also the economics. One of the largest overheads for any newsletter platform is email delivery — it's expensive, and it scales linearly with subscribers. Delivering the same content by API to an app you own is essentially free, and keeps users inside your ecosystem.

The app isn't some reluctant response to problematic technology, it's just a better business. That would be perfectly fine to say out loud.

Instead it's "email is unreliable, actually" - a pretty stark reversal of how they used to talk about email.

Substack CEO in 2018:
"[Email is] the one channel that you have as an independent writer to reach a reader base that’s not directly mediated by a third party. It doesn’t have a Facebook algorithm deciding what people are going to see."

In 2026: email is bad, and the answer is the Substack app, mediated by the Substack algorithm deciding what people are going to see.

Yes, email is more complicated than it used to be, but there are thousands of newsletter platforms out there, and only one of them is insisting that the only solution to reliable distribution is using their branded app.

> [Nobody feels locked into Substack.]

"I saw several wags speculate that this was because we were trying to achieve 'lock in' at the behest of our investors. Brother, if you've ever heard of someone who feels locked-in to Substack because of their follow graph, please tell me."

The lock-in is not the follow graph. That's a complete strawman.

People feel locked in because mobile paid subscriptions are literally locked in.

Subscriptions started on the web sit in the writer's own Stripe account — portable, owned, migratable. Subscriptions started inside the Substack app are permanently stuck on Substack. Which, ofc, is conveniently "[just how mobile works, Apple make us do it]" - but publishers don't even have an option to disable paid subscriptions through the Substack app, they are forced into using it.

We migrate people off Substack to @Ghost every week. One of the top complaints is "I need to get out before any more of my revenue gets locked into the Substack app."

Substack is a venture-backed platform optimising for retention, unit economics, and platform dependency. That is a perfectly normal thing for a venture-backed platform to do.

Just say what you're actually doing and stop trying to dress it up as something else.

[Ghost @Ghost]

Ghost 6.0 is here — meet our biggest upgrade yet

🫶 Reach millions of users across the social web 🔎 Understand what works with native analytics
➕ Powerful new creator tools
📈 $100M earned for indie publishers

[Paul Davis @PaulAdamDavis]

@benjamincrozat @JohnONolan Haha! It’s still there (albeit at a different url) as a nice little time capsule https://t.co/4csYnNMnsB

[Ghost @Ghost]

Independent media requires independent technology

Alongside @GoogleNewsInit, @LIONPubs & @tinynewsco — we're working to create a brighter future for journalism

Publishers choose Ghost because they get to own the technology that powers their business →

https://t.co/lWq9rhZ4Yz

[Ghost @Ghost]

Launch day again! 🚀

For more than a quarter century, Pitchfork was a kind of Rolling Stone for the millennial generation, a bible for audiophiles whose authority was summed up by its simple slogan: “the most trusted voice in music.”

That changed for many readers in January when Pitchfork’s parent company, Condé Nast, enacted a sweeping round of layoffs that included removing its editor in chief and folding it under GQ, the men’s magazine.

Nearly a year later, five former Pitchfork journalists are getting the band back together to start a new online music publication, Hearing Things.

Published with Ghost

https://t.co/je4FdgadmX

[Ghost @Ghost]

Many of the largest publishers out there are currently reconsidering the platforms they choose to power their businesses.

In a first announcement of.... several...... we're delighted to welcome @CaseyNewton and @ZoeSchiffer to Ghost!

https://t.co/kiIy0G5PN2

[Paul Davis @PaulAdamDavis]

🎉 Exciting times!

[Ghost @Ghost]

Many of the largest publishers out there are currently reconsidering the platforms they choose to power their businesses.

In a first announcement of.... several...... we're delighted to welcome @CaseyNewton and @ZoeSchiffer to Ghost!

https://t.co/kiIy0G5PN2

[Paul Davis @PaulAdamDavis]

My vocab is about 20% emoji, so I’m obviously loving this. 😁

[Ghost @Ghost]

Small improvement for the end of the week — you can now autocomplete emojis in the Ghost editor:

💅

[Ghost @Ghost]

Release day for ✨ Recommendations in Ghost!

Simple cross promotion, with a twist:
It works with every publisher, on any platform.

We don't need more closed networks.
We need more open web ❤️

All the deets 👇
https://t.co/ZJcsDNqxQQ

[Ghost @Ghost]

Just shipped 🚢 a completely refreshed settings area in Ghost

Settings are now all in one place, and searchable 🔎 so it's faster than ever to find and update that one thing you were looking for

https://t.co/KsND3JxbAb

[Ghost @Ghost]

We just shipped a brand new default theme for Ghost! It's called Source, and is included automatically with every new install.

Preview/details here:
https://t.co/j5ftaSQSgL

Thread below if you want some behind the scenes nerdery 👇

[Paul Davis @PaulAdamDavis]

🎨 My wife @hayleyjadedavis just released a load of new products! If you like flowers, cats, and everything else good in life, there might just be something there for you.

https://t.co/fqHIMLwpk7

[Paul Davis @PaulAdamDavis]

@scott_riley

[Ghost @Ghost]

The new Ghost editor (beta) is here!

The same editor you know and love, now also with:

🎨 Image editing
📝 Post history & version control
🔗 A brand new bookmarker extension

...and this is just the beginning!👇

https://t.co/Op3yipAObe

[Ryan Feigenbaum @TheRoyalFig]

Inspired by @PaulAdamDavis, here's a quick article on how I modify @Ghost's @github deploy action to build my assets and ship to three sites at once
https://t.co/FQ2sfJ1i6h

[Paul Davis @PaulAdamDavis]

@KatherineCory I’ve been a happy Monzo business customer since they opened biz accounts (ltd, 2 directors, 2 cards, FA, no issues at all). I never use the website either, only the app.

[Paul Davis @PaulAdamDavis]

@endocrimes That lamb tho 🤤

[Paul Davis @PaulAdamDavis]

Fair. #SpotifyWrapped

[POSH ROB @at_kingsley]

Ah... the new @RishiSunak cabinet has arrived.

Oh.

[Ghost @Ghost]

💬 Just shipped: Native Comments for Ghost

This has been one of our most requested features of all time, and it's available to everyone!

Now you can build your own community, right inside Ghost.

All the details & story of how/why we built this, here:
https://t.co/i5c6rFd6PW