Beehiiv and Substack Are Platform Lock-in (Similar to Vendor Lock-in), Don't Use Beehiiv and Substack (and the Likes of These)
For argument's sake and concision we shall focus on Substack
Substack tries to sell itself as free speech, independence, and mostly "monetisation" (a model by which to get paid by so-called "subscribers" or regular readers). But who controls "publishers" and "subscribers"? The answer should be obvious, but apparently many people are still not getting it. Some who foolishly fled into Substack are now fleeing (away from) Substack. They recognise it is a trap and was a trap all along.
Set aside the lack of future prospects of Substack (possible commercial shutdown, price and term/s changes, censorship/moderation policies, access restrictions globally or per region). In Substack, one can be held accountable/liable for the publications of other users, not by mere association/reputation; one day Substack will be shut down, it's only a question of when and why. Users of Substack (producers and 'consumers') are at the mercy of someone else, including corporate-esque MBA-led decisions.
According to Ben Werdmuller, Substack "has been promoting social media style following relationships over true subscriptions, and only allows creators to export their subscribers should they choose to move."
Why move at all? Why use it in the first place?
We've been around for nearly 20 years (a few days ago it was 19.5 years - a milestone passed by the sister site in 2023). Proprietary software was always avoided by us, so transitions were possible without being tied to anything except the domains.
Proprietary platforms are a problem. Some people "get it" sooner than others. How many TypePad users lost everything last year? [1, 2, 3] █