Reading this newsletter? Tell me how!
Social media is in flux. How do you prefer to access Sharon's Strange Times?
Hello everyone. I have a question for you in a poll below. If you could take a moment to check it out and click on your answer, I’d appreciate that.
Here’s a bit of context. Social media platforms are going through an upheaval right now. The collective audiences on Facebook and Twitter are not what they used to be. Most of the followers I have on Twitter (I’d guess about 80-90%) are “zombie accounts” - they appear active but no one is really listening. The Twitter followers are effectively dead because there is no engagement. And, for many reasons, I don’t use Twitter actively anymore - I only post links there for the 700 or so (maybe!) people actually still paying attention.
Facebook is still a necessity for some but not a place I enjoy visiting, so I’ve limited who I follow to mostly friends and family who, frankly, don’t read my “strange” stuff.
Even though the new thing is direct-to-reader newsletters like this, I’ve heard from some people that they don’t like getting emails. Some tell me that they use RSS feeds (which also used to be a great thing that stopped being well-supported for a while). Not everyone is amenable to these different platforms. While my reads each week are mostly increasing, I haven’t felt that Substack allowed new readers to find me. I haven’t had great success in finding other similar substack offerings either. It has not succeeded on that front. I’ve had people tell me they don’t trust the Substack platform. Substack is working better for those with paid subscriptions. I can’t see me ever charging for people to read my ramblings. So, I do get a free ride on them.
I recently moved my personal website/blog back to free Wordpress (Spooky Geology is still with a paid host.) I could host the Weekly Weird News and the Strange Times content there instead. But I’d like some feedback on what is working and what might be a better plan going forward.
So, let me know what you think about how you like to get my stuff or what you would prefer from here on! Feel free to leave a comment or to contact me via… well, your digital correspondance of choice. Thanks.
I think I just signed up to your newsletter. I use the app. I’m subscribed to so many and it’s all in one place.
I like the email newsletter. I read and enjoy it.