Experiment: Pay for "Squishy" Content
let's try this thing out
I want this Substack to add value where I think I’m most helpful, so most of my posts are what I’d call “fact-based.” Lit review, a bit of data analysis, research and synthesis of science/technology topics.
But I have a lot of looser, hand-wavier writing in me that’s itching to get out.
I personally think my “squishier” stuff is worse than my more factual stuff. I’m more likely to regret writing it years later. I’m more likely to get people arguing with me vehemently. It’s more embarrassing.
On the other hand, a lot of my readers don’t agree. People still cite Ra all the time even though I now think it’s overwrought and sloppy.
And let’s be real, it’s faster and easier for me to write a “squishy” post that doesn’t have a ton of references.
On the gripping hand, I really don’t want to spam readers who are just here for the analysis and would be turned off by handwavy opinions about psychology/society/etc.
So, I’m going to try something new here: I’m going to make the “soft” stuff paid-only and opt-in.
If you want to read it, you can; if you just want the “regular” Rough Diamonds posts, that’s great.
Rougher Diamonds?
You could also add a "squishiness level" to posts. In general, if I read content by somebody I tend to agree with, I'm less likely to analyze it critically, so knowing the squishiness can be useful. (Not sure whether a binary flag is better or worse than a rating. And yes, this is essentially suggesting the SSC tags.)