How are you, really? - the Metta View is moving
That + I'm getting off the Substack bandwagon + a short Digest
If you’re new here, this is The Digest, a bimonthly selection of articles, podcasts, books or other that I have found compelling, clever or even entertaining. The Digest starts with an intro which today is long-ish. Enjoy!
Hey friend.
How are you feeling today? I’m not just asking to emulate Elmo’s tweet. Really, how are you doing?
I’ve had some sleep issues lately. I woke up at 2.40am thinking it was morning, looked at my alarm clock dumbfounded, and rolled around in bed for a few minutes before falling back asleep. The thought that I awoke with? Not a good one.
Before I tell you, I want to remind you that I live in Switzerland.
Deep breaths. Here it goes: the thought that was on the tip of my brain as I stirred to consciousness… what if ‘we’ get another four years of Trump?
Bearing in mind that I DO NOT watch the news, but I watch late-night shows. Potato, potato? My anxiety spike is worrying, as is the state of things right now.
Walking back from brunch the other day, my eyes caught an unexpected sight. A badly drawn swastika was staring at me, at eye level, on an innocuous lamppost. It looked like someone had used a skinny ballpoint or similar and drawn it a few times for effect, so much so that I did a double take. I couldn’t be seeing the real thing, surely? Sadly, it is unmistakable.
My instinct said: “Cover it up!” But there was nothing in my pockets that could enable me to cover its nasty message. Unprepared as I was, I walked past, only to find another one fifty metres further up the street. This time, the crappy drawing had been crossed by a rightfully disapproving passerby who, unlike me, had a big blue marker in their pockets. Good for them.
Next thought: this is bad. And it feels too close for comfort in this quiet corner of the world. I added to my to-do list:
Buy a large marker and stick it in my handbag.
I’ve felt all kinds of frustrations this past month, Nazi signs-induced and otherwise.
Work has been hard. I mean HARD. I had several people cancel their contracts just as we were due to start the work. It felt like doors were repeatedly being slammed in my face. FUN! The trend reveals that would-be clients feel the same regardless of where they are in the world. They take a step forward and then jump a good couple of steps back. I can’t blame them.
One thing I felt good about was this newsletter and where it is hosted, Substack. I thought of it as a place where non-professional writers like myself explore business topics as well as share personal essays, where long-form content is both expected and appreciated.
I made the move from Mailchimp this time last year. Writer Ryan Broderick (who joined the platform in 2020) summed up my feelings when he called Substack an “oasis”.
Sadly, I’ve come to understand the limitations of the previously neutral publishing space, as it is slowly being turned into a social media platform.
This may be news to you, but Substack has a Nazi and white supremacy problem. Articles in the Atlantic, the New York Times, and the Guardian have reported on the situation, as well as the lax efforts to fix the issue and tepid statements from one of the co-CEOs.
Hanna Raskin, journalist and publisher of the Food Section, an award-winning publication covering food and drink across the American South, chose to leave the platform, as did others like Casey Newton from Platformer. She rightfully reminded me that “social media platforms don’t belong to their users”.
“We didn’t ask Substack to solve racism,” Newton, from Platformer, wrote in his post explaining why he was leaving. “We asked it to give us an easy, low-drama place to do business, and to commit to not funding and accelerating the growth of hate movements. Ultimately we did not get either.”
“If Substack the company fails to remain a neutral party, as it seems like is the case with the recent rounds of decision-making, that association becomes a liability,” wrote Ernie Smith on Tedium.
Bloomberg opines that “for Substack, the social media-fication of its service is a way to try to create a business that feels more like the kind of internet company that gets truly huge. It’d like to become a destination in and of itself.
When companies take money from venture capitalists, they implicitly agree to pursue this swing-for-the-fences business model. In Substack’s case, this decision sowed the seeds of the current controversy.”
Here’s the thing. These are not ‘normal’ times.
Podcaster Bridget Tod of There are no girls on the Internet landed the point saying that “One thing that the OG nazis were really good at was propaganda, packaging their beliefs in a way so that the average person would agree with them. This feels like it's giving them [meaning nazis 2.0] just another avenue to do that.”
It’s hard to share the internet, and even the streets, with people who wish to eliminate entire classes of human beings.
All that to say, I’ll be setting up the Mettā View elsewhere.
You, my loyal subscriber, don’t have to do anything; you’ll still receive the Mettā View directly in your inbox (actually, if you have Gmail, it may get lost in a subfolder somewhere; I’ll message you about that).
As to whether I will continue to read those writers I admire on Substack, I guess I will be where they choose to be, at least for the time being.
Lastly, on a hopeful note, something great is being cooked up by the folks at Metalabel. Their Collaboration Cookbook is a great example of the power of getting together to share great stuff on the internet or IRL. The cookbook won’t tell you how to make the best onion soup (why did my mind go to this, I don’t know) but how to build an online community, for example. For a quick intro to what Metalabel stands for, hop over here.
Thank you, as always, for reading me. I never take it for granted, and I really appreciate you and your time.
Have a good one. Oh, and be well!
For various views on the Substack Nazi problem, I direct you to these articles.
Substack Has a Nazi Problem by Jonathan M. Katz.
The letter sent to Substack’s CEO’s by 200+ writers: ‘Substackers Against Nazis.’
The follow up by Jacob Stern, also in the Atlantic.
Substack Says It Will Not Ban Nazis or Extremist Speech in the New York Times.
Mashable’s ‘Why are people leaving Substack.’
Hanna Raskin’s ‘Why I’m Leaving Substack’ in Slate.
Leading Tech Journalists Quits Substack in the Guardian.
Bloomberg’s newsletter on newsletters exposing Substack’s business model problem.
Business Insider argues this is all about money, not speech.
Casey Newton of Platformer explains his decision to leave Substack.
The opinion piece from the Washington Post asking how far should we be willing to go to censor the Nazis.
Overheard on the Tim Ferriss Show
“Don’t try to get it right, keep it true.” (Who said it, I’ve forgotten…)
Looking Around
On a call with my website host provider, I was given this article to read, which alleges that hackers have figured out a way into your Gmail without needing your password, all that through third-party cookies. Read it. You need to know.
If you are in New York and fancy a mindful-led musical experience, check out the new concerts hosted at Carnegie Hall for the next couple of months.
Emilia Petrarca, ex-NY Magazine’s editor at The Cut and now at Shop Rat on Substack, launched a Repair Month-themed series of newsletters and articles, calling on us to share our best and favourite menders worldwide to compile a “best of” list so we better look after our wares. A beautiful endeavour. Discover here.
Got a lot on your mind? Try putting it all on paper: that’s what people call a brain dump. I don’t love the term, but I find it a supportive daily practice. More about it here.
Addicted to your phone? Find out what happens when author Rikh Sammader, a self-confessed addict, tries to put down his iPhone for a fortnight. Read here.
Do you work too much? Do you wonder why we do so much? This article tries to analyse the root of our work-obsessed society (clue: it may be Calvin’s fault), how we could move towards a post-work society and why we are not good at play. Lots to consider, especially for me, living in the city of Calvin. Read about it here.
Looking In
Your brain is working against you. Or rather, your biology is. We’re wired for … rest! Don’t believe me; read about why it’s so hard to exercise (especially in January) at Time.com.
Out of the Clouds has suffered from multiple cancelled interviews, damaged files, and a few other glitches, so I’m crossing all my fingers that I’ll get back to my fortnightly new releases. In any case, I’ve got a great new episode to tell you about - that’s if you’re not yet a subscriber (on that note, subscribe, please!).
Sridevi Kalidindi CBE talks to me about proactive mental health care, investing in employee wellbeing and finding joy within oneself. The senior consultant psychiatrist and leadership and executive coach discusses her award-winning teamwork for NHS England and the importance of proactive mental health care before we chat about her startup KLIP Global. She hopes to bring big corporate companies to lean on her data-driven and science-backed wellbeing service to help their employees thrive, or as she calls it, live their genius. Discover here.
Other than that… Want to meditate with me? I’m on Insight Timer, yes. Now offering live classes starting this coming Sunday. Free for everyone (download the app and get an account to get yourself started), and for the subscribers of Insight Plus, get a load of my first meditation course, Loving Kindness 101.
