The hottest Platform Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top News Topics

Substack is your corner of the internet

Substack Blog • 1668 implied HN points • 02 Feb 26
đź•ą Technology Platform
  1. Apps will show custom themed views for Substacks (starting on iOS), so tapping a publication brings you into its branded space with the newest post and a feed of that Substack’s notes and posts.
  2. Creators will soon be able to include community contributions and recommended Substacks in their feeds with optional controls and moderation, letting a Substack be a solo voice, a salon, or a broader community hub.
  3. Substack’s aim is to give creators both independence and scale: you can keep your own branding and relationships while still benefiting from discovery, recommendations, and network effects.

Platformer’s Reporting On Substack’s Supposed “Nazi Problem” Is Shoddy And Misleading

Singal-Minded • 3933 implied HN points • 09 Jan 24
đź“° News Platform
  1. The controversy about Nazis on Substack led to different responses from users and platform
  2. Some publications were removed from Substack due to violation of content guidelines
  3. There were discrepancies in the reporting of the number of Nazi accounts on Substack, leading to criticism of the reporting process

Uber’s 2025 Reorg: Platform Strategy Meets Conway’s Law

Gad’s Newsletter • 70 implied HN points • 29 Dec 25
đź’Ľ Business Platform
  1. Uber put Mobility, Delivery, and Autonomous units under one COO to build a single platform that shares data and cross-sells services, aiming to get customers to use both apps more often.
  2. The org change follows Conway’s Law: by redesigning reporting lines they’re steering the software toward shared identity, pooled supply, and unified data so cross-platform features like Uber One and contextual offers can work.
  3. Centralizing integration can speed cooperation but risks a slow monolith and lost local excellence, so Uber needs a strong shared platform with clear delegation and should watch cross-platform adoption, Uber One penetration, and contextual attach rates.

Some thoughts on the Substack controversy

The Watch • 2631 implied HN points • 27 Dec 23
đź’Ľ Business Platform
  1. Substack has faced controversy over hosting white supremacists and other objectionable content
  2. Switching platforms can be risky for content creators like the author due to potential loss of subscribers and audience
  3. The author suggests direct support via other payment methods for those who want to support writers on Substack without contributing to the company

Important Question

The Cosmopolitan Globalist • 14 implied HN points • 31 Jan 26
🎙 Podcasts Platform
  1. There’s a worry that essays attached to podcast episodes don’t show up in podcast apps, so subscribers might not see them.
  2. A specific attached essay is cited as an example and readers are being asked whether they received and read it.
  3. If those essays aren’t being seen, it’s upsetting because they’re valued content and could make people rethink subscribing.
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The Magic Hotline

The Cosmopolitan Globalist • 8 implied HN points • 03 Feb 26
🎙 Podcasts Platform
  1. Essays attached to podcast posts are often hidden or hard to find in the app, so many readers miss them.
  2. A Substack podcast developer confirmed the essays should be delivered and shared troubleshooting tips like checking podcast-email settings, Gmail tabs, and the app’s sort order, and even offered direct help.
  3. A webinar with that developer is being planned so subscribers can ask questions, give feedback, and get help, and readers are invited to say if they’d attend and introduce themselves.

Open Letter: Substack Needs an AI Category

The Algorithmic Bridge • 509 implied HN points • 27 Feb 24
đź•ą Technology Platform
  1. Substack should have a category for AI to benefit the writers and interested readers.
  2. AI presence on Substack is significant and growing, with many exclusive AI newsletters in the top 100.
  3. An AI category would both help enthusiasts find relevant content and allow those uninterested in AI to easily avoid it, improving user experience on Substack.

Bullet Points: OpenAI looks for its FarmVille, 90s tech nostalgia, and more on the Substack drama

The Future, Now and Then • 275 implied HN points • 13 Jan 24
đź•ą Technology Platform
  1. OpenAI is aiming to become a platform similar to how Facebook invited developers for apps.
  2. Nostalgia for 90s tech optimism is prevalent but may not be constructive for the present tech landscape.
  3. The Substack management issues are conflicting with their core value of empowering writers to build their own audience.

Seven Things the Duo Founders Did Right

Build To Scale • 19 implied HN points • 06 Feb 24
đź’Ľ Business Platform
  1. High quality investors can significantly impact the growth and success of a company.
  2. Offering equity to all employees, not just top management, can drive a growth mindset and benefit everyone involved.
  3. Maintaining focus on core business, while being open to experimentation, can lead to sustainable growth and innovation.

A Quick Substack Notes Update: How I will use Notes going forward.

OSINT & Analysis by Oliver Alexander • 222 implied HN points • 11 Apr 23
đź•ą Technology Platform
  1. Substack Notes will be used for OSINT work that doesn't need a full article.
  2. For some writers, Substack Notes may not add much value, but for OSINT community members like Oliver, it's very beneficial.
  3. Twitter's recent decisions have pushed Oliver to utilize Substack Notes for sharing content he would have previously posted on Twitter.

Crowdsourced Content and Platforms’ Competitive Advantage

Platform Papers • 19 implied HN points • 04 Jul 23
đź’Ľ Business Platform
  1. Crowdsourced content can be of high quality and variety, offering platforms a low-cost resource.
  2. Leveraging 'the crowd' for competitive advantage is challenging due to the need for platform management and direction.
  3. Platform competition and contributor activity intertwine, with success, community size, social benefits, and high-productivity contributors being key factors for a platform's competitive advantage.

Platform Governance Matters: How Platform Gatekeeping Affects Knowledge Sharing Among Complementors

Platform Papers • 19 implied HN points • 15 Feb 23
đź’Ľ Business Platform
  1. Strong platform control can encourage complementors' innovation activity instead of suppressing it.
  2. Access control by platform owners shapes complementors' knowledge sharing activities and can impact innovation.
  3. Platform governance, particularly access control, plays a crucial role in motivating cooperative behaviors among complementors for innovation.

Introducing ControlAI's App

Lukasz’s Substack • 3 HN points • 17 Apr 24
đź•ą Technology Platform
  1. ControlAI's platform offers a solution for AI safety and compliance, simplifying the complex process for users.
  2. Users can use the platform to create an inventory of AI assets, understand regulations like ISO Norms and GDPR, and track progress towards compliance.
  3. The platform also enables users to deploy defenses, showcase AI safety solutions, and collaborate with the AI community to enhance safety measures.

Why I Moved to Substack

Venture Prose • 139 implied HN points • 22 Dec 19
đź•ą Technology Platform
  1. Consider moving to a new platform for better community engagement, filtering systems, and writer support.
  2. Choosing a platform like Substack can lead to more regular content creation and better conversations with readers.
  3. Encourage readers to subscribe for updates without any fear of getting spammed.

The Dark Forest Anthology of the Internet

The Ideaspace • 21 implied HN points • 21 Feb 24
🎨 Art & Illustration Platform
  1. The Dark Forest Anthology of the Internet is a book capturing a critical moment in internet history, exploring the concept of retreating to 'dark forests' online as a response to mainstream internet behaviors.
  2. The book is a limited first-edition run of 1,000 copies available for purchase through Metalabel, offering a beautifully designed narrative of life on the web.
  3. Metalabel is a new platform supporting the selling, releasing, and exhibiting of various creative works, providing a space for creative groups to collaborate and share their work and audiences.

Product and Platform Engineers

Optimism (for the web) • 10 implied HN points • 07 Aug 23
đź•ą Technology Platform
  1. Frontend developers are no longer just writing HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
  2. Backend developers are often faced with choosing between writing more frontend code or focusing on software infrastructure.
  3. Product Engineers work on creating great user experiences while Platform Engineers focus on supporting the product's infrastructure.

GCP and AWS: What’s the Difference?

realkinetic • 0 implied HN points • 17 Jul 18
đź•ą Technology Platform
  1. Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have different philosophies: AWS is favored by ops engineers for its low-level control, while GCP appeals more to software engineers with its managed services approach.
  2. GCP gets criticized for poor historical support, less service offerings than AWS, and opaque roadmaps but is praised for integration of core services and high-quality releases.
  3. Billing and support differ between GCP and AWS: GCP offers simpler pricing models and is enhancing support services, while AWS has complex billing and a more hands-on support structure.

Some Bitcoin thoughts

Joshua Gans' Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 24 Dec 13
đź”® Crypto Platform
  1. Money is a platform where value transmission depends on belief and agreements among people. Stability and acceptance are crucial for efficient transactions.
  2. Bitcoin's stability as a payments platform is weak, but it offers potential benefits for wealth storage and operating outside government surveillance.
  3. Bitcoin's innovation as a payments platform, especially its programmable nature, is significant and revolutionary in the world of monetary economics.

API or Platform

Venture Prose • 0 implied HN points • 29 Jul 16
đź•ą Technology Platform
  1. Entrepreneurs should focus on either building a BtoB SaaS API or a Platform, not both simultaneously.
  2. A BtoB SaaS API offers technology for others to use, while a Platform provides both technology and data to users.
  3. Platforms, which combine tech and data, are harder to succeed with compared to APIs, which focus solely on technology.