"Why don't I use Medium?" is the question I asked from this, as I actually use HN as my chosen outlet for material that comes from a short lifetime in what I'd call "semi-pro" level writing. That is, I'd be writing professionally, but really,
why?
The appeal of Substack is the appeal of good writing, and in particular, its necessary ingredient, conflict. What Substack offered, and Medium didn't have, was a bet on edginess that guaranteed them high quality writing, and to attract high quality writers. What I used Medium for was basically as long form LinkedIn, where that necessary essence of good writing is the one thing the platform is designed to dull. On LinkedIn, you have to look like everyone else, but with some slight variation and nothing remarkable or unconventional. To be a writer, you need to blow peoples fucking minds. This means taking risks, challenging conventions, knowing all the rules and then breaking them in the right order to produce something beautiful. To me, Medium is blandness as a service. Its entire brand is an expression of its quality, medium. Their market niche is to be the Olive Garden of content but without all the spiciness.
Taking risk in writing means I'm risking all the future money I am making on the platform, and the potetntial scandal-cost against finding other work because of the reputational hit of being booted. Together they mean I can't add the necessary degree of conflict to my writing that will edify an audience. The other thing about writing nobody tells you is that the world forgives you when you win and you can say anything you want when you are riding high, but if you lose publicly because of some insane political situation, you don't eat lunch in this global town again.
The genius of the substack launch was offering security to writers via their open political policy, which enabled great writers to take risks. Their work turned the platform into a desirable and elite brand, and the policy of openness guaranteed the platform would never stop writers from doing the one thing they have to do to live, which is writing. They gave writers a home and the artists turned it into a neighbourhood.
Christopher Hitchens, Hunter S. Thompson, Gore Vidal, George Plimpton, Camille Paglia, H. L. Mencken, Michel Houellebec, Glen Greenwald or really anyone's name I remember for being a great writer - does not survive on Medium. Hell, Matt Taibbi doesn't survive on Medium. It's content for people who buy celebrity scented candles.
Maybe they could launch a new site for experiemental ideas and provocative work, and some forums with rules that challenge twitter and reddit dominance. They can call it: medium.rare