Each week, we focus on demystifying different aspects of technology to help make the digital world a little more understandable. Today, I thought I’d turn the lens around and answer a practical question I’ve received: What is this "Substack" platform where the lives?

You don’t need to know anything about Substack to read and enjoy our newsletters, but for those who are curious, we wanted to offer a quick, clear look at the tool we use to bring these articles to you every week.

A Quick Look at the Tool Behind This Newsletter

What Is Substack?

Substack is an online platform designed to make it very simple for writers and creators to publish and send email newsletters. Think of it like a digital printing press and post office all rolled into one. It provides us with the tools to write our articles, manage our list of subscribers (that's you!), and reliably send each new edition of The directly to your email inbox.

Why We Chose to Use It

You might be wondering why I use this particular service. The truth is simple: it’s straightforward and allows me to focus on what’s most important, which is creating helpful and interesting content for you. As we've heard from so many of you, the best technology is often the technology that is simple and easy to use, and that's a principle I value as well. We don't have any special allegiance to Substack; it's just a simple tool that gets the job done effectively, letting me concentrate on writing an informative newsletter rather than wrestling with complicated email software.

What Else Can You Find on Substack?

The is just one of thousands of publications on the Substack platform. For readers who are curious to explore, you can find newsletters on nearly any topic imaginable: from expert gardening tips and deep-dive cooking tutorials to detailed political analysis, history, art, and personal essays. Many publications are free to subscribe to, just like ours. Substack has a website and a phone app where you can discover these other writers and topics.

Do You Need to Do Anything?

Absolutely not! You do not need to create a Substack account or download their app to continue receiving and reading The . As long as our emails are arriving in your inbox, you are all set. We just wanted to provide this "behind the scenes" look for anyone who was curious about the mechanics of how our newsletter is made and delivered.

Here’s a behind the curtains peak at what it looks like for me:

The writing tool is very simple and easy to use for me.

I can keep track of my subscribers:

I can also manage some of the layout on my homepage:

Quick Tech Tip

If you find that our newsletter (or any other email you subscribe to and enjoy) is occasionally landing in your "Spam" or "Junk" folder by mistake, it's a good idea to find one of those emails and mark it as "Not Spam" or "Not Junk." This action helps "teach" your email provider (like Gmail or Outlook) that you want to see these messages, which makes it more likely they will arrive directly in your main inbox in the future.

Tech Term Demystified: Newsletter Platform

A "Newsletter Platform" (like Substack, which we use, or others like Mailchimp) is a service that provides all the tools needed for creators to send email newsletters. These platforms handle the complicated parts, like managing the subscriber list, formatting the email so it looks good on both phones and computers, and the technical process of reliably sending out thousands of emails at once, which would be very difficult and trigger spam filters if sent from a personal email account. They can also manage billing and payments since some newsletter charge their subscribers to read their content.

Good News Byte

The rise of simple newsletter platforms has empowered countless independent writers, retired experts, hobbyists, and journalists to share their knowledge and stories directly with an audience that is genuinely interested. It represents a wonderful return to a more personal and direct form of online communication, allowing deep connections to form between writers and readers around shared passions, away from the noise and algorithms of traditional social media.

Did You Know?

While email newsletters feel very modern, the concept of a curated publication delivered directly to subscribers is well over a century old! One of the earliest known examples was a publication from the 1880s called Tid-Bits from the publishing house George Newnes. It compiled interesting facts, stories, and tidbits from various sources into a weekly digest that people could subscribe to, proving our desire for curated, interesting information has been around for a very long time.

Your Turn to Explore (Only if You're Curious!)

If you're feeling adventurous and want to see what other newsletters are out there, you can try a simple web search for a topic you love plus the word "Substack." For example, searching for "Gardening Substack newsletter" or "History Substack" might introduce you to a new favorite writer!

We're glad to have you as part of our community, right here in your inbox!

I love to hear from you! below:

Warmly,

Steve