Always the right question to be asking about any technology, Substack included. I was an early adopter, but you have to be clear-eyed and I always felt you needed to bring an existing audience (and/or authority) with you to make even a little money, so that was never an option for me... it has been as genuinely social as the internet can be, and introduced me to lots of great writing, and been a useful network -- Headless Poet probably wouldn't have happened without it (certainly not in the same way).

But ultimately it is all the usual opportunities and challenges of life online (and off??) in miniature. A common space which isn't really held in common. A few seconds of fame for everyone.