30 Comments
May 28Liked by Jane Deegan

Substack is definitely getting louder. I've noticed a shift since I arrived a year ago; the new features bring new players, which can be great and not so great. So sorry you've been through all this. Wishing you peace and a sense of balance ❤️

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Thanks so much Maria. I've been here a little over 2 months so I don't know what it was like before. Do you think notes has anything to do with it? I'm not sure how long that's been around

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May 28Liked by Jane Deegan

I do think that could be part of it. Video and DMs are all recent too, so a lot of changes in the last few months.

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I have found that for the most part, subscribers are real people, but many followers are not. I have "Elon Musk" following me probably 20 times at this point. I have stopped blocking because it's time consuming. Like you, I value the real connection with real people. That's one thing that I have found on Substack that I haven't on many other online platforms.

Bots are infuriating, and pointless, in my mind.

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Oh guess what Janine?!!! This post and my last have the mysterious arrow on top now so it can be listed too 😀 AI is working in my favor

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Woo-hoo!

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Still a mystery

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Yes for sure!! Oh "Elon" it wouldn't feel like substack or any other platform with out him "following"

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Lol, for sure!

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May 27Liked by Jane Deegan

Right on point! Social media can suck up more of our previous time than we want. I’ve stopped bothering with fake accounts unless they’re rude, then I delete their comment, block, and move on. Write on my friend 🙌

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It can suck up time. I've been setting a timer on my phone now because of this 😵‍💫

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May 27Liked by Jane Deegan

Good idea!

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Totally. Real-life connections can't be forgotten. I'm glad you have that. People tend to fudge this binary of online and offline in today's day and age.

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So true and with so much online, human connections and online connections can get blurred if you know what I mean

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Exactly. I totally get you. Moreover, with the instant dopamine, validation, and feedback loops available on the internet, the online world becomes a lot more seductive for people. It's a very easy trap any of us can fall into.

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So true and an easy trap for anyone to fall into

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Exactly. But we have to rage, rage against the dying light. 💪🧐

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Yes it is! Even here and I love this platform. Trying to limit my time. Not easy

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I’m sorry that happened to you, especially at a time when you were feeling extremely upset and vulnerable. Thanks for bringing it to everyone’s attention.

I’m looking for a writing body double to also develop my writing offline. Please reach out if that’s of interest to you.

I require accountability to make progress in life! 🤦🏽‍♀️

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Thanks for your kind words Sam! If you find a body double let me know 🤣 I could use a few clones some days

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😹

Have you heard of the concept of body doubling? It’s an ADHD productivity strategy :)

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Sorry, I posted and deleted that a hundred times as I kept messing up the spacing!

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Don't worry. I've done that and sometimes I answer my own comments 🙄

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AI is a tool like any other. We control the tool, not the other way around. If otherwise, it’s a bad sign of how we are unbalanced.

I have made some friends here, and I’m glad of it. But Elon never followed me, so I’m doing something wrong, I guess…

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An interesting perspective for AI. As far as "Elon" 🤣

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AI can be a brilliant tool, but in the wrong hands a complete pain. I suppose it’s like anything really, the thing itself is neutral but it’s what the user does with it that matters. The bots are incredibly annoying when you’re trying to build real human connections and annoyingly, they’re getting more convincing. I’m so sorry your post about Kya got hijacked, it was a beautiful tribute. 💚

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You're so right , AI is a brilliant tool, but it has potential to destroy. ÀI trying to engage seems so real. And bots too. They are everywhere. A part of life on social media

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LinkedIn has so many of them, it’s just insidious. My concern is that we’re going to reach a point where we can’t trust anything that we haven’t seen with our own eyes, which is frankly a terrifying thought. 💚

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"The ones we trust and go to for help can let us down. They have little knowledge of how their actions can hurt us." This is so right. I have two friends a lot younger than me (one if a surgeon) and I wish I could hear from them more. They're both deeply committed to their careers, tho and I have to remind myself of that. And AI scares the hell out of me. I see it as a threat to writers, artists and musicians. I have to hope the good people outnumber the not so good. ✌️

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So true and AI yes too.

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