In an inevitable move, Substack turns to ad tech

Predictable to anyone with an eye towards recent history, Substack is looking at its expansion into apps and social network-like platforms as an opportunity to use user data, interaction patterns and readership numbers as leverage to sell ads.

That Substack’s next phase of growth would come from a social network and advertising might come as a surprise. Mr. McKenzie has been a critic of both, fulminating against what he called the “narrative frenzy” and “bedlam” enabled by toxic social media, in posts on the platform. In another, he called the ad model “busted.”

He said in an interview that Substack’s embrace of those models is not a change of heart, but “a recognition of new possibilities” enabled by the growth of the network and that Substack would not simply “copy and paste the old models that ruined social media.”

I think it is also important to note that Substack's users' are also asking for advertising. The pure-subscription model that Substack championed is hitting its limits, for them and for their users.

“Their creators have told them that they want Substack to support advertising,” Mr. Kerns said. “We think it is a massive opportunity to launch a native form of advertising within the Substack ecosystem at some point.”