Burned out doesn't begin to describe it
The clout apocalypse, YouTube face, Meghan and Harry’s Netflix fallout, MOG World Order, CEO moats, sync music, the debate over influencers on the red carpet, and secret billionaire typing patterns
Last week I was traveling to SXSW for the first time and got completely overwhelmed with flight delays and trying to get my podcast and YouTube videos out. Then, I had to fly to SF to do a podcast (which was great!) until my flight was delayed again twice and I got home at 2:00am.
As some readers of this newsletter know, I’m extremely immunocompromised, so, travel is difficult and takes a lot out of me. I usually need at least a day or two to recover, even after short trips. But, now here it is Wednesday and I have not sent the newsletter out in a week.
At SXSW this year a lot of people were asking me about how it feels to go independent. I tell them all the same thing: it sucks never being able to take a week off. It’s the biggest thing I miss about a full time job. Right now, I work 7 days a week, usually from the moment I wake up until well past midnight. Aside from a part time freelance podcast editor who helps with Power User, I do every single aspect of content production myself. It’s exhausting! 😵💫
I’ve also noticed a phenomenon especially here on Substack, where, I think because people feel like they’re paying for a product (the newsletter) rather than to support my work as a whole, they unsubscribe or cancel their paid subscription if I don’t send the newsletter frequently enough. This is totally understandable! But, it also creates this system where the creator can never take a week off or work on larger projects without losing income.
This system is a huge bummer. I have a ton of investigative projects that I wish I could work on related to online freedom and mass surveillance, but there’s simply no funding structure for these bigger projects. So, I’m trapped on this newsletter hamster wheel.
A few months ago I launched this same newsletter on Patreon, and I have noticed that Patreon supporters, perhaps thanks to years of conditioning by YouTubers, are far more forgiving of breaks.
That’s great, because sending this newsletter is the only way I’ve been able to produce all of my videos covering censorship and surveillance laws online, as well as my weekly Free Speech Friday podcast and livestream, my internet culture coverage, my section 230 series and more. All of these things otherwise lose money, so this newsletter subsidizes them.
I’m going to keep publishing on both Patreon and Substack, but TLDR if you support any of my work or advocacy across the internet, please please buy a paid subscription to this newsletter or support my work on Patreon! I have:
Zero long term brand partnerships.
No outside funding.
My work is 100% funded by people like you who want to see the coverage I do out in the world.
Thank you for supporting me!! <3
How Powerful People Became Obsessed w/ Section 230
Today, the Senate is set to hold a hearing on Section 230 that many lawmakers hope will result in repealing it. This would be awful, for all the reasons I have outlined previously. But how did this one little internet law become so controversial?
In the latest episode of my Section 230 mini-series I’m joined by Mike Masnick, founder of Techdirt. Mike and I break down how the whole drama surrounding Section 230 began and how this extremely important law became vilified by the mainstream media. (TLDR, it all started with a very bad and very misleading WIRED article a decade ago, a well-timed book!) We also debunk the biggest myths about Section 230, break down how the law actually works, and explain why removing it would make Big Tech even more powerful.
You’re going to be hearing a lot more about Section 230 in the coming year, and Mike did an amazing job myth-busting a lot of social media talking points!