Pocket Observatory is no longer published on Substack. Come see our new home over at pocketobservatory.org.
Since November, so many of you have reached out with such great concern about your attention and money going to Substack. Almost 160 of you canceled your paid subs over the past thirty days.
Those of you who emailed me after canceling said you’d continue reading, but you couldn’t justify supporting Substack through me. Like I said earlier this week, I get it. I will always, always be grateful to you for every bit of time your support bought me. You just have no idea. I am tearing up thinking about it.
Your past support made this present possible, you know?
As of an hour ago, you have been migrated to Pocket Observatory’s new home! And yes, this applies to paid subscriptions too! Your paid sub is no longer connected to Substack.
On Sunday, you’ll be able to access your account to make any changes you’d like. One thing I love about the move is that it is very, very easy to start a paid subscription and very, very easy to end one. I don’t think you should have to jump through screens to start or stop a payment. It’s your money!
Pocket Observatory is now a website built on an open-source platform. This means there is no third party invested in mediating our connection. There will be no admin collecting your information each time you click on a link in one of my essays or tracker following you after you leave our space. I think there is great value in protecting your privacy this way.
I also, of course, think there is great value in no longer financially supporting a platform leaning into networked extremism as we enter a pivotal election year. I recommend this piece from
Because my work is widely read, this move has come at a great cost. It’s not cheap to take up space on the web! This week, I paid out thousands of dollars for the first year of Pocket Observatory’s new home.
I was able to make that payment to protect our future because of financial support from my readers. Because of their support, 15,000 readers get to come with us to Pocket Observatory’s new home. And because of their support, I get to try to keep working.
Much more to come. Including the debut of the site this Sunday. SUNDAY! Inviting you to the housewarming (pocket warming??) will be the last original newsletter published in this space.
Paid subscribers, you need anything - because things can get weird during a migration! - please email me at meg@megconley.com with the subject line: help meg!
I want to reiterate that moving isn’t the right answer for everyone.
It is expensive, time-consuming, and simply not an option for many. There are also many well-known writers remaining on Substack, with monetization, so they can use their leverage to advocate for less-powerful writers. That is good! When I think about people who write about effective collective action,
always comes to mind. I recommend his work, always. But especially now!While my writing home has moved, in many ways, I am still going to be here on Substack, supporting the writers and readers I love. Here’s a little on that decision, if you missed it.
There will be more later! Right now, I need to finish the website so you can check out our new home on Sunday.