Sunday Letters Is Moving
We're heading back to larrygmaguire.com
There are a number of reasons why I’m making this move, and although I know that some of you may be inconvenienced and I may lose you, I feel it’s necessary to take better control of the content I produce. I also have concerns about the people who fund Substack. Marc Andreessen is one of the VC people involved, and I absolutely do not align with his philosophy. You can read about it here.
In an age where solo creative people are manipulated and controlled by international corporations (take Spotify, for example), it is an imperative that we take back control of our work. Of course, I’m a very small fry, but it matters. I’ll take what I can from Substack and Medium, i.e., their reach, but aside from that, they get my seconds. In other words, those who subscribe to my newsletter will get original content first, and Substack, Medium, LinkedIn, etc., will get it second.
Why is this a good idea?
Privacy—your email address and privacy are more secure. I send with Proton SMTP, which is considered one of the most privacy-focused services on the web (the people at CERN made it). Mails are sent directly from my website, hosted with WP Engine (WordPress).
Independence—Substack talk about supporting independent writers, but that’s merely marketing. They are interested in scale, first and foremost. It’s why they are actively recruiting journalists and personalities with established audiences. That’s ok, but you’re either for community or corporate. You can’t be both.
No unsolicited emails—unlike Substack, I won’t prompt you every other day with annoying emails to subscribe to various other writers or blogs. Sunday Letters, that's it.
No jumping through hoops: When you subscribe, you receive an email to confirm your subscription and then a welcome email. You won’t be prompted to select a paid subscription. I do have Sunday Letters merch, though, if you want to support the newsletter.
I believe there is a short window where independent writers can take advantage of these platforms and do well, but it seems to me that opportunity with Substack has passed.
From this Sunday, 11th May 25, you’ll get Sunday Letters direct from my own site. I’ll move everyone there over the next few days. The welcome email looks like this 👇
The Substack publication and archive will remain, so people can still access them. All new posts will be here. I may duplicate them on Substack, but rest assured, you won’t receive the same material twice—that would be irritating.
Looking forward to reconnecting with you this Sunday
Slán for now 👋
I totally understand and look forward to following you from your website!