Short 'Stack
Your Values ARE Your Value
Hello from the suburban Maryland headquarters of Particulate Media. I’m writing to let you know I’ve taken the long-overdue step of migrating my newsletter away from Substack.
I’ve been aware for a while that the company’s values didn’t match up with my own.1 I justified staying because of the features, the reach, and the inconvenience of moving to a new platform. But I knew in my dark, secret heart that I wasn’t comfortable publishing there.
At every phase of the process, I tell my podcasting clients that their comfort should guide their decisionmaking. Podcasting can be rewarding, but it’s also an investment of time and energy. Nothing will erode your enjoyment faster than making decisions based on what you’re “supposed” to do, rather than what works best for you.
This is, if anything, even more true when it comes to your values. When you’re choosing what topics to discuss, messages to amplify, and guests to platform, the first question you should ask yourself is whether or not it feels right to you. If it doesn’t, no amount of attention or engagement is going to make it worthwhile. I didn’t follow that advice, and it undermined my enthusiasm for writing this newsletter.2
Fortunately, it’s also true that, as with most things, the second-best time to do something about it is right now. If there’s a compromise you’ve been making that doesn’t resonate with the values you want to see in the world, I hope you’ll consider making a change.
Thanks for bearing with me,
– K.O.
1 Namely, their increasingly blatant embrace of Nazis, white supremacists, and fascists.
2 It’s not the only reason why I haven’t sent an email since 2023, but it’s in the top three.