Difference between Medium and Substack — According to A.I.
The definitive answer is here
The other day, my brother, who has zero interest in writing but occasionally reads my posts, asked me:
“What’s the difference between Substack and Medium?”
I looked at him blankly.
I couldn’t answer.
I could have waffled on about how Medium is more like a collective where everyone pays, and the money is split. Whereas, Substack is more like your stand-alone publishing business.
But neither would be accurate.
Furthermore, if my brother hears the word “Collective”, he instantly assumes it’s a Communist conspiracy to destroy the world.
In the end, I just said: “They are both writing platforms on which one can earn money. Most writers use both as a way to offset unpredictable income streams.”
Like a hyena mauling a gazelle, my brother jumped on that last sentence.
“So you don’t earn much money, then?”
I said something like multiple income streams and moved the topic quickly onto air travel — he’s a pilot.
I hate talking about writing platforms to anyone who doesn’t know about them.
It’s like talking about football to someone who hates football. It’s a waste of time.
For most people, writing platforms are blogs written by folk who stay in dark rooms in summer and drink instant decaf. People who are happy to earn a free pen for a thousand hours of work.
They aren’t considered serious people: they live on the margins of society where they can’t bother anyone with their posts on The Difference Between Medium and Substack.
Which is why I always change the subject to aeroplanes or football whenever anyone asks.
“What do you think about the new Boeing 899?”
I don’t know the difference between Medium and Substack, which is why I asked ChatGPT.
After all, the prompt says: Ask Anything?
So I did, and it gave me a few pages of analysis, plus a neat summary at the end.
What do you think?
Accurate?
Does it matter?
Not really.
But I did glean this much. Which you can repeat verbatim when people ask you what the difference is between Medium and Substack.
“Medium focuses on discovery and engagement through curation and algorithms, while Substack is all about building a direct connection with your audience.”
And if they want more information, they can always ask ChatGPT.
That’s what it’s there for, right?
“ASK ANYTHING!”
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I never managed to understand how Medium works. Struggled with Jetpack on Wordpress. Substack instantly allowed me to post what I wanted in the way I wanted. And connected me with fellow writers. No brainer. 😎
I think it's a good use of AI for knowledgeable people to look at a summary and then debate how accurate it is. Thoughtful post.
Also, the next time your brother says, "So, you're not making much money" say, "Yeah, that's why Ronaldo does all those commercials, it's because he's not making much money playing football." Then snort and roll your eyes.