Xplisset Substack Sunday Rollup

Proud Mary…Rolling Down The River

XVOA is Rollin Down The River

This spring break thang where people, to the horror of content creators everywhere, actually put their devices down and then go outside and touch grass can be the kiss of death. This is my first shot at any sustained attempt at content creation so I know now what pretty much everyone else who has been at this game longer than 2 minutes knows: There is an ebb and flow to this.

We, I’m refereeing to the XVOA family that is helping to carry the weight, got to roll with this thing with the river and not against it.

Here are some specific changes that will help get XVOA through spring break without collapsing into irrelevancy and financial ruin.

• Shorter Posts

  Some have already taken notice and complimented. I haven’t seen any complaints yet.

• Less Essays

  There’s a place for them just not every other day. They take up lotsa time for you to read. Imagine how much time it takes for me to conceive refine edit and publish. They are like vampires. They suck up my time and energy for very little if anything in return. Stop it. I didn’t say no more essays. I’m just saying I’m going to be a lot more strategic about it. Stay tuned for an essay on Oliver Cromwell Puritanism and Nationalism and how I belive it parallels current events in the USA.

• Art direction

  Good artists copy great artists steal. The visual style I grew up with on MTV will begin to carry over into the posts and online publication in general.

• The publication

  The print magazine will become the outlet for more in depth longer pieces. Many will be exclusive to the print magazine itself with teasers in the online e-version

• Video

  You hate it. I’m not to keen on making myself the centerpiece. But the Substack algorithm is god and the gods have spoken. Those that stubbornly persist on simply being a secluded article email list farm will not be incentivized in any way whatsoever by this platform. I’ve already written on the algorithm changes that may have contributed to this below. Livestream video and extensive posting to notes is the only way to reverse what you see below.

  

  Total subscriber count from March 13th to today.

• Behind The Scenes

  For those that hate video don’t worry I’m not shoving it in your face and I’m not gonna make the published essay format a mere ghost of what they used to be. As has already been mentioned everyone’s complaining about the length of some of these monstrosities so I’ll be cutting down the length as well as the frequency and I’ll be increasing the frequency of the different news series. These efficiencies will allow me to devote more time to getting the video series up and running on a regular basis without sacrificing the writing you enjoy.

So listen we are going to have the following recurring series:

• Blackout Brief.

• ATH. Addicted To Hate Intelligence Report

• I Hate The News

• I Shouldn’t Say This

• Author’s Room.

If you already bought me coffee, thank you. You did not fund a random internet mood swing. You helped prove XVOA is a real operation with a real plan: tighter posts, sharper recurring series, smarter video, a print magazine, and a publishing rhythm built to survive those weeks when the whole internet goes outside and touches grass. That means I owe you more than vibes. I owe you structure, consistency, and a publication that knows where it is headed.

So here is the ask. If you have been reading this thing like it is public radio with no pledge drive, go paid.

And if you are already paid, hit the coffee jar and throw a little coal in the engine. Do not stand on the riverbank shouting “you got this” while the captain is below deck fighting the algorithm with one hand and holding this whole contraption together with caffeine and bad intentions. Back the work while it is being built. Later, when everybody else starts acting like they always knew XVOA was serious, you get to say you were one of the beautiful lunatics who kept the boat off the rocks. I am not saying you have to do both. I am just saying history has excellent taste.