Substack Subscriptions - How To Manage Them to Your Own Personal Benefit

[John Hjorth]

This has been on my mind for while. To me, personally, it has become gradually worse over time. I can't really pinpoint towards time, but to me : It's happening : *BS* and nonsense posted there about every day.

 

So called "writers" running out of steam, now providing i.e. "Berkshire bits" - of the week - about what Mr. Buffett might have said some 20 years ago at an AGM, or what do I know.

 

Lately, I've become really tired of all that stuff hitting me, making me choose to disconnect to several Substack accounts.

 

How about you? - What do you do? - And what are your thoughts about it?

 

-Thank you in advance for sharing your perceptions, opinions and insigths in this topic.

 

Have a nice weekend.

Edited April 21, 2023 by John Hjorth

[Saluki]

46 minutes ago, John Hjorth said:

This has been on my mind for while. To me, personally, it has become gradually worse over time. I can't really pinpoint towards time, but to me : It's happening : *BS* and nonsense posted there about every day.

 

So called "writers" running out of steam, now providing i.e. "Berkshire bits" - of the week - about what Mr. Buffett might have said some 20 years ago at an AGM, or what do I know.

 

Lately, I've become really tired of all that stuff hitting me, making me choose to disconnect to several Substack accounts.

 

How about you? - What do you do? - And what are your thoughts about it?

 

-Thank you in advance for sharing your perceptions, opinions and insigths in this topic.

 

Have a nice weekend.

 

I don't go on Substack, I avoid Twitter like the plague,  and I try to avoid articles that give their take on what Buffett said.  Like everything in life, it's usually better to go to the primary source.  I've got Buffett's chairman's letters in the hardbound book and it's a great learning tool.  It seems all media is moving towards shorter, click baity content. Twitter is the worst for the written word, and Tik Tok for video.  Maybe you should make a conscious effort to move in the other direction towards long-form content.  

 

There are legendary investors who have written books (Peter Lynch, Ben Graham, Phil Fisher, Phil Caret, Joel Greenblatt, Einhorn, Tillinghast, Howard Marks) and I think those are great sources. I read a lot of biographies.  Currently I'm reading one on Marvin Bower (responsible for taking McKinsey from two offices to an international powerhouse). In the past I've read books on a particular industry (shipping) and I have one in my queue about graphene now. I don't know if I'll ever use the knowledge, but it's easier to just keep accumulating knowledge and then having it ready if something comes up then to pass up an opportunity because by the time you get up to speed on something the opportunity passed. 

 

[Sweet]

Have read a good few free substacks / seeking alpha.

 

Macro commentary IMO is pointless, nearly always bearish, and nearly always wrong.

 

Some good analysis on specific stocks, but never bought a stock after reading any substack etc.  To have the conviction to own and hold a company, I need to build my own view about the company.

 

Edited April 21, 2023 by Sweet

[John Hjorth]

Please leave Seeking Alpha subscriptions out of this topic, if you want to reply here.

 

Please start your own separate topic for discussion of Seeking Alpha subscribtions here on CoBF, if you feel inclined.

 

The subsciption framework on Substack is materially different compared to the one used at Seeking Alpha, at least ATM for both, compared.

 

-So please, - No *BS*, - no long song offtopic here - from the warm countries.

 

-Thus.

 

Thank you in advance.

Edited April 21, 2023 by John Hjorth

[Spekulatius]

I have some free subscriptions on substack and they sent me email summaries. i sometimes open them and I am almost always disappointed with the content.

 

I never found a substack that I would be willing to pay for. Some do have good takes but the issue is that writers run out of steam, as you noted.

[John Hjorth]

Thank you for sharing, @Spekulatius,

 

Somehow, there was a "nerve" contained in your post above, that simply was not present in my last post above.

 

Thinking about it - a bit about it, at least  - it is about four Substack accounts sharing with me every time Mr. Buffett has been buying i.e. OXY [, or visiting the toilet at office]. I'm pretty sure I personally would end up constipated, if this was about me.

Edited April 21, 2023 by John Hjorth

[DooDiligence]

I've learned a lot from reading Dylan Patel and Doug at Fool All the Time. There are others.

[Spekulatius]

56 minutes ago, DooDiligence said:

I've learned a lot from reading Dylan Patel and Doug at Fool All the Time. There are others.

Yes, Dylan Patels is stack is worthwhile if interested in semis. I personally found it more efficient to go through his Twitter feed every once in a while.

[formthirteen]

5 hours ago, Spekulatius said:

Dylan Patels is stack is worthwhile if interested in semis

 

Thank you for the tip. Reading it now and found interesting things already:

 

 

GOOGL

[competitive-advantage]

36 minutes ago, formthirteen said:

 

Thank you for the tip. Reading it now and found interesting things already:

 

 

GOOGL

I understand these thoughts, but if you earn more than you advertise for it’s still good for a business. Fewer searches will often mean higher click prices or businesses will use their money on other advertising. I agree that Google search is at huge risk, but they still have opportunities with their ad network. I don’t own any of these, but yeah, I would prefer Microsoft at this moment and I have recently asked Chat GPT questions that I would Google earlier. More information searching though.

[John Hjorth]

Please continue that particular discussion in the GOOGL topic, where it is also and alreday posted.

[MattR]

I am a bit biased, because I write my own substack (though free, and will always stay that way - but maybe I add a support tier as a few have asked). I was subscribed to quite a lot of them, several paid - but I often stopped subscribing to them. IMO a regular schedule creates as you already pointed out, content gaps and these are not easily filled with content. 

I was subscribed to around 50 substacks, not it is just around 15. 

[K2SO]

On 4/21/2023 at 12:37 PM, John Hjorth said:

So called "writers" running out of steam, now providing i.e. "Berkshire bits" - of the week - about what Mr. Buffett might have said some 20 years ago at an AGM

I write a free newsletter, primarily to promote a book I wrote last year. I purposely try not to overly rely on Buffett and Munger concepts because they have been done to death. But the first time I mentioned them in a post, it got 10x the views that I normally get. I think a lot of this is a function of giving the people what they want. Many of us have been steeped in this stuff for decades but we forget that there are many people out there discovering this wisdom for the first time. 

 

[Sweet]

Does anyone pay for dirtcheapstocks substack?

 

I’ve never paid for a substack but this guy has me curious I admit.

 

May pay the monthly fee just to have a look, just want to know if it is worth it.

 

 

Edited March 12 by Sweet

[John Hjorth]

4 minutes ago, Sweet said:

Does anyone pay for dirtcheapstocks substack?

 

I’ve never paid for a substack but this guy has me curious I admit.

 

May pay the monthly fee just to have a look, just want to know if it is worth it.

 

@Sweet,

 

You're a dirtcheapstocksskate here, trying to take advange of others here, saving a few bucks ! 

 

Please try it out, cancel, if no go, and report back here! - That would be much better! 

[Sweet]

15 hours ago, John Hjorth said:

You're a dirtcheapstocksskate

 

Ha, somewhat true.

 

Just want to see if others paid and whether they found it interesting.

 

I know the guy is predominantly a microcap investor, which is not my bag, but still curious enough that I might pay for one month.

 

To be determined...

[John Hjorth]

26 minutes ago, Sweet said:

Ha, somewhat true.

 

Just want to see if others paid and whether they found it interesting.

 

I know the guy is predominantly a microcap investor, which is not my bag, but still curious enough that I might pay for one month.

 

To be determined...

 

I hope you forgive me that harsh, not so nice comment, @Sweet. I simply coulden't help it.

 

On a more serious note I have experimented with such paid subscriptions, too. I have dropped each and everyone of them by now.

 

The worst I have tried was one guy simply disapearing with no notice, but at least stopping payments for all. Likely some unemployed guy, who finally got employed in the money management space. An other one contacting me in an appalled tone after my cancelling lol!

 

The finance and investment part of Substack is still a funny place, though, like Seeking Alpha is.

 

- - - o 0 o - - -

 

But nothing beats CofB&F! It's said it almost free [nominal registration fee first time the exemption]. That's a big lie! -Lot's of good folks spending tons of Joules on adding useful and valuable content and creating dynamics every day, all around the clock! So it's not free. It's more M$ style WYGIWYG.

Edited March 13 by John Hjorth

[Sweet]

10 minutes ago, John Hjorth said:

An other one contacting me in an appalled tone after my cancelling lol!

 

LOL John, this one is too funny, the entitlement from that guy.

 

I've heard bad things about substack in general, which is why I am reluctant to pay, even if the cost isn't so bad.

 

This place is the best.

 

The past year or so I have not found many stocks to my liking, don't think I've bought or sold anything in nearly 18 months now!

[John Hjorth]

I wanted to give you a good laugh, @Sweet!

 

I sat here, and then suddenly a notification popped in, and I thought : "Anybody on Substack wanting to get in contact with me? - Great! ', then logged in to Substack to read the message, next, me thinking : 'WT*??!!' Me, next after some seconds : 'Forget it, John, - absolutely not worth your time!' 

 

- - - o 0 o - - -

 

Friday 13^th - Let's rock'n roll!