On the Interwebs, change is constant, beyond our control, as we netizens are subject to the whims of the tech overlords and market demands. There is a flavor of the milieu, an era. The shifts faster than the changes on TV, radio, the cinemas. Heck, maybe even our selves. One day, I was on Blogger. Another I was on Wordpress. Then here on TinyLetter. Now, on Substack. Once you finally get the groove, in a blink, it’s gone.
I don’t have hundreds, nor thousands of subscribers there. Indeed, mine was a true TinyLetter, a small space where I could connect a few. People I’ve known from the past, people I’ve met somehow, someway, especially fellow writers whom I met at their events. So I feel a pinch parting with that particular wordsmith’s platform, while yes, by my choice as I moved to another one. But this one is a more permanent goodbye as the tech gods put it on the chopping block. I spent the evening yesterday and this morning, scrambling to put together everything I wrote into another document.
I fell in love with its simplicity, fulfilling the most basic of writer’s needs - a space to write.
The demands of a writer, swimming through the waves of tech, grow. We not only need to be writers, but also producers of content - audio and video, and even SEO managers, for pennies on the dollar. Plus there’s AI that continues to scrape our blood, sweat, fears and tears, to be regurgitated in some way without known consent, without remuneration.
But as writers, we carry on, so that we and our words, our stories live to see another day. We ride the tide, at times, buried by the force. But we tread, our arms and feet, pushing, grasping for air, moving slowly. Our tiny movements mighty. After going through each newsletter, post, letter, whatever it is called nowadays, I realized how each essay buoyed me to where I am today. The past three years put me the most harrowing, yet transformative time of my life. I finally saw how I am not tiny, but mighty. Why have I all these years made myself small?
Farewell, TinyLetter. Thank you for holding space for my tiny words.
Again, I moved my word slinging here. While I don’t know if there is finality in that space (I suppose there isn’t knowing how the tech’s been over these two decades), let’s work there in the meantime. Until perhaps the tech gods again decide its fate. If you choose to stick with me and get a dose of my words and stories, thank you. If not, it is all good, but I do hope to see you here.
A happy new year and a fresh start for us all!