Topic: Ev Williams

The success of Substack is contrasted with the failure of Medium, founded by Evan Williams. While Medium utilized heavy editorial oversight that stifled creators, Substack’s model allows journalists to publish directly to subscribers, though concerns remain about the eventual pressure on payment processors to censor content.

Twitter co-founder and Medium CEO Ev Williams discussed the negative impact of the advertising-based attention economy on the internet. Williams argued that the drive for clicks rewards cheap, sensationalist content like "yelling fire in a theater." He positioned the subscription model as a way to ensure value and honesty in publishing, though critics describe his platform Medium as a "vanity press" where writers pay for distribution.

Adam Curry recounts an interview with Wired Magazine regarding the history of podcasting and the company Odeo. He explains how Odeo, originally a podcasting platform, eventually pivoted to become Twitter, adopting the "follow" and "subscribe" mechanisms from the podcasting world.

Ev Williams, founder of Blogger and Twitter, announced significant layoffs at Medium, cutting one-third of the staff. Williams admitted that the ad-driven model for media is not serving creators or consumers and expressed a desire to move toward a "value for value" system where writers are rewarded for enlightening content. The hosts mock the delay in this realization, noting they have operated on a similar model for a decade, and question why anyone writes for a shared blog platform like Medium instead of owning their own domain.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg issued an apology for her public criticisms of Donald Trump, acknowledging that judges should remain neutral. Simultaneously, a group of 150 technology leaders, including Twitter's Ev Williams, signed an open letter opposing Trump's candidacy, claiming his policies would be a disaster for innovation.

A story involving sex columnist Violet Blue and public recordings is briefly dismissed as "stupid." The discussion returns to Twitter, highlighting its technical infrastructure which allows access via SMS and IM. Industry figures like Ev Williams and Dave Winer are cited as early adopters who see the platform as a cutting-edge communication method rather than just a chat room.