Chat Feature Unlocked!
This feature - its earlier iteration called Threads - was rolled out in beta testing across select accounts a while back. I’ll point to 3W3M as one that was involved with the early testing for the feature. They used theirs - among other things - to host a group chat while watching Alien a few weeks ago, which sounded like a lot of fun. Now Substack is rolling it out across the board! I’m sure it’s in no small way in response to the latest developments over on the Twitter hellscape. Now that it’s a feature available to all of us on Substack, I’m excited to start using it. I’d long been wanting to craft of space of community and conversation, but wasn’t sure where to do so. I’d considered a Discord channel - and may yet create one - but I like the possibilities of what a Substack Chat can afford, especially since it’s a way of connecting with such a small group of people (for now, at least) who subscribe to my newsletter.
Substack drafted an email template we could use to send out to our subscribers, and it has useful instructions so I’m leaving it all below.
To join our chat, you’ll need to download the Substack app (messages are sent via the app, not email). Turn on push notifications so you don’t miss a chance to join conversation as it happens.
How to get started
Download the app by clicking this link or the button below. Chat is only on iOS for now, but chat is coming to the Android app soon.
Open the app and tap the Chat icon. It looks like two bubbles in the bottom bar, and you’ll see a row for my chat inside.
That’s it! Jump into my thread to say hi, and if you have any issues, check out Substack’s FAQ.
I’ve already started my first chat thread so come on over and say hello! See you there!