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A few updates on how you can get the most out of Moldova Matters
Hi everyone! I wanted to take a moment today and share some quick updates with you about the newsletter. Election season is just about here and I wanted to give you a few pointers about new features from Substack and how you can most easily keep up with all the content.
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From my reader stat I know that around 90% of you are reading this in your email inbox right now. Some of you may not even realize that there’s a website where another 7% of people read Moldova Matters. But I want to highlight the Substack app today - where around 3% of readers seem most comfortable.
I know most of you are probably thinking… ugh, not another app. And I get that. I personally don’t like getting my news via apps, or email for that matter. I’m old-school and like to read things on websites for whatever reason (I subscribe to other newsletters, but typically click the header to open it in a browser1). The Substack app though is starting to make me change my ways.
Firstly, it’s got very convienent notifications. It’ll tell you when you have a new article to read or podcast to listen to, but it’ll also let you know if someone responded to your comments. Reading in the app is a bit more interactive like that - comments are fast as are messages. And the Notes feature is basically a Twitter-like feed with fewer Nazis2.
Another really useful feature is audio playback of articles. If you’re on a jog, doing the dishes or driving - but still want to know the latest news about Moldova - you can just listen to the article! The voicing is done by AI but I find it to be generally quite good - if sometimes mysterious3.
Using the app also allows you to sync articles across devices (if you like switching from a phone to a tablet or something) and save / bookmark posts for later.
So if any of that sounds interesting to you - check out the app!
August Sale
As I announced earlier this week, we’re offering 15% discounts for a yearly subscription until the end of August! Moldova Matters is a reader supported publication. There’s no institutional money or grants backing this effort - just subscriptions from readers like you. If you like what you’re reading - please do subscribe. It helps me buy food and makes me feel better about the enormous amount of time that goes into this newsletter.
Also… more subscribers means more features as well! Right now our team is focused on building up the Romanian version of the newsletter. Over time I want to add more features, writers and perspectives to this newsletter. All of that is only possible with your support.
Sooo… if you haven’t already…
If you have, and want to share the wonders of this experience with a friend, then…
Or if you’re an organization who uses this for work (and yes, I know who you are) consider getting a group subscription4! Additional discounts apply!
I’ll end the advertisement here, but with one last plug. Election season is coming and that’s gonna mean a lot of content. From February 2022 until this time last year I dropped the paywall from all posts. I felt it was critical that everyone get the best information about what is going on in Moldova with the least friction. Last year I started bringing back the paywall with Perspective posts. Now, I’m going to also put Analysis behind the paywall. This section is where *a lot* of pre and post election content is going to live. We’ll be doing deep-dives into the parties’ electoral programs, discussing the key players and message, and after the election we’ll really dive into what new government is formed and what it all means.
If you’re just here for straight news and the Weekly Roundup is good enough for you, please enjoy - it’ll always be free. But if you want all this other content… well, you know what to do.
One reason is that footnotes pop up when you hover over them and you can jump back and forth easily.
“Fewer” does not mean “zero.” Substack has a policy of allowing lots of odious and weird people to use the platform. They view it as a free speech issue and claim (mostly correctly) that it isn’t the same as other platforms because most interactions are via email. So if you don’t subscribe to NaziTroll1488 (aka Iurie Rosca’s substack) you don’t get their content. That’s a little less true with Notes but it’s still far better than X.
So here’s a weird AI discovery I just made. Substack claims that it only provides audio playback in English, and I can select from 5 voices (3 women and 2 men) that the readers will listen to. I selected one called Oliver since he’s the only American accented man (he’s a little depressed sounding though). What surprised me though is that if you go to Moldova Matters in Romanian - and click listen, a totally different voice will pop up and beautifully read the article in Romanian. The selected audio voice (Oliver) will periodically break in and butcher the Romanian when announcing headings and authors, but the actual text will be done quite well. I guess that’s the ghost in the machine for you…
If you have special invoicing needs just reach out directly and we’ll figure it out!