at WonderTools just introduced me to a tool I think has great potential. Check it out at his post about Gamma here.
However, I don’t want to talk about Gamma, I want to start a discussion about the primary thing I think Substack is weak on … the user experience. And, by “Substack,” I mean the “we” part … we the newsletter creators part. Within a relatively thin band of variation, all our newsletters look alike … rather bookish. (Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE books and owe them, and all the authors I’ve read, an enormous debt of gratitude.)
That said, Jeremy introduces Gamma which might change everything. I’ve been making flipbooks (aka digital magazines) for some time now and will write more about them in coming posts. I think they are a step forward into a more multi-sensory delivery of information/entertainment. Gamma might take us another step. However, this isn’t about Gamma since I haven’t actually tried it yet … it’s about the future of Substack and the future of each of us.
Are we “writers” or information/entertainment “designers,” creating and delivering transformative experiences within an electronic environment?
One of the resources Caplan shares is a storytelling “gamma” about Disney. I highly recommend watching this. It is a fascinating story told in Gamma fashion and the following graphic sums up a lot of the presentation:
Creating an experience that feels like perfection looks like a magic trick, but actually involves getting all the details right in a multi-sensory, all encompassing, creatively crafted environment. At Disney, it means the entire team holds a tough-minded, top-to bottom vision of every detail being part of the experience, from trash cans to man hole covers to the created-with-the-family-in-mind game that comes with each room service family meal.
Knowing that we’ll never be Disney and most of us will continue to be individual writers in our own little cubby holes, I would love to be part of a discussion about this question of creating a user experience that feels like perfection to our readers and offers a strong future for all of us. Substack has given us a bridge to millions of people looking for information and entertainment …
what can we do to deliver it in a way that feels like perfection?
