I subscribe to the Substack newsletters of Heather Cox Richardson and Robert Reich.
To get the Listen feature on each Heather Cox Richardson newsletter, I have to download the Substack App.
Until today, Robert Reich put a right-leaning triangle (►) on his posts for readers to Listen In. Then you could hear his piece spoken. You still had the option to read it, of course.
So, the technology exists for an author on Substack to make their posts audible without downloading Substack's Listen app.
Then why make downloading Substack's Listen app mandatory for all of its writers, when the technology clearly already exists to Listen without Substack's app?
There must be some reason. Well, looking at those who offer apps, it seems pretty clear that not one is a charity. Each party offering apps is in a money-making business. If you or I download the app, the one requiring the app may make money, whereas if you or I do not have to download the app, they may not make money. (Or more money, in some cases.)
What could be sold, or what could make money, from downloading an app? Well, it seems like a query regularly pops up when you download an app, something like this: "Are you sure that you want this program to make changes to your computer?" It never says what changes, and I do not know what changes.
That may be the point. If the changes were good for me and for my computer, the ones who want me to download that app would say so, but if the changes are not good for me or for my computer, they would not be very likely to say.
I don't know, as I say, what if any changes that any app may make. I do know, however, that the technology exists for me to listen to Robert Reich's newsletter without me ever having to download Substack's app.
©2022 Dennis J. Wall. All rights reserved.