200th Post: Survey (Perhaps Again)

I Apologise if this is a Repeat

In mid-May I asked my readers to complete a short survey after I had published my 100th post. When I started this site in January, we were in lockdown and I was publishing six times a week. I went to 3 times a week, with a photo and coming attractions on Sunday in late May. In today’s post I write about a new 200th post survey, frequency and my Facebook dillemma.

First, I Want Your Help

Yes, we have now hit 200 posts! I’m stunned. And once again, I have constructed a short (8 question) anonymous survey. Getting your feedback is very important to me. And not just the good stuff. I want to know what you like, what you share and what causes you to think about hitting the unsubscribe button. Five of the question are yes/no or multiple choice … so it shouldn’t take you a lot of time. Three allow you to write a few sentences (e.g. suggestions for posts, ways in which I can improve the posts, etc.) As always, if you want to tell me something that doesn’t fit, feel free to email me. And because I want to be transparent, just as I did before, I will share the survey results in future posts.

Frequency

Which brings me to frequency. I subscribe to about 5 or 6 different Substack writers. All but one, publishes once a week. The other, Heather Cox Richardson, is daily … admittedly, one is very short on the weekend. Of course, she is a professional…earning $1m from her Substack musings. She is also a full time professor and occasional guest on MSNBC. I admire her brains, energy and ability to regurgitate the horror of American politics each day without jumping in the beautiful lakes that surround her home…but I digress.

The truth is, while there are some weeks that I look forward to sitting at my desk and writing…there are other times when it is a chore. Most of “the chore” part relates to finding a topic. If you are interested in reading me rant after I read the NY Times and Washington Post each morning…trust me I have a lot to share. But Heather is smarter than me…knows a lot more about history…and I figure you don’t come to a newsletter called Expat in Portugal to read that.

Add to this the fact that we shortly will be moving south and I expect to be spending a good chunk of time overseeing the renovations to our new home. So I am thinking that going to twice a week, with a coming attractions (short) post on Sundays makes more sense. In fact, I suspect, if you are interested…with time one of the posts each week may relate to the house project. (What does it cost? What are the building standards? Energy Efficiency in Portugal, What should be in your builder’s contract? Oh S!#t, I Never Expected That, etc.) So in the survey you will be asked to weigh in on your interest level in such topics.

My Facebook Dillemma

Finally, I have a dillemma. I got off Facebook (personally) after watching The Great Hack. (Netflix, 2016). I was so p!s$ed, that I deleted my account and went through the withdrawal (yes there was withdrawal) of a addicted user. Even though I watched The Social Dillemma (Netflix, 2020) I returned to Facebook this year not as Nancy Whiteman but rather as Expat inPortugal. I had learned from my prior site, RVPicklers, that the best way to advertise the site was to post links to articles on Facebook groups. In 2 years, we had over 2500 readers a day.

More recently, two things have happened. Facebook has locked me out of that account and I read much of the Facebook Papers. (I am not suggesting these 2 things are related…just bad timing.) But again, I started going through withdrawal. Scarey…really scarey.

But more importantly I am conflicted. On one hand, I love to watch the stats when a post is picked up by a Facebook Group (e.g. LGBTQ+ Expats, Immigrants & Friends in Portugal or Californians Living in or Moving to Portugal) and readership spikes. In one day, I had over 1000 new readers visit the site. That day resulted in over 25 new subscribers. Sorry, I was in sales…I naturally want to keep score. On the other hand I don’t want to support a company that is as corrupt as Facebook.

And yes, before you say it, I realize they own WhatsApp and I, like many in Portugal, use WhatsApp every day. I said/wrote I am conflicted.

I listened to a Sway Podcast, during which Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa was interviewed. Her digital media company, Rappler, has called out President Rodrigo Duterte’s regime and social media’s role in his rise to power. At the same time Rappler is a partner with Facebook. I listened with interest as she justified her continued relationship with Facebook…it had everything to do with driving up the subscribers to her media company which is shining a bright light on a very dark administration in the Philippines.

Of course, this little Substack corner of the universe isn’t shedding a light on injustice…but I still want it to grow. Any thoughts on my dillemma?

I ask about that in the survey too. So if you can spare 5 more minutes, please take time to take the survey.

Obrigada!