The internet seems to be nostalgic for itself. From the return of Y2K fashion and digital cameras to the popularity of older aesthetics, people are finding new ways to revisit previous decades. It almost feels like every few years, a different era gets its moment again.

As Vogue has explored, Y2K fashion has made a comeback through social media, vintage shopping and a new generation discovering styles that were popular before they were born.

Now, blogging and long-form personal writing appear to be getting another moment in the spotlight, with platforms such as Substack giving writers a place to share their thoughts outside traditional publications.

At first glance, this return seems refreshing. Social media has made it possible to consume an endless stream of short videos, quick opinions and carefully curated posts. Substack offers something different: a place to sit down and write or read an essay, following someone’s thoughts beyond a caption or a 30-second video. However, as with all platforms, there is another side to this revival. As more people turn to Substack, the platform is also being promoted as a way to make money online.

A search for “Substack for beginners” on TikTok can lead to videos in which creators discuss their monthly earnings, explain how to grow a newsletter or promise to reveal the secrets to making money from writing. This isn’t just a hypothetical business opportunity. Creators are publishing guides such as “I Studied 100 Substacks: Here’s How the Top Writers Actually Make Money,” turning the platform’s monetization strategies into content of their own. The message can become less about the joy of writing and more about how to turn it into a profitable venture. Suddenly, blogging is not just a creative outlet. It is another opportunity to build a personal brand.

That raises a question: Are people returning to blogging because they nurture a passion for writing or because they see an opportunity to make money?

Substack’s appeal is understandable. Unlike traditional newspapers and magazines, it allows writers to publish directly to an audience without first pitching an idea to an editor or waiting for a publication to accept their work. Writers can cover everything from fiction and personal essays to short opinions about niche interests, developing a readership around their own perspectives. Through its subscription and monetization features, Substack also allows writers to charge readers for access to their work.

There is nothing inherently wrong with writers wanting to get paid. Journalism and creative writing take time, and independent writers deserve opportunities to support themselves. Substack can give writers more control over their work and help readers discover perspectives they might not find in mainstream publications.

The problem begins when monetization becomes the main selling point. When online creators promote Substack by showing how much money they make or promising others that they can achieve similar results, writing risks becoming another product in the creator economy.

The focus shifts from what someone has to say to how many people they can persuade to pay for a subscription.

This is particularly interesting when considering the role of influencers. Creators who have already built audiences around fashion, beauty, books or lifestyle commentary can bring those followers to a newsletter. Their existing popularity gives them a head start, while someone with original ideas but no established audience may have to work much harder to find readers. In this environment, influence and writing ability are not necessarily the same thing, even if the two increasingly overlap.

The appeal of newsletters isn’t just speculation, either. According to a 2026 Pew Research Center report on email newsletters, 3 in 10 U.S. adults say they get news from email newsletters at least sometimes. Newsletters are only one part of how Americans consume information, but their continued use shows that email-based writing still has a place in the digital media landscape.

Early internet culture is often remembered as a space for personal websites, online diaries and communities built around shared interests. People could write about their lives or their favorite niche topics without necessarily treating every post as a business opportunity.

Substack can recreate some of that intimacy, but it operates within today’s internet economy. Writers must attract readers, maintain engagement and, if they charge for subscriptions, convince people that their work is worth paying for.

Perhaps this is the contradiction at the heart of Substack’s popularity. People may be looking for an alternative to algorithm-driven social media, yet the same habits of audience-building, self-promotion and monetization follow them into the newsletter space.

The solution is not to insist that writing should always be free or that independent writers should avoid earning money. Instead, readers and writers should be able to distinguish between writing as a form of expression and writing as a business strategy. Both can coexist, but they are not always motivated by the same goals.

Blogging’s return could be a positive development for internet culture. It offers room for more personal voices, specialized interests and writing that does not fit neatly into traditional publications. But if the revival becomes defined primarily by income screenshots, growth strategies and promises of financial independence, it risks reproducing the very commercialized internet that people are trying to escape.

The real appeal of blogging was never that it could make us money. It was that we could write something simply because we had something to say. I hope we can continue the creative momentum fostered through the app without the ultimate target becoming financial gain, rather than community building.

Kentucky Kernel

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