ALT Here's the dirty little secret about email lists: big social media companies _hate_ them. Do you know why they hate them? Because if you decide you want to up and leave, you can bring your audience _with you_, cutting out the company entirely. No relying on the caprices of an algorithm to drive your traffic; no muttering under your breath whenever a platform decides to "pivot to video" or "shift for engagement" or anything like that. That's why every social network in the world wants to own the relationship between reader and writer; there's where the *real* money is, in keeping both sides held hostage through the auspices of "discovery algorithms" or "smart suggestions". The truth is: the most valuable thing you can have in the world as a creator is a list of email addresses of people waiting to hear from you — a *true* relationship with your audience, unfettered by intermediaries or middlemen. Buttondown has no lofty aspirations of reshaping culture or disrupting an industry.
