There is something of a privilege and a gold class with having exclusive access to things when you are on the blogosphere.

Back when I was writing pre-launch reviews of TV shows, having been chosen as a blogger to publicise shows (I think they went by how many readers we reached — I do not remember now), I received more than a few emails asking how other bloggers could get onboard.

It was humbling to say I had been chosen by invitation and that it was not an application procedure.

The Svbtle factor

That was how things were with Svbtle, where I was publishing alongside my blog. (Twice as many articles to write, yes.) When Dustin Curtis founded Svbtle, it was almost a sacred place where only the most seasoned bloggers were given a platform to blog.

Then came us somewhat veterans in the field. For several months we alone were writing for Svbtle Magazine, the common, everyday blogger had no such opportunity. We enjoyed the exclusivity.

When Mr Curtis first created Svbtle Magazine and closed it off to the world: a select few could write, but all could read (much like any other magazine, now that I think about it), he received a lot of discouragement and insistence to open the platform up to everybody.

This went to such an extent that Obtvse was created to duplicate Svbtle’s atmosphere and allow public use. Perhaps this played a part in Dustin Curtis’ later decision, perhaps it did not, but Svbtle made the one move I was fearing: it opened to the public.

Mr Curtis explains the move rather simply:

We took this initial approach because we wanted to ensure that the software worked, first of all, and that the platform was seeded with great content by seasoned and experienced authors.

So my content now exists as seed writing for Svbtle among seasoned authors. That is an honour, but Svbtle with restrictions was one of a kind; Svbtle open to everybody is a dime a dozen. (WordPress, Tumblr, Medium, Ghost etc.)

What’s the difference?

That is why, although I had come a hair’s breadth close to getting rid of my entire blog here and writing permanently for Svbtle Magazine, I waited; and that turned out to be a good decision. Today, I am officially quitting Svbtle. Except the approach and look, it seems Mr Curtis and I agree on very few things.

Once Svbtle becomes public, the only thing differentiating it from WordPress is its simplicity. I can live with a few extra buttons, because simplicity alone (without lots of usage advantages) does not justify moving my several-years-old blog.

That is not to say we Svbtle bloggers were above the rest. The reason why we all have blogs in the first place (assuming it is not for money) is to establish an identity. Social networks give us identity, but that is a different kind. Just because we have clubs in town, it does not mean we do not have a home.

Even considering moving to Svbtle was a big step. Think of it as moving into a prestigious community housing, minus all the community housing jokes. The problem with Medium etc. is that writers lose their identity there. Svbtle, being invite-only, meant our identities could stay even as we nurtured a charming biosphere of talented writers.

But Svbtle increasingly became technology-oriented. No timeless writing community involving people from various fields ought to restrict itself to one niche — however counterintuitive this may seem to the build-a-niche theory, it is most certainly true.

Those are some reasons why I quit Svbtle. Svbtle has now become what Medium already was: just another marketplace to blog at. I am not on the lookout for a bloggers market, but a home. Gladly, I have mine right here: you’re in it. And I have no more plans of moving.

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