这段文字记录了 A16Z 的 Andrew Chen 和 Substack 的 CEO Chris Best 之间的一场对话。他们深入探讨了 Substack 的起源、技术选择以及在人工智能和不断演变的媒体格局中的未来愿景。 Best 回忆了他在 Substack 之前的工作经历，包括共同创立了即时通讯应用 Kick，并将其用户规模扩展到数亿。他强调了对人性的了解，在线系统塑造行为的潜力，以及拥有稳固商业模式的重要性。他说 Substack 的诞生源于他解决互联网媒体经济的不足之处并赋能写作者的愿望。 Best 提到 Substack 最初的想法来自于他写的一篇文章，这篇文章受到了他的联合创始人 Hamish 的严厉批评，这最终促使他们将 Substack 开发成为一个付费的电子邮件新闻通讯平台。 随后，焦点转移到了 Substack 的技术基础。Chen 指出，他最初拒绝了联合创始人将他的博客迁移到 Substack 的提议，而 Best 则详细阐述了他们利用电子邮件这一决定的深思熟虑。CEO 承认，尽管当时移动优先的趋势盛行，但他们选择电子邮件是因为它能直接连接受众，而无需依赖应用程序安装或算法。相反，他们希望构建一个对客户来说尽可能易于使用的增长循环。他还强调了工程愿景，即专注于构建人们会关心的产品，从而创造出具有挑战性的问题，以便在规模化时解决。 对话继续深入探讨了 Substack 的增长及其对媒体生态系统的影响。Best 强调了拥有与受众的连接、创作自由和经济独立的重要性。他对平台不断扩大的文化和知识足迹以及机器学习推荐的日益普及感到兴奋。他还提到了 Substack 向音频播客和视频的扩展，利用人工智能工具来增强内容创作和分发。 讨论触及了人工智能在内容创作中的作用及其对公司的影响。Best 对人工智能的潜力持乐观态度，认为它是一种“创造性杠杆”工具，将大大降低内容创作的成本。他强调，人工智能不会削弱信任和关系的价值，反而会放大它。Best 认为，挑战在于如何在内容丰富的世界中分配注意力。他表达了识别可信来源并在所消费的文化中找到意义的需求。 接着，他们探讨了 Substack 的未来。Best 提到了 Substack 的应用程序和目的地，以及该平台希望成为互联网上一个优质场所，让消费者可以与创作者建立真正的联系。他强调，通过该应用程序，制作多媒体内容将变得更加容易，并表示 Substack 将继续专注于让下一代创作者更容易创作内容。最终，他希望 Substack 能够赋予创作者创作内容的力量，并通过为他们提供成功所需的工具来获得可观的利润。 本期节目以一个创作者的故事作为结尾，该创作者的生活因 Substack 而发生了改变。Best 说，这些故事突显了给予个人一个商业模式的力量，以及在一个快速变化的世界中，创造真正职业生涯的力量。

This transcript captures a conversation between Andrew Chen of A16Z and Chris Best, CEO of Substack. They delve into the origins of Substack, its technological choices, and its future vision in the context of AI and the evolving media landscape. Best recounts his experience prior to Substack, co-founding the messaging app Kick, scaling it to hundreds of millions of users. He emphasizes learning about human nature, the potential of online systems to shape behavior, and the importance of having a solid business model. He says that Substack was born out of his desire to address the shortcomings of the internet media economy and empower writers. Best mentions that the initial idea for Substack came from an essay he wrote that was heavily critiqued by his co-founder, Hamish, which led to the development of the product as a paid email newsletter platform. The focus then shifts to Substack's technological foundation. Chen notes that he initially rejected the co-founders' proposal to move his blog over to Substack, while Best elaborates on the deliberate decision to leverage email. The CEO acknowledges that, despite the mobile-first trends at the time, email was chosen for its direct connection to the audience without relying on app installations or algorithms. Instead, they wanted to build a growth loop that was as easy to use as possible for their customers. He also highlights the engineering vision, which focused on building a product that people would care about, which would then create challenging issues to address in order to scale. The conversation moves into Substack's growth and impact on the media ecosystem. Best emphasizes the importance of owning the connection with the audience, creative freedom, and financial independence. He expresses excitement about the platform's expanding cultural and intellectual footprint and increasing adoption of machine learning recommendations. He also mentions Substack's expansion into audio podcasting and video, leveraging AI tools to enhance content creation and distribution. The discussion touches upon AI's role in content creation and its implications for companies. Best is optimistic about AI's potential, viewing it as a "creative leverage" tool that will significantly reduce the cost of content creation. He emphasizes that AI will not diminish the value of trust and relationships, but rather amplify it. The challenge, Best argues, lies in allocating attention in a world of abundant content. He expresses the need to identify trusted sources and find meaning in the culture consumed. The future of Substack is then explored, and Best mentions the Substack app and destination, and how the platform wants to be a class place on the internet where consumers can have a real connection with creators. He highlights multimedia content becoming easier to produce through the app, and states that Substack will continue focusing on making it radically easier for the next generation of creators. Ultimately, he hopes that Substack can give creatives the power to create content and make a good profit by giving them the tools that they need to succeed. The episode wraps up with an anecdote about a creator whose life was transformed by Substack. Best says that these stories highlight the power of giving individuals a business model and the power to make a real career for themselves in a world that is changing rapidly.