Patreon adds Tweet-like features and more recommended content

Patreon offers a host of new features, some of which are reminiscent of traditional social media platforms.

The most obvious callback is what Patreon calls Quips, which — you guessed it — are basically tweets. Quips are smaller posts of text, images, or videos that are public by default and open for anyone to comment on, unlike the premium content behind the paywall that Patreon made its name on. The idea is that Quips can attract potential subscribers by offering them a sneak peek at paid content.

The platform is also adding ways for creators to cross-pollinate among their audiences. First, creators will be able to collaborate on posts so that both sets of fans can see them, similar to features found on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Patreon will also add to its existing recommendation system in which users see and pay creators when there is audience overlap between creators. Patreon says fans will have the option to view only content from creators they follow. The company is opening a waitlist on Monday for creators to request early access to features. In the future, the platform will test other user controls such as a “Not Interested” button for posts, creator @mentions, and a folder containing collected saved content.

In recent months, Patreon has poached a handful of prominent writers from its competitor, Substack. Including Anne Helen Petersenpopular author Study of culture Newsletter. At this point, there seems to be a small displacement of the substack occurring daily for several reasons: Lack of technical supportthe Pivot around Substack and tweet-like notesAnd of course The neo-Nazi content ecosystem Hosted on the platform. Some users and creators complained that Substack was moving away from the focus of the newsletter, especially since the original promise of writers was that they wouldn’t have to fight social media algorithms to get their work to readers.

Patreon has also emphasized creator-fan relationships as an antidote to social media’s fickle, give-and-take algorithms. But creators also want to grow their audiences, and that requires getting in front of new people. Patreon will need to find a balance where the platform can support its growing fan bases — without seeming like a whole new algorithm that creators have to hack.