One of my favorite things about running COLLIDE PRESS is that it's never really finished. It's more like one of those old houses where I'm always painting a room, fixing a leaky faucet, or realizing I probably should've put the couch on the other wall.
Thankfully, I don't have to figure it all out by myself. Many of the best improvements come directly from you. Through your comments, emails, and suggestions. Or from the analytics that quietly reveal how users actually interact with my work.
Recently, a beloved Substack subscriber sent me a simple suggestion: “Would you consider switching COLLIDE PRESS on Substack to Dark Mode?”
My immediate reaction? “Of course! Why didn’t I think of that?!”
Like a lot of people, I do most of my reading in bed before I fall asleep, and I almost always use Dark Mode. Somehow, it never occurred to me that many of you probably do the exact same thing.
So...now COLLIDE PRESS on Substack is officially in Dark Mode.
Hopefully, it'll make those late-night reading sessions a little easier on the eyes. And if you prefer Light Mode, no worries. You can always choose whichever appearance works best for you in the Substack app or its website .
While subscriber feedback helps shape one side of COLLIDE PRESS, analytics and data help shape the other side of the coin.
Over on my YouTube channel, I spend a fair amount of time looking at Google Analytics. Not because I’m trying to become an algorithm whisperer, but because the data often tells some interesting stories.
One thing the data has been telling me lately is that more and more people are discovering my work through YouTube Shorts.
Ironically, Shorts were one of my least favorite parts of YouTube.
For years, YouTube had a bad habit of choosing the absolute worst frame from a Short to use as its thumbnail. And we creators couldn't change them.
As a result, I ended up unlisting quite a few Shorts. Not because there was anything wrong with the videos themselves. But because the thumbnails made them look less than their best.
Thankfully, YouTube has finally added the ability to customize Shorts thumbnails.
It's only about three years late, but who's counting?
Since discovering the new feature yesterday morning, I've been digging through my archive, choosing better thumbnails, and gradually republishing many of those unlisted Shorts. It'll take a while, but over the next few days you'll probably notice a steady stream of Shorts making their return. Maybe they’re new to you, boo?
The analytics suggest that Shorts have become one of the primary ways people discover COLLIDE PRESS. If a better thumbnail helps someone stumble across a forgotten piece of LGBTQ history or a montage of vintage photos, then the extra effort and time is well worth it.
At the end of the day, for me, that's really what all of this is about.
Sometimes improving COLLIDE PRESS means adding a new feature because one subscriber asked a simple question. Other times it means paying attention to the data and making it easier for new people to discover the stories I'm trying to preserve.
Either way, every little improvement helps.
So please keep the suggestions coming. Tell me what's working, what isn't, and what you'd like to see next. Every comment, email, and recommendation helps point me in the right direction.
Together with the analytics, your feedback helps shape the future of COLLIDE PRESS.
Thank you for being a friend!
Clint 🌈✌️
COLLIDE PRESS is a reader-supported publication.
Please consider becoming a Paid Subscriber or Patron.
FROM THE ARCHIVES
NSFW MONTAGES = On Substack
SFW MONTAGES = On YouTube
BORN THIS WAY ON THIS DAY
07-29 = Dag Hammarskjöld (1905-1961) = Swedish economist 🌈
07-29 = Kevin Spirtas (1962- ) = American actor 🌈
07-29 = Paul Taylor (1930-2018) = American choreographer 🌈
07-29 = Prince Abdul Azim Of Brunei (1982-2020) = Bruneian royal 🌈
07-29 = Tim Gunn (1953- ) = American educator and tv personality 🌈
MAN CRUSH OF THE DAY
“Life is not a solo act. It’s a huge collaboration, and we all need to assemble around us the people who care about us and support us in times of strife.”
Tim Gunn
🎻🌖🌹🌈🏳️🌈❤️👽🎹 Thanks again Clint I somehow missed this one🇨🇵 🇮🇪🍰🦜🥐
Really like the dark mode Clint. Sharpens the focus on photos.