I’ll be posting the final two parts of my ‘Palestinian Problem’ series tomorrow. I’m still in the final fact-checking phase of a complex piece that will, for some, I’m sure, prove to be a contentious conclusion. Having said that, the level of madness in the US political discourse is heightening by the day as Trump gets ever more desperate. In his tiny mind, the Gods seem to be conspiring against him, and he simply can’t process even the thought of losing, even when he’s already lost.
I lay awake late last night because I am forever searching for better ways to communicate what I have to say, and yesterday the final pieces of the puzzle came together. Almost a year ago, I began working on a project I called ‘The Truth Portal’. The goal was to create a central resource that included not just my writing and thoughts, but also a searchable library of video content from a variety of creators in the political space. I also wanted to bring together tools that let anyone cross-reference a representative's registered interests, donations received, and voting record to produce a democracy traffic light score.
As a longtime coder and visual designer, all this felt well within reach, and I built the entire foundational framework. What I hadn’t accounted for was the cost of securing it and scaling it, and that’s where I hit a roadblock. The truth is, while I’m committed to reinvesting all Substack revenue into my work, it didn’t cover even a fraction of the final cost of implementing the vision. Add to that, changes in the Substack model have diminished that revenue stream to the point that I've had to come out of retirement to earn extra money to support what I do here. Please don’t misunderstand; I’ve worked since I was 17, so it’s proved to be the least of my worries, and I’ve actually been pleasantly surprised by how valuable my skill set has proven to be.
The choices I face are clear: do I believe in what I do and the passion I have for preserving democracy and social justice? More importantly, do I think I have a contribution to make in these most consequential of times? The great thing about retirement is that it provides an abundance of time. Time to think about where I am, what I want to do and how I want to spend the autumn years of my life. One thing I’ve concluded is that I absolutely love writing; it brings me great satisfaction and a deep sense of personal achievement. With well over 500 pieces under my belt and a voice that, in its own little way, resonates with people, I’m in my happy place. I have the love of a woman who has been by my side for 47 years, one who is as passionate about politics and social justice as I am. Life is so much easier with someone in your life who brings the sunshine to a rainy afternoon, someone with whom I’ve shared the highs and the lows for close to half a century.
Over the past three months, I have shifted from writing a piece every day to writing four or five times a week. What I needed to do was not just take on consultancy work to help cover the costs of this passion, but to breathe and find a balance between the things that make me happy. Paying attention to my soulmate and my passion for gardening and music, which remains a source of so much pleasure for me after having spent two decades of my formative years in music production. It would not be an exaggeration to say that writing here has changed my life for the better and given me a new sense of purpose after I came through really challenging times during and after the COVID pandemic. I’ve found a voice and, through my writing, engaged with both the like-minded and sometimes out-of-their-mind people. Such is the rich tapestry of life.
The Truth Portal project hasn’t materialised to date simply because the cost of bringing it to life was far greater than had been anticipated. However, the framework is already built, and none of the objectives has changed. What has changed is my mindset and approach to time management, along with the insecurity I felt about whether stopping my writing every day would somehow devalue my contribution to the conversation. Yes, I’m insecure, always have been and always will be; it’s just part of who I am, and it can be debilitating at times. I am very mindful that my voice is but a grain of sand on a very large beach. If I disappeared tomorrow, life would march on, and my relevance would be relegated to the relatively obscure archive of my already documented thoughts. I’m fully at peace with that.
Where things have changed for me on this journey of becoming a writer and political commentator (which, by the way, is still a work in progress) is my new level of clarity and understanding of what makes the world go round, while at the same time gaining an acute awareness of the threats and dangers we all face as a result of this charge to the political right. The US may be the epicentre of this dystopian nightmare. However, this trend is by no means unique, and it helps promote the same ideology in other democracies worldwide. As for me, I might, if I’m lucky, have a decade to contribute to this fight and help make a small difference.
To that end, a LOT of work has been happening behind the scenes to find a way to bring the Truth Portal to life in a way that contributes positively to our joint efforts to preserve democracy and social justice at a more affordable cost. All the investment in the project to date has helped me develop a roadmap to finally showcase the concept publicly and let you, the audience, judge its viability. This can be done at a fraction of the cost of implementation, and will, I believe, open the eyes of anyone interested in the possibilities it presents for a dynamic, exciting and unique way forward.
I now have all the production facilities in place to deliver a proof of concept, and I'm looking to the community here to help refine the ideas surrounding it so we can build this together. Without giving too much away, the approach is truly unique: it combines writing, video content, and data, with geolocation to provide specific information about where you live as it relates to the central premise of a written piece. If it all comes together, as planned (and there’s no guarantee, given the complexity of the model), this Truth Matters Newsletter will become the first truly data-driven interactive newsletter on this platform. A literary vehicle to allow you, the reader, to navigate content, choosing your own path as you read. For example, if I’m sharing a thought, you can seamlessly view video content or stats without disrupting the flow of the piece because that content will be embedded within the article.
The idea is that when you engage with a piece, each reader can follow a path that best meets their search for quality, fact-checked information to support the argument. It will be fully accessible, with automatic font-size switching for those with visual impairment, to name but one feature. If I’m examining policy, the objective is to provide a central piece that, as it does now, looks at the picture nationwide, but also offers a route to provide a perspective from where you live, focusing on the local dynamic. It moves from what I would call ‘flat information’ to real-world 3D information, with an option to deliver on an ‘all politics is local ’ model. As a result, pieces no longer would offer a one-size-fits-all perspective.
The sole objective of this upcoming exercise is to share a proof of concept with this reading community in real time. It’s an ambitious plan that excites me tremendously, and once you can experiment with it yourself, I’m absolutely sure there will be no shortage of people with ideas and those who want to join the experiment. To be clear, it will not change anything if you just like reading my thoughts; this Substack will look identical and read like a normal piece. It’s only when you decide to activate the dynamic content within the piece that things will change, as you interact with the piece.
The aim is to introduce people to non-static written content, while anchoring it in what looks like a normal Substack piece. I have a big meeting on Friday with the company that will provide the interactive framework the content will sit on. I looked at the same framework a year ago when I first got the idea for the Truth Portal, but the technology simply wasn't mature enough; it's changed dramatically, making it the perfect fit for the project now. What’s more exciting is it’s a British innovation that
This isn't about me; it's designed as an engagement flow that can also feature other Substack writers with thoughts on the subject. Pieces can be written as normal by any contributing writers; traffic will be directed to their accounts for subscription and attribution purposes; there will simply need to be a link in their piece to direct the reader back into the information pipeline driving the content.
I want to be unambiguous and very clear. THIS IS AN EXPERIMENT; there are no guarantees, but at the same time, it will operate in an enterprise, highly secure environment; there will be no heightened risk in engaging with interactive elements of any piece. It’s a long-term project that will NOT be dependent on investment; I’m prepared to cover the basic costs, although paid subscriptions and use of the ‘buy me a drink’ links at the bottom of each post are always greatly appreciated and put to good use within the project.
I’ll be writing this week as normal; next week, I will not be posting any pieces because I’ll be hard at work putting together a sample piece on the US economy to show how an interactive Substack piece will work. I’ll be posting notes as usual, so you can’t get away from me that easily. My normal posts will return the following week (September 28th) while I test the first interactive demo article, with the goal of releasing it on my birthday, October 6th. I stress again that this is very early in the process, so expect hiccups, but rest assured I’m fully committed to delivering and showing you how it works.
My commitment to my normal content will remain the same, except for next week. I’ll still create a guaranteed 4 to 5 pieces each week, as normal. The idea is to produce one interactive piece every week or so, then introduce more as the workflow is refined and I can deliver interactive content more efficiently. There are some very exciting things in the pipeline, and I’ll introduce you to them as we take this journey together. The aim, for sure, is to produce at least one groundbreaking interactive piece two weeks out from November 3rd, which I hope will demonstrate its power within the political discourse. I can’t tell you how excited I am that this is finally happening; it’s been a LONG TIME in the making, and it's cost me many sleepless nights. This is very personal for me, and I pray you will see the value of the end result
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Sounds like you got fire in your belly! The very best of luck with the experiment and I look forward to diving in from over the pond (see what I did there? 😀)
Bone Chance! Exciting to see your vision/purpose, actualized!