Substack founders respond to Twitter restrictions, criticizes rules that 'change on a whim'

Is this Twitter-like Notes feature on Substack the reason for its restrictions on the social media site? (Image; Substack)

Substack's founders have criticized Twitter's new restrictions that prevent promoting tweets with links from its publishing platform. According to founders Chris Best, Hamish McKenzie, and Jairaj Sethi, this move reminds us why writers need a platform that "puts them in charge, that rewards great work with money, and that protects the free press and free speech." They added that writers' livelihoods "should not be tied to platforms where they don’t own their relationship with their audience, and where the rules can change on a whim."

Twitter users have noticed that they couldn't like, reply to, or retweet some tweets that had Substack links in them. The social media platform hasn't said anything about the change, but as The Verge pointed out, it comes at a time when Substack introduced a Twitter-esque feature called Notes. And this isn't the first time under Elon Musk's Twitter that it banned all links to competitors like Instagram and Mastodon. That change has been reversed since.

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'Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth' drops on May 10

EA's Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth is coming next month. The mobile, free-to-play title is debuting on May 10, marking the first LOTR game since 2009's The Lord of the Rings: Conquest. This game is one of five LOTR games in development from Embracer, including the Lord of the Rings: Gollum, which is launching soon, too.

Heroes of Middle-earth includes characters from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. It features collection systems, turn-based combat, and more. It'll be available on iOS and Android, with pre-registration now open.

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'Star Wars: Ahsoka' drops first trailer

Disney teased its first official look at Star Wars: Ahsoka during the Star Wars Celebration 2023. The series picks up after Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) appears on both The Mandalorian and Book of Boba Fett. The trailer shows Ahsoka getting attacked in a mystic Jedi site, Hera Syndulla in a shootout, and Sabine Wren and her lothcat meditating. There is also a quick look/hint at Grand Admiral Thrawn.

Ahsoka is on a mission to look for fellow Star Wars: Rebels alum Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi), who blasted himself and Thrawn on the far reaches of space. Star Wars: Ahsoka is streaming on Disney+ this December.

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Stadia Boss Phil Harrison quietly left Google after game service's closure

Phil Harrison, the vice president of Google and former head of Stadia, confirmed he left the company. According to a report, two employees familiar with the matter said Harrison quietly left the company around the time it shut down the short-lived game streaming service. His LinkedIn profile states he ended his time with the company this month.

Harrison is a veteran in the gaming industry. He worked at Sony for over a decade and three years at Microsoft before joining Google in 2018. Unfortunately, Stadia struggled to attract gamers, which resulted in its shutdown this January.

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