I asked myself what note is.

I throw my writing onto note every day.

But it suddenly occurred to me. I had never once thought about what this thing called note actually is.

I had been using a tool without knowing what it really was. So, I'm going to take it apart.

First, let's share some numbers.

The number of note members is approximately 11.14 million. However, this is the number of people who have registered. The number of people who have actually posted an article is about 2.03 million. That is less than one-fifth of the members.

In other words, the majority of people on note are readers, not writers.

There are even more interesting numbers. You can read note without registering as a member. There are about 73.59 million monthly active users. Compared to the 11 million members, there are over 70 million passersby. This difference will matter later.

Also, note has no advertisements. It is sustained by sales commissions on paid content. It is a system where what you write directly becomes money.

Also, note has two faces.

One is the face of a salon where people sit down to read and write essays, thoughts, and diaries. The other is the face of a market where investment information, side-hustle know-how, and specialized knowledge are bought and sold.

They wear the same skin called note, but the creatures moving inside are different things. Depending on which face you are interacting with, the same note can look like a completely different place.

I'm going to peel back the floor from here.

note is equipped with community-like furniture such as follows, likes, comments, and memberships. That's why we write with a vague feeling that we are "residents of this town."

But I want you to remember the numbers from earlier. 70 million passersby against 11 million members.

Most readers come from search engines, read one piece, and leave. They don't even follow. They just pass through.

The reality happening on note is not "residence" but "passage."

If that's the case, what are follows, likes, and comments? They are scenery built along the side of a thoroughfare. Like a stage set, they are devices meant to make the passage look like a place where people live.

We think we're living in a town, but in reality, we're standing on the shoulder of a road, calling out to the cars passing by.

But if you change your perspective, it's the opposite. Precisely because it's a thoroughfare where no one stops,it's incredibly valuable if you can create even one place where people can stop.Place a chair where people can sit and talk on a road filled with passersby. Only those who can do that can turn this thoroughfare into their own place.

I noticed one more eerie thing.

We think of note as "just a pipe." A neutral conduit that, if we pour what we want to say into it, delivers it just as it is. But that's not the case.

The form of note has its own "preferences."

On X, short, sharp words that capture instantaneous reactions survive. On note, longer pieces that you can settle in to read survive. That's why "confessions," "my stories," and "useful know-how" tend to thrive on note.

Before I even decide what I'm going to write, the medium has already half-decided it for me.

If I know that long-form writing grows in this place, I'll unconsciously start writing longer. If I know that this opening will get read, I'll start choosing that opening. The rewards of likes and views are gradually bending my hand into a specific shape.

A man named McLuhan said, "The medium is the message." It's the idea that before you even say what you're saying, the vessel you put it in determines the content.

The vessel called note is slowly reshaping me, the writer.

I thought I was using the tool. But in reality, the tool was using me, and it was writing me.

I think any creator who uses note has felt this vaguely. They just haven't been able to put it into words.

That's why you need to know.

If you use a place without knowing what that place is, you'll eventually be used by it.

If you know it's a thoroughfare, you can consciously place a chair where people can stop. If you know your hand is being bent by the medium, you can choose for yourself whether to stay bent or to write that way intentionally.

Knowing or not knowing is the dividing line between being the one who uses and falling into being the one who is used.

However, this isn't the end.

Deeper down, there is a third layer that I haven't named yet.

There are no ads on note. In other words, it's a system where my content itself becomes money. If that's the case, what sells best in this place?

I will leave this for next time. What kind of machine is note for turning things into products? I will start the next part from that question.