Momentary pause for a big thank you shout to all who shoot me a few bucks via Patreon.
TOP is in its 20th year and will turn 20 in late November. We've seen a lot of photography websites come and go in that time. I'm absolutely not saying I don't appreciate those of you who shop through my links, because I certainly do, but here's a sobering little factoid that came up as I was doing my taxes: I made less from my two biggest affiliate partners in all of 2024 than I used to earn from them in a good month. Not every month by any stretch, but there were a bunch of good ones.
The situation isn't dire. I'm solid, stubborn, & still sticking around. However, the number of Patreon "true fans" who throw a few bucks in the basket every month is down to 634 from a high of 804. That trend line scares me me, so I try not to think about it. But it makes each one of you more valuable. Your contributions are what's keeping this site going. Thank you. Did I say that already?
Speaking of taxes, Patreon doesn't give you a 1099 for the net amount of money gifted to you through them. Only for the gross amount. In other words, people are innocently and unknowingly paying taxes on the money Patreon takes in fees. I did, for several years, until I wised up. How do they get away with that? Isn't somebody keeping track of such things? I so liked the old America better.
I still wish I could reach that magical plateau of "1,000 True Fans"—Kevin Kelly's famous idea that it's better to find 1,000 people who believe in you enough to support you, rather than strive to appeal to a giant mass audience. But 634 ain't bad.
Patreon contributions are now TOP's biggest source of support. Without you, TOP would not still be here. If anyone wants to, please sign up, or increase your contribution amount. And many thanks to those of you who already have.
Gratefully,
—Majordomo Mike
P.S. I got my tax stuff done and in to the preparer. O happy day!
Craig Mod's essays on running his membership program might be of interest:
https://craigmod.com/essays/membership_rules/
Posted by: Yoshi Carroll | Thursday, 10 April 2025 at 11:47 PM
Don´t bother. Your new big boss told us that all Amaericans will become very rich very soon ;)
Posted by: Michael | Friday, 11 April 2025 at 05:18 AM
I'm more or less exactly your age, which means that I'm officially retired since a while - and, as a result of that, poor as a chruch mouse as we say here in Germany.
I used to support some organizations like the Ardour project, had to reduce the amount to something like 1$/month. But my wife showed me that we pay more in Paypal transfer fees than what goes to the project itself, so I had to cancel that as well...
Big thumbs up of TOP, love your site, though I really can't send anything.
Posted by: Wolfgang Lonien | Friday, 11 April 2025 at 07:41 AM
Done!
Posted by: MikeR | Friday, 11 April 2025 at 10:43 AM
Looking at the traffic between our sites, I can see a MASSIVE DEFICIT which means TARIFFS.
Consequently, I'm raising the amount *I* pay for you to have the privilege of my custom! Take that, Johnston!
(Somehow this logic seems off, but...)
Posted by: Mike Chisholm | Saturday, 12 April 2025 at 03:51 AM
If you were starting this site today, I think your best bet would be to use Substack, which makes it easy to offer free content but then to also offer additional subscriber-only content, or to just offer paid subscriptions even in the absence of any associated extra content.
I support you (in a small way) on Patreon, but a Substack subscription seems like something that’s a lot easier to pitch.
Posted by: Brandon | Saturday, 12 April 2025 at 10:43 AM
"we'd create a whole society with a sludgey, sticky coating of slouching, snarling insult all over everything. We'd all go about the world in little bubbles of self-aggrandizing narcissism, dismissing and degrading others. And being battered willy-nilly by the slings and arrows of others, as they ran roughshod over our own feelings in return"
That sentence, which is yours, reminds me of so much of the sh*t seen/stated/written on social media and which is increasingly destructive to society. Being polite, even if 'fake' plays an important role. It keeps the conversation alive, works against the polarization so evident in society today and which paralyzes rational governmental discourse.
Posted by: Don Spady | Saturday, 12 April 2025 at 02:54 PM
OK, Wolfgang's gone down, so I've doubled up.
I do like TOP quite a lot.
Posted by: Moose | Monday, 14 April 2025 at 12:33 AM
Maybe I'll contribute again if Film Friday becomes permanent (and includes something about analog cameras, past or present).
:)
Posted by: Hélcio J. Tagliolatto | Monday, 14 April 2025 at 09:12 PM
So sorry I'm not a contributor on Patreon any more.
Posted by: Thomas Paris | Tuesday, 15 April 2025 at 02:47 AM