The (extended) pledge drive is over, and I want to begin by thanking everyone who donated, whether it was a lot of bucks or just a few. This pledge drive started off very unpromisingly, but you all turned it around in a big way and brought us close to our goal.
That said, we didn’t make it all the way. We came a couple of thousand dollars short of what I need to keep the blog on an even keel.
So what does that mean for the future? Well, I will be continuing the blog as I have for more than a decade. But I will also have to devote time and energy to earning money in other ways to pay the bills, and that could potentially mean less time for, and fewer posts on, We Hunted the Mammoth. Which is something I don’t like, and something I hope to avoid as much as possible, but I’m not sure I see another way around it at this point.
If by some miracle this post inspires some of you to make up the difference, I will, of course, be overjoyed.
(You can also give by Venmo at David-Futrelle-1.)
Again, I want to thank all of you for your support, in this pledge drive and over the years. You’ve made this blog possible, and I have always appreciated it more than you may know; it’s not something I’ve ever taken for granted.
We will press onward. I will do my best, for all of you.
I don’t have much money myself, but I’ve chipped in a little bit. We can choose to donate at other times as well, right?
@Anonymous, I set up a monthly donation via PayPal – you could use that option to donate any time you’re able to, definitely.
@David, always happy for whatever/whenever you’re able to post for us. I don’t comment frequently, but I read and share all the time.
I don’t know if using ads again is an option for you? But personally I’d be fine with them if it would allow you to continue, and ease the financial burden a bit. Of course it’s nice not having them, but if it helps you, then bring ’em back.
Thanks for all you do 🙂
I wouldn’t mind having ads that much either. I’m no friend of capitalism, but none of us can just opt out of the game. Not yet, anyway.
I’ve been reading for more than a decade. I remember the days of ads – if I recall correctly, much of the reason you had ro get rid of them was they often involved misogyny. From working in online content, I know there are much better controls over what ads are displayed these days. Bringing them back isn’t as terrible as it used to be.
But they probably also won’t cover the shortfall either…
If it’s a choice between ads or the blog dying, it may be time to try ads again. It’s my preferred way of supporting since I don’t have money 🙁
Joining the chorus: ads are fine.
I infer from David’s remarks that this pledge drive has yielded several thousand dollars, and the annual need of funding is likely well into five figures. It doesn’t sound unreasonable for the amount of content David produces, but I’m surprised if this blog’s readership, apparently diminished since several years ago, can cough up half that much.
I’d be even more surprised if much of that funding can be sourced by running ads on the same diminished readership. That said, while having ads again here would be somewhat annoying, I certainly wouldn’t quit visiting or donating (what little I can afford) over it.
I feel that David posting less frequently wouldn’t necessarily diminish the value of this blog – frankly, much of the content here feels repetitive. I greatly appreciate the topics that are covered, and I greatly appreciate the blog community here. I hope people won’t continue drifting away just because new content is less frequent. Since commenting (and people’s viewing of new comments?) at any time is focused on the last couple posts, maybe we could have more long-running comment threads that veer into whatever people want to talk about. Naturally, I also hope David finds something else to patch up his livelihood with.
I’ve become WAY more of a lurker than a commenter in recent years, but I too enjoy reading the posts and the comments. I wouldn’t mind ads. Maybe nowadays there’s more power for blog hosts to control what ads are on their site?
FWIW, I’ve noticed for the past year or so that my local public radio stations and community-sponsored radio stations are having trouble with their pledge drives. I hope this pledge drive for WHTM can meet its goal.
A lot of places that depend on donations are having to tighten their belts because this “inflation” of cost of living is hitting a lot of us really hard.
If ads will help, then, yeah.
I got a small extra bit of cash from my jury duty last month, so it’s yours now.