Patreon Thoughts

I very much like the idea of Patreon. It allows people to support their favorite creators directly, becoming literally a Patron of the Arts, and provides that money (minus a 5% fee from the website) to help support people who want to create.

I was thinking about this last night as I read Namesake until 3:30 a.m. The creators of that worthy Oz-related webcomic have a Patreon account, and I would absolutely throw in money if Eric and I were in a better financial place.

Another one of my favorite artist/writers, Ursula Vernon also has an account. Again, if I were in a better financial situation, she'd get something from me.

Other great creators like Brad Guigar, Tom Siddell, Shawn Lenore and Gordon McAlpin also take advantage of the system. Unshelved, Wasted Talent and BattlePug have accounts.

It seems to work best for people who already have a large following and hope that they can get some support. The best folks still provide everything for free to all users, but might provide early access to supporters, or sometimes sketches and such that they normally wouldn't have posted.

I do not have a large following, nor do I suspect that this would get me any money at all, but I still have this irrational urge to start my own Patreon account and see if anyone cares enough about my blogs and websites to bother supporting me. I looked through a lot of accounts and saw a few people making enough to live on, but most people are making $50 or less a month. Still, $5 a month would buy bread and milk. And maybe people would support me giving out Halloween comics again someday. My IndieGoGo campaign was a serious pain in the butt, so I know I don't want to try that again.

But, deep down, I have no desire to benefit from Patreon. I want to be a Patron, and give to my favorite creators.

So, what do you folks, my readers, think of Patreon? Any of you on it as either a Creator or Patron? What's it like?

Bonus Lunkdimp

Unshelved looks at Global Frequency.

Leonard Kirk Cartoons Again. He's got a sick sense of humor.

FilkerTom directs us to an on-line jukebox.

Safe for work Porn For Women. This one is for all the husbands out there. Be sure to follow the second set of links that disagree with the first.

Ah, the latest flap is the Bloggers Code of Conduct proposed by Tim O'Reilly. Scoble talks about it, and Boing Boing points to a response to the initial proposal. I have no problem with following a code of conduct, but I have issues with other folks telling me what that code ought to be.

Seattle Police found a recycler who was taking stolen copper to recycle. I think I mentioned the copper thieves before, well, hopefully this raid will stop some of it.

The theft of a webcomic. Stealing other people's work is NOT FINE ART.

Planet Karen reacts to the theft of a webcomic.

Are you on the list? Believe me, you really don't want to be. Speaking of lists, Korean War hero branded a terrorist for a speech critical of Bush.

Top 10 Firefox Extensions to Avoid. I figured I wouldn't have any, but they included a couple of very useful ones on the list. *sigh*

Michael Sensei posts a very informative report on the Yamato. I was a huge Starblazers fan as a kid, getting up early every morning to watch it.

Cute Link: The Bucket Saga. To really understand it, start at the end and work your way back to the most recent post.

Wood, bronze, iron; water, fire, stone

Mark Evanier has some concerns about the 2007 Marvel Stamps.

MacQuarrie has some concerns about Smallville's Green Arrow.

Wizard interviews the Foglios about moving Girl Genius to the web.

Diane Duane responds to Wil Wheaton, and then Wil Wheaton responds to Diane Duane. Very cool, and lots of neat material in those entries.

I love Unshelved's Sunday Book Reviews, and I've read a number of the books they recommend. I need a list of all the review strips so I can figure out which of the books I've read so far... UPDATE: There is a List, many thanks to Anne for pointing it out to me!

Jack Black's Green Lantern has been shelved. Whew.

In other bad movie news: The Dark is Rising. *sigh*

Shut Up And Sing Trailer. If the networks won't air it, I figure folks ought to be able to see the ad on-line if they are curious.

Ducktor Who.

Crescent Venus and Crescent Moon. Wow.

The Highest Scrabble Score Ever: 830.

This isn't just cute, it's evil cute. And yes, this is for the in-laws.

Thoughts

Captain Underpants Is Not An Acceptable Superhero to dress up as on Superhero Day. At least the principal didn't do this to the students.

Zombie Love.

More on the Aquaman Showcase volume.

Unshelved has a series of strips about graphic novels in libraries: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Looking forward to tomorrow's strip, too.

Kids in Vending Machines.

Sesame Street and how it emphasizes our commonalities.

No Vegemite Ban? What, I can't believe everything I read on teh internets?

A Steam Car. It could have been interesting if this had been developed.

Slashdot debates an article on how to hack the election.

Pets in Costumes. Yes, there's a pug for the in-laws.