« monday moonbat morford musings | Main | it's a linkorama »

cash cow

Andrew Sullivan is having a pledge drive again.

Six months ago, he raised $80,000 with his pledge drive.

Claiming he needs to make a salary of sorts if he intends to keep up the blogging, he is at it again.

So, let me get this straight. In six months, he blew $80,000?

I like Sullivan's blog. I like him, or what I know of him. But I think it's kind of strange that he is asking for money (paid subscriptions, kind of) to keep his blog up, meaning you are paying for the content you receive. Yet, by donating and allowing him to do this full time, you are also paying his salary. So not only are you a subscriber if you give, you are his boss in a way. Or at least a shareholder in AndrewSullivan.com.

I don't begrudge anyone having a tip jar; I have one. I don't begrudge anyone trying to make a living off of blogging; wouldn't that be nice? But I can't see holding a pledge week a mere six months after you pulled in that kind of loot.

I could entertain you as much as Sullivan can and for a far lot less in the wallet department. I have boobs, Andrew doesn't. I have personal stories about love, lust and drugs. Andrew doesn't. Andrew gets linked all the time by major media, so his blog is nice and professional. I never get linked by major media so I can be dirty and nasty and downright rude, making for much more fun content-wise.

I have kids who do stupid, bloggable things. I cover the major news in the tampon industry, I hex Roger Clemens right before your eyes and I give you songs to download and lyrics to sing. I also give you contests to win and games to play. Andrew doesn't do any of that.

Sure, his content is more intellectual than mine. Sure, his writing is clearer, his politics are more defined and his subject matter tends to be of world importance.

But I have boobs and mp3s. And really, what would you rather pay for - debates about the war and Hillary Clinton or games, music, sports, dirty limericks, sexual innuendos, stories of a very colorful life, boobs and mp3 and debates about the war and Hilary Clinton? Seriously folks, you're not getting your money's worth by throwing it at Sullivan again.

My tip jar is over to the right. I have two tip jars actually. And a wish list. I'll gladly quit my job and blog full time and take down the tip jars once and for all if, by some miracle, I end up with $80,000 by week's end.

Ok, so I have no illusion that blogging can become a full-time job with a decent salary. But I sure can hope for some extra cash to stock up on the tequila that allows me to get drunk enough to blog about boobs and Hillary Clinton in the same breath.

No, this isn't shameless begging. It's just my way of saying that I think Andrew Sullivan has a lot of nerve to ask for money again so soon after receiving more cash than some people make in a year at a labor-intensive job. And they still come home and blog some good shit every day.

I'm trying for righteous indignation today, but it's just not surfacing.

TrackBack

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference cash cow:

» Pledge Drive Fever from Silent Running
Six months after raking in 80K, Andrew Sullivan is trying to milk that cow again. Michele has some observations on that... In addition to boobs, and MP3s...... [Read More]

» Errr from Inoperable Terran
6 months after shocking the world by raising $80,000, Andrew Sullivan is begging again. Michele isn't impressed, and neither are the commenters.... [Read More]

» Sullivan is Cyberbusking again from Amish Tech Support
We've now discovered why Andrew was harping on the toppling of Howell Raines... he's got a peak in traffic, so might as well strike while the iron is hot and skim a few bucks off the flow. Andrew Sullivan has... [Read More]

» Blogs for Money from Baseball Musings
Andrew Sullivan is having a pledge drive. He had one six months ago that raised $80,000. Ever since that time I've toyed with the idea of having one of my own; that if I could raise tens of thousands of... [Read More]

» Go for it Andrew, you greedy Bastard! from Alieniloquent
Michele, over at A Small Victory had something to say about Andrew Sullivan's latest pledge drive. Six months ago Andrew... [Read More]

» We'd Like Some Money Too from The Daily Rant
Apparently, 80 grand isn't enough. I'm with Michele on this one. I like Andrew Sullivan and I often read his [Read More]

» Do you want more money? Sure! We all do! from Ain't too proud to blog
Back at the end of December, I blogged about Andrew Sullivan begging for cash to run his blog. In one week, he raised $79,020. Yep, that's right -- SEVENTY NINE THOUSAND DOLLARS and some change. His "salary" for blogging, if you will. But apparently, t... [Read More]

» The $80,000 question from dustbury.com
Michele wonders about Andrew Sullivan's semiannual "pledge weeks": I could entertain you as much as Sullivan can and for a [Read More]

» PLEDGE WEEK from OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY
Andrew Sullivan has launched another pledge drive: This site isn't free; I haven't sold it to a bigger media entity; as a professional writer whose... [Read More]

» Blogging, blegging, etc. from The Ankle Biter @ Quibbling.net
I had an interesting conversation with Tom this morning about blogs, the marketing of blogs, and tipjars. It was brought... [Read More]

Comments

Well, if the righteous indignation doesn't surface, there is always, ya know, boobs and mp3s...

Andrew who?

I gotta say, Michele, I've found yours to be one of the most well-rounded blogs... family, politics, boobs, all in a tell-it-like-it-is style. You've got the stones to rake the muck when you need to, but the sensitivity to tell great Mom stories, too. I prefer "real person" blogs like this, as opposed to a blog that is limited in its scope... but that's just me. That's where I'd rather throw my cash, if I was throwing. ;)

And I've thrown you more than cash, honeychile. cough Pokemon cough Don't tell me you've forgotten... wink

I agree with Gretchen. Your blog is the stuff nightmares are made of. I like that.

In the best year of my painting business, I made $42,000. That's before taxes, painting supplies, labor, etc. Now it's right around $30,000 a year - the net is between 16 - 18k. Sullivan made 4 times what I normally make in a year in his last pledge drive.

And didn't have to sweep up spilled (USED) Kitty litter out of someone's funky bathroom ONCE.

It is enough to make you cry. Or at least mist up a little.

Or maybe that's just the allergies.

AIN'T THAT THE FRIGGIN' TRUTH!!

And his opinion of self is only slightly higher than his reach for moola!

Heh! The man lives in his own little world, and it's not nearly as interesting as the one most of us inhabit. Lots of odd defensive positions and naivety and subsequent breaches of naivety over there on his planet. Kinda like Salon.com begging for cash, when they inhabit some of the most expensive office space in the country. I'd rather support tequila blogging.

Apparently, it's very expensive for Andrew to keep up his vendetta against his former employers. It must be that New York City cost of living.

Maybe the lboy ought to live somewhere that the cost of living is cheap so he can keep up his blogging ways for less dough. For what he pays for coffee and a cab, I can pay my cell phone bill for two months.

Here was my favorite part from his pledge post:

This site isn't free; I haven't sold it to a bigger media entity; as a professional writer whose time is increasingly taken up with the blog - over 500 emails and up to a dozen posts a day, sometimes seven days a week, around the clock - I need a salary of sorts. . . .

Aw, boo fucking hoo. Having to read all those e-mails and write all those posts must be so time-consuming. Imagine trying to do that and hold down a full-time job at the same time.

Hey, I've got a full time job and two kids. I still manage to put out a ton of (I hope) quality posts a day, plus manage Command Post and still spend quality time with my kids, help them with homework and projects, go to baseball games and recitals and get all my work done in a timely and professional manner at my job.

And I do it for free, because I love you.

He keeps citing increasing bandwidth costs as a reason to drive for pledges. His last drive raised 80,000? And 6 months later he wants more? How expensive is this guys bandwidth?

Unless he's having each TCP packet printed on cards and shuttled by mail courior from his house to the server, even a momumental increase in bandwidth needs shouldn't make much of a dent in that 80k. If they guy wants to get paid more, fine. Buy say so, don't pretend like the increadibly high cost of maintaining a website is forcing you to ask for money. Bandwidth isn't a significant expense in that man's tax bracket.

michele--Indeed. The only thing that distinguishes Sullivan from you (or Glenn, or Charles) is that he's a "professional" writer, which could be understood in one of three ways. 1) "Professional" in the sense that he doesn't do anything else for a living but write, to which I say who cares? He deserves to get paid for blogging just because he refuses to take a paying job in the real world? 2) "Professional" in the sense that he's got some pretty sweet Big Media credits to his name, which somehow makes his blog "worth more" than A Small Victory or InstaPundit or LGF. And I guess that's fine, although it's pretty ironic that a guy who spends most of his time cheerleading for blogs would think he deserves a bump in pay because he's got some "real" journalism on his resume. 3) "Professional" in the sense that his writing and insights are just a notch above the rest of the rank amateurs of the blogosphere. Which is bullshit.

I think blogging actually WILL become a full-time job in that bland marketing way...

I'd LOVE to see some big money company pay Michele to have an adventure (courtesy of their product)

(I know I already got a paid blogging gig for the movie, "I Love Your Work." and I have to say, the idea has promise)

I'm with Sean on the bandwidth issue. My bandwidth is pretty steep some months. I have a lot more graphics (and mp3s) than Andrew. I get Farked and Slashdotted frequently (and appear in major media too). So what? It's not breaking my wallet.

Michele, I just wanna know: which tip jar is for the right boob, and which is for the left?

That amount is 13x the amount of money I made last year....
and 3.2x the amount I will make this year. Shit. Apparantly I am in the wrong business.

"I have boobs, Andrew doesn't."

Give him time, dear. Give him time.

Michele, thanks for putting in writing something I have thought myself. If I thought I could raise 20 thousand in a pledge drive, I'd quit my job tomorrow and blog all day.

What I don't know, however, is how much his anti-HIV drugs cost. I can imagine them running into the tens of thousands of dollars, and I bet he doesn't have health insurance.

suvilin IM Puce as meat for gaysex

I admit I'm a major Andrew Sullivan groupie. Sometimes I even think it might be cool to follow him around the country in an old VW bus. I like Michele's blog just as much. It's apples and oranges, really.

I've never given him money. But if his site ever goes to subscription-only, I'd be the first to sign up. Same with Michele. I'm not averse to paying for quality, and I'm quite happy when people can make money doing what they love.

There, I said it. Now someone can deliver the smackdown on my ignorant ass. :)

Hmmm. $80,000. Donated. Which he considers a salary. Any read on what the IRS would think of that? Should we find out?

Tracy--It's taxable income.

Two points that Sully doesn't mention go into this.
1. HE HAS A STAFF - or at least a web guru! He's paying for someone else to do all the hard coding, IIRC.
2. HE GETS PAID FOR WRITING ELSEWHERE - Does he do all those London Times articles for free? I don't think so.

The man has a booking agent, staff and sells ads and has his own books in print. Why does he need a pledge drive?

But, if he can find the suckers to pay it, I guess it's more power to him.

Ya know, the boobs just don't do it for me. I dunno why that is....don't you have any....er, "toys" around? That might work, but in the meantime, I love EVERYTHING else. Really. :))
But you knew that.

More proof that gays are downtrodden....

Did someone say boobs?

Where?
When?

Boobs are cool!!!

The reason Andrew (or Glen for that matter) receive major media attention is because they are "safe" blogs. Even as they tout the praises of blogging they have never actually done the one thing that most people that have blogged for long enough have done. That is, to give out the personal goods and knock down the fake barriers of what kind of content is suitable. They embrace blogging and yet have no clue on what variety there is out there or have any desire to break from their pseudo-journalistic daily diatribes. Their links list may be long, but their interests are narrow and the majority of what they link to are those trying to be pseudo-journalists too.

I don't give a shit about blogging. It's a fictional concept and every attempt to define it proves elusive and the conclusions made reek of half-truths. Hopefully, people will start to become aware of this fact someday and turn their attention and energies from the meta-blogging jibber-jabber and into experiments in content. It doesn't come as much of a surprise that those that can't blog teach.

So when you support Andrew, you actually support his two-faced play on blogging. You support his obsession with being a professional journalist instead of an axe-grinding bore afraid to stray far from the traditional confines of publishing on his own damn website. Of course, I could be wrong. I bore easily whenever I visit that place.

You on the other hand, Michele don't bore. I'll admit that I really didn't enjoy the political mudslinging that seemed a lot more prevalent only a month or so ago. But I veer center left and a bit libertarian (but I hate labels). I also get all worked up when things turn political and I've tried to break away from that. I've given you crap for a lot of things I was doing myself. And people have told me things that have gotten me to take a step back and look past all the poltical gobbledy guck.

Sure blogging can be a great way to get attention, but it's best purpose is to give you a seat in a kind of global conference room and get what ever it is off your chest so you can face the world with something more than silent indifference. If people don't think that's worth a tip in the bucket, they can fuck off. It shouldn't discourage you. I'll leave you with a quote from one of my favorite authors.

The great thing about being ignored is that you can speak the truth with impunity. -Steve Aylett, from Toxicology

I don't get that shit but hey, more power to him if he can get that kind of money. Personally, I'd give you money before any other blogger out there. Yours is the first blog I read every morning and I always find it gives me something to think about time and time again.

Sullivan was the first blog I have discovered. I used to like it because of what I thought were his unusual (for a gay person) political views, but stopped reading a while ago - just got bored with his "professionalism", I guess. What I mean is that his writing is not as interesting or unusual as his views. Still, I don't see what all the fuss is about. He is asking for money. Those readers who think it is worth it, should donate, those who don't - should stop reading. His finances are nobody's business, but whoever brought up the HIV drugs has a good point. BTW, I don't think he lives in NYC, does he?

Frankly, you're blog is much more interesting that Sullivan's. (IMO of course)

As I recall, one of the reasons Sullivan wanted the money last time was to have paid staff (at least one), on top of the web guy.

So if he's burning through the money because he's giving the guys who work for him professional-level salaries, well, good.

You had me at "boobs"...

I generally agree with the post and with most of your attitudes towards his begging. Let me say this, though, if I had a way to supplement my income through my blog I would do so immediately.

If people chip in and give me 80 grand, I promise I will drive to each of their homes and make a post from each of their computers. And make them sweet tea. And maybe a foot rub, if their feet aren't all gross. Unless they give more than a grand, in which case I'll just suck it up, wear gloves, and put a thin line of VapoRub under my nose like Jodie Foster in Silence Of The Lambs when she had to handle that dead girl.

Man, $80K would set me up for a good long time. I can only dream of that kind of money.

However, having worked in health care and seeing first-hand the outrageous expense involved in managing HIV (even with health insurance), I can see how Sullivan would be burning through the money.

I wonder if "John" has ever actually read Instapundit or Andrew Sullivan. That rant reminded me a lot of Michael Moore's oscar speech. Bloggers write about things that interest them, and about things they think other people will find interesting. The idea that not everybody finds it interesting to be profane and provide near-pornographic personal details is apparently too complex for John to understand.

Reynold's appeal is based on his intelligence and his balanced approach to politics, not on clever writing or interesting personal adventures. He's a good news filter and commentator. Why the fuck would I want him to write about his personal life? His personal life is probably really boring. Most peoples' are.

And there's nothing interesting about "knocking down the fake barriers of what kind of content is suitable". A trite and boring person who says "fuck" a lot is still a trite and boring person. Only a child thinks being "edgy" is the same as being interesting.

As far as I'm concerned, anyone who EXPECTS to be able to earn a living from blogging is just begging to be shown otherwise. If you think you're Pulitzer Prize material as a writer, you ought to be out looking for a real job in that field. If you have a real job and your blog is causing problems, it might be a good idea to cut back on the blog.

And apart from all that, you should never underestimate the power of boobs. ;-)

I don't be ticklin' or nothin', either.

Dan you seemed to have glossed over what I wrote. And what's with the third person?

I said I don't read them. I get bored too quickly. I haven't seen the objectivity you do. I see contractions and personal vendettas galore.

You like opinions and people linking to news. Fine. I don't care about what you like. I like the people rather than their opinions and what they link to. I haven't seen a novel thing done by either of those writers. Please, point me to an example!

Those trite and boring people don't interest me either. You're reading way past me here.

hey..if any of you reaaly wnt to give money...goto my site and give me money...so i can get off of blogspot and run moveabletype!!!!
geeesh...he raised how much?? heck i only need about 300 (100 for the website upgrade, 150 for moveabletype and poss 40 so the can install it hey..have never ran it before heh)
oh...btw...the site is not officailly launched yet so there is nothing ther except test post.. should launch by thursday
i should just shut up and get back to fixing my website...good job michele

Um, can somebody direct me to the "boobs" section of the blog?

Hey, if I bring my gigantic mp3 collection and even bigger boobies to the table can I get a piece of that action? :-)

Hey, John -- what's trite and boring is in the eye of the beholder, eh? Why, someone might even find you trite and boring -- shocking, I know.

Ooh, look! Alliteration! Right there on the innernut! We are not worthy:

"burgeoning behemoth of corporate compassion."

You're walkin' the razor's edge, man, walkin' the razor's edge. No really, my monitor iced up when I clicked on your site, the coolness was so intense. And phrases like "neo-conservative stench" -- aren't you afraid Ashcroft's jackbooted minions will break down your door? I would be.

Yes Andrea, my words were exactly "you must be on the edge for me to like what you write" and I did say that "my taste is supreme and I NEVER engage in playful hyperbole."

But then, I could have said, "Of course, I could be wrong. I bore easily whenever I visit that place."

Hmmm, well I do know one thing, I've read more than one post before I made my comment.

Aren't we supposed to start chanting "Show your tits" at some point?

... I think Andrew Sullivan has a lot of nerve to ask for money again so soon...

You call it nerve, I call it free enterprise at its very best. That's like saying I've got a lot of nerve taking my full salary when a lot of people live on half what I make. The way I see it, as long as you make it legally, make ALL YOU CAN as fast as you can, because you never know when the well will dry up.

I've seen the boobies, and they're pretty good. Little small, but hey...

Since when is a 36C small?? I've been told that's a perfect size!

I don't care how good his blog is. Raising THAT much money and then asking again 6 months later is about a million times worse than Wil Wheaton asking for money to take his wife out for dinner, and he got his arse kicked for that. I think I've got myself a new target of ridicule!

ok, excuse me...but you have got to be fucking kidding me. $80k? I don't know that I've ever seen $80k in my life, much less had it given to me.

Granted, I've never read his blog (and it's also my first time here, so hi!), but I don't care how dazzling your writing is, there damn well better be some boobs if I'm going to shell out my hard-earned cash.

Tip jars are good. I don't mind those. Donations give everyone the warm and fuzzy, but $80k!?!?

Maybe he bought some boobs.

sorry, but nobody will ever replace wil as a target of ridicule. andrew can stand alongside.

More details in my blog (how's that for a shameless plug)? I'll be commenting on this tonight or tomorrow morning (CA time).

But I think Andrew's site is worth subscribing to because it's my starting point every day when I do my blog review. I go there for analyais of hard news. I go other places for links, more news, and so forth. As far as I'm concerned, I'd love to subscribe to him and contribute more to my other favorites. Just as soon as I get my tip jar installed on my blog--along, I suppose, with a picture of my 34DDs, since we've decided that it's respectable to inject boobage into bloggage.

And Andrew would probably make $150-$200K if he were the Editor of a big-city magazine. Which he's probably qualified to be. He's trying to do this his way, and I wish him godspeed. I'm sure his meds are expensive, and he'd like them covered by his salary. But so far it's a modest salary, and it he's going to be travelling a lot to do commentary on the political campains he'll need a lot more money.

What we really need are a lot of non-bloggers--people who read blogs, but don't blog themselves. They are the ones who should be infusing our "industry" with money that we can then re-distribute among ourselves. I call on ALL NON-BLOGGERS to send contributions to THEIR THREE FAVORITE SITES. If this happens enough, we'll all be doing a lot better.

has anyone called the IRS on this shithead? i'm sure they'd love a piece of his $80k (and you know damned well he didn't report it on his return).

michele, you make an excellent point: "So not only are you a subscriber if you give, you are his boss in a way. Or at least a shareholder in AndrewSullivan.com." i think that entitles all of his "shareholders" to an exact accounting as to where that $80k went in six months, as well as some stock grants.

I kinda gotta tell ya, I'm hearing what sounds like a lot of sour grapes in these comments. Lots of people saying that they make less money than Sullivan does, so that when he says he wants to make more, he's a shithead or a greedy fuck.

Nope. He's a professional writer. It's not his hobby. He makes a living as a writer. He wants to be paid for his writing. Why does it matter if he makes money in the traditional print publishing world or on the Internet? How much should a writer make? Are we going to set a salary limit for people who write? How much is too much?

He's a writer. He has name recognition. He wants to be paid for his work. So far, 500 people have paid him this week and over 5000 have paid him this year. Seems to me he has a willing audience. What's the problem?

BTW, I'm sure he did pay taxes on that money. The donations go to his company, asdotcom, LLC. Why would you assume he cheats on his taxes?

Sorry, but you all sound jealous of his success.

You hex Roger Clemens??? You are SO added to my links today.

Rock on, righteous girl.

Andrew Sullivan? Save your indignation for someone more worthy.

Meanwhile, keep that hex going, girl! Make Roger try at least 10 times for number 300! That's big time humiliation for one who deserves nothing less.

Just for the record, I never mentioned anything about taxes.

Lotsa sour grapes (not from you, Michele). I say respect to AS. If he can pull in $90,000 through his website then good for him. I think he's a superb writer, and it's not like he's forcing anyone to pay. If you don't like it, then don't donate, and don't read his blog.

There's plenty of room in this for all of us. On the one hand, there's Sullivan, who's part of the metropolitan media elite, with all the insider's advantages that brings, and then there's Michele, who has boobs and mp3's. Mmm, boobs. And the great thing is, it's not either/or. You can read The Daily Dish, and then you can can read A Samll Victory (or vice versa).

Yes, I do know how to spell 'small'

It's much easier to just never read Sullivan and ignore the whole discussion. I gave up on him months ago after one of his crazed rants about circumcision (I saw plenty of that garbage from spammers on Usenet and don't need it from my bloggers). I've not missed it at all. ANY interesting topic get picked up by Instapundit and/or NRO so it's not like Sullivan provides anything unique (other than his addled ranting which I can do without).

What David said.

I pay bout $70.00 to watch some good guys beat the crap out of bad guys in the movies every year. But I got to see Andrew maul Richard Goldstein in New York before a cheering audience - for free. More often than not, I enjoy seeing a gay man box with the big boys and the big girls than, say, watch Leo di Caprio playing Rambo in "The Beach." So, I wouldn't mind shelling out some cash to see Andrew and a few other sites here and there dish it out (though I haven't donated a cent yet - but I will, hopefully soon) For now, I am just happy all the fighting is free becuase donors have made it so.

So....where are the boobs?

mg: So... where are the boobs?

Apparently they are all over at Andrew Sullivan's site, clicking on the PayPal button.

I think Andrew Sullivan deserves any cash that people decide to send his way. No one told him to set up a site, or write every day, or for people to go and read what he has to say. If he feels he can ask for donations to defray the costs of running the site, well apparently he's right. It's a business, obviously!

The beauty of it all is that no one forces anyone to pay, but that plenty of people feel okay about ponying up $20. Yay capitalism, yay internet, yay blogs.

BTW, I think a small victory is the best "personal" blog out there. Michele's place is well balanced, interesting, opinionated, and not afraid of much. We should all be so lucky. I s'pose I should be seeking out that tip jar...

----Brian

Ooops, fergot my email.

Of course I am jealous of Andy's money. I am jealous of EVERYONE'S money.

But I keep thinking: exactly How much did Hillary Rodham Clinton get advanced for that not-even-trashy piece of self-aggrandizement she just published? I believe it was 100 times as much as Sullivan pulled in. Hell, we get to hear more trash about Sullivan's beagle than what Clinton dished out in that bloated autofanzine.

But one suggestion to Andrew: If I am to donate to a site, especially one that already made 80,000 this year:

A. I DO NOT WANT TO SEE "POWERED BY BLOGGER". You're paying someone to design and maintain a Blogger "powered" site?

B. I want VALID CODE. I mean, you're paying someone to build your site and they can't even put encoding information on your main page?

C. MUST HAVE PERMALINKS. See also letter A.

Michele, you SO deserve it as much as Andy does. Along with the boobs, add buffed pecs and biceps to the menu and you can count on my donation.

I mean, Sully's gay and he doesn't offer biceps and pecs along with the axe grinding? Hell, let's add that to the list of demands:

D. PECS & BICEPS

I actually made a contribution when Sullivan asked last December and I'm glad I did. One of the reasons I paid to support his site is quite simple: he asked. I don't mean he pointed out his tip jar, I mean he had the balls to ask and to make a case for why it was important. I appreciate that he believes that his content is important and that his work has value. Because I agreed with him, I sent in some money. If you object to it, that's fine, don't send any money in. But don't vilify the guy just because he's both talented and willing to ask you to support him. You visit the site voluntarily, no one is making you give -- it seems less obnoxious than the parents in my office who are always putting candy out for us to buy to support some school project.

And as others point out, the money hasn't been going into his pocket -- it is to provide salary for those who help him. And if some of it goes to support him, that's fine with me. Heck, he's probably read by more people every day than my local newspaper and his delivery is a lot more reliable.

I never understand why people begrudge the success and talent of others.

When do the boobs surface ... ? And love means you get it ... for free? :-)

Jeebus...Morford. Like Krugman without the nuance. Lurking at sfgate.com like a perv at a playground.

No wonder SF is a one-newspaper town.

Cheers, f_a

A guy did a blog, asked for money and received it. What's the big deal? If you don't like it, don't pay. Isn't it as simple as that?

Me, I'm just jealous of him. I had my only pledge week last week -- stated clearly it was for needed dental work I couldn't afford, and raised $140 dollars ($70 of it from one person.) $80 K is more than I earn from my real job in three years! How did he go through it so quickly? I guess I just need a million more readers like he has, and a lot more talent...

By the way, I'm very grateful for that $140. I'm just astounded at the numbers Andrew pulls in...

So many comments on...well, all these comments.

John: my eyes start to glaze over whenever people start talking about "revolutionizing" or "experimenting" in "content" - the very fact that so many people can BE pseudo-journalists, pseudo-literati, pseudo-interesting is revolutionary enough.

Yaaaaay, Andrew! Hope you make more than $80K this time around. Money creates money; if Sully creates a market the rest of us can use to make more money ourselves, more poiwer to him. And remember - nobody's making you give a dime.

I'm just happy that my blog has been self-supporting for the last eight months.

I agree with Greg. If you like it, tip. If not, move along - life's too short to worry about stuff like that.

Now about them boobs . . .

So when do I get to see them? Not the MP3s, although we can talk on that.

So, no takers on that sweet tea/foot rub/personal blog visit thing? Anyone?

shit

what he SHOULD have done is hire 4 ghost writers to do his blog, and then he'd get $8 million.. and then he could just make up shit.. oh wait.. I was thinking of someone else

Who is Andrew Sullivan? Andrew Sullivan and $80k? That's kind of hard to believe. Where's his paypal stubs? You can donate to me... I used to support the idea that if people keep an updated entertaining site, they could put up a donation button for volutary donations. But this is open for debate. Most of the free internet is becoming payservice. Bandwidth is a good point. Running a website takes time and effort. Plus you have to maintain it. I don't know what bandwidth is, but I know people don't like to pay for it. Of course, like I said Open for debate.

You can donate to me... Talk with you guys later.