Thursday, December 5, 2019
I was an easy mark today. I was doing a google search for some information and I clicked on a Wikipedia page. I am not pro or anti Wikipedia. Wikipedia has good points and bad points. Good point = anybody can edit the material. Bad point = anybody can edit the material. The times I have gotten information from Wikipedia, it was reliable.
Today there was a message at the top of the page I clicked. It read: “To all our readers in the U.S., It's a little awkward, so we'll get straight to the point: This Thursday we humbly ask you to defend Wikipedia's independence. 98% of our readers don’t give; they simply look the other way. We depend on donations averaging $16.36. If you donate just $2.75, the price of a cup of coffee, Wikipedia could keep thriving. Your donation will go towards projects that support access to education, free knowledge, and personal privacy. If Wikipedia gave you $2.75 worth of knowledge this year, take a minute to donate. Show the volunteers working to bring you access to reliable, neutral information that their work matters to you. Thank you.”
I loved the simple, straight-forward request. I may have clicked on a Wikipedia page maybe ten times (probably less) in the past year. I doubt that Wikipedia gave me $2.75 worth of knowledge this year. That did not stop me from rolling to my wallet and getting my credit card. I donated $5.00. Wikipedia, however, was not finished with me. When I clicked donate, a check box popped up; it read: “I'll generously add $0.35 to cover the transaction fees so you can keep 100% of my donation.”
I laughed so hard at the audacity and truthfulness of the request, you know I checked the box and gave them the 35 cents. The laugh alone was worth my $5.35. I miss directness in advertising. We need to make money to keep our businesses afloat. Fees are involved with credit card transactions and they add up.
My seven-year-old, Mika, has a YouTube channel. I set up a Patreon account for her in July as a way to start monetizing her channel. Patreon.com is a platform where patrons can pledge a monthly amount to pay creators to help support their efforts. Mika got a $1 patron, who we do not know, in July and in November, a friend became a $5 patron so now Mika gets $6 total per month. After 5% to Patreon (I think their fees are fair, they provide the platform) and credit card processing costs, that $6 is $5.10. It ends up being 10% total credit card processing costs because the two amounts are low and there is a transaction fee for each one.
Please do not get me wrong, Mika is thrilled with $5.10; she was thrilled with $0.80. She is proud that she gets to say she is a paid YouTuber. Mika is on track to make $114 for her first year (She got $100 cash from my sister). Unfortunately, Mika needs to reimburse me for spilling a Sonic Blast on the way home from Nebraska in August and destroying my video camera, causing me to purchase a new one. Perhaps she will make a profit in 2020.
Wikipedia has a hefty bank account and my $5.35 does not really matter to them. Once upon a time Wikipedia was small. They probably started with investors and were never a micro business, like Mika’s YouTube channel, but I think back to that day in July and the happiness on her face when I told Mika she had a $1 patron. It was some random stranger who was willing to give one dollar a month to fund a child’s dream and we are grateful.
My piece of advice to you is to be an easy mark sometimes. Become a patron for an artist through Patreon. Donate to the photographer of that free photo you got from Pixabay. Every one of them is hoping to make that first $1.
Until next time,
Susanne
Please check out my GoFundMe page.
I was an easy mark today. I was doing a google search for some information and I clicked on a Wikipedia page. I am not pro or anti Wikipedia. Wikipedia has good points and bad points. Good point = anybody can edit the material. Bad point = anybody can edit the material. The times I have gotten information from Wikipedia, it was reliable.
Today there was a message at the top of the page I clicked. It read: “To all our readers in the U.S., It's a little awkward, so we'll get straight to the point: This Thursday we humbly ask you to defend Wikipedia's independence. 98% of our readers don’t give; they simply look the other way. We depend on donations averaging $16.36. If you donate just $2.75, the price of a cup of coffee, Wikipedia could keep thriving. Your donation will go towards projects that support access to education, free knowledge, and personal privacy. If Wikipedia gave you $2.75 worth of knowledge this year, take a minute to donate. Show the volunteers working to bring you access to reliable, neutral information that their work matters to you. Thank you.”
I loved the simple, straight-forward request. I may have clicked on a Wikipedia page maybe ten times (probably less) in the past year. I doubt that Wikipedia gave me $2.75 worth of knowledge this year. That did not stop me from rolling to my wallet and getting my credit card. I donated $5.00. Wikipedia, however, was not finished with me. When I clicked donate, a check box popped up; it read: “I'll generously add $0.35 to cover the transaction fees so you can keep 100% of my donation.”
I laughed so hard at the audacity and truthfulness of the request, you know I checked the box and gave them the 35 cents. The laugh alone was worth my $5.35. I miss directness in advertising. We need to make money to keep our businesses afloat. Fees are involved with credit card transactions and they add up.
My seven-year-old, Mika, has a YouTube channel. I set up a Patreon account for her in July as a way to start monetizing her channel. Patreon.com is a platform where patrons can pledge a monthly amount to pay creators to help support their efforts. Mika got a $1 patron, who we do not know, in July and in November, a friend became a $5 patron so now Mika gets $6 total per month. After 5% to Patreon (I think their fees are fair, they provide the platform) and credit card processing costs, that $6 is $5.10. It ends up being 10% total credit card processing costs because the two amounts are low and there is a transaction fee for each one.
Please do not get me wrong, Mika is thrilled with $5.10; she was thrilled with $0.80. She is proud that she gets to say she is a paid YouTuber. Mika is on track to make $114 for her first year (She got $100 cash from my sister). Unfortunately, Mika needs to reimburse me for spilling a Sonic Blast on the way home from Nebraska in August and destroying my video camera, causing me to purchase a new one. Perhaps she will make a profit in 2020.
Wikipedia has a hefty bank account and my $5.35 does not really matter to them. Once upon a time Wikipedia was small. They probably started with investors and were never a micro business, like Mika’s YouTube channel, but I think back to that day in July and the happiness on her face when I told Mika she had a $1 patron. It was some random stranger who was willing to give one dollar a month to fund a child’s dream and we are grateful.
My piece of advice to you is to be an easy mark sometimes. Become a patron for an artist through Patreon. Donate to the photographer of that free photo you got from Pixabay. Every one of them is hoping to make that first $1.
Until next time,
Susanne
Please check out my GoFundMe page.