Inside TWiT

About Your Donation

A number of people have been asking me about our choice to ask for donations instead of taking advertising or requiring a subscription. Let me explain our thinking.

First, there are a number of good reasons not to take ads. One, I hate ads and I know you do, too. Two, we really wanted to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest. We are all fiercely independent and bloody minded, and love the idea of doing a show that's ours alone. The only people we want to be beholden to is you, the listener.

Nor do we want to require a subscription. TWiT is free and always will be. No one HAS to subscribe or donate. But there are expenses associated with doing the show, and if there's some capital we can invest in making the show better.

Your donation does help us do a better show, pay contributors, and the like. The good news is that people are coming through in a big way. We have over 125,000 listeners and around 2,000 donors and growing fast. That's more than we ever expected, and we're very grateful.

I made it $2 because it's such a small amount I thought nearly everyone could afford it. (Less than one latte or a gallon of gas a month.) But I know not everyone can, and TWiT will always be free.

Due to bandwidth costs we may consider offering the show early to paying subscribers, but that's the only restriction we'd contemplate. Giving does have its benefits.

Lots of companies want to offer coupon codes and so on. You'll get much more than $2/month in value from your subscription, don't worry. Everyone who has contributed in any way will be getting regular mailings with offers. (And no, I'm not selling your address. No one gets that - I'll be managing the mailings personally.) The only reason I prefer subscriptions is that it guarantees us a steady stream we can count on. I think a lot of people will donate once and then forget about it. Our expenses are continuous. About 2/3rd of contributors choose the recurring donation - 33% monthly, 33% yearly. But any gift is more than welcome.

Please email me with your concerns, comments, or suggestions. Thanks VERY much.

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