Why I am making all my posts free

And what I'll be giving to supporters from now on.

Starting today, all posts are free.

Since this blog's inception, I've written over 130 posts, many of them full-blown technical articles or essays on topics related to AI, computer science, education, philosophy, and technology.

Of these, 15 posts have been at least partially paywalled, totaling between 30,000 and 40,000 words of exclusive content that hasn't been available for most of you —although I’ve given a couple thousand months' worth of complimentary subscriptions.

According to Substack, this blog has raised over 1.3k in gross annual revenue (a concept I'm still struggling to understand because you see way, way less than what that number seems to imply once everyone involved takes their cut). But as proud as I am of that number, I'm much prouder of the nearly 50,000 total reads my public articles have earned.

I decided early on that most of my educational content would be open, and only the most time-sensitive and opinionated topics would be exclusive. Still, some of my best pieces fall into this last category, and most of you haven't read them!

So here's the deal: I'm a teacher at heart, and I want these articles to reach as many potentially interested learners as possible, regardless of your possibility and/or willingness to pay for them. So, starting today, all my technical articles and essays are free, past and future. Full period.

Is this sustainable in the long term?

To be honest, I’m not trying to turn this blog into a full-time job. I already have two of those —besides parenting, which is also a full-time job, as many of you surely know. But as a pragmatist, I understand sustainability is necessary, no matter how “pure” your ideals are. So, yes, I want my educational content to reach as far and wide as possible, but I also need to make it in a way that doesn’t suck all my resources. Otherwise, I will eventually have to stop.

To keep this blog sustainable, I will continue to offer extra perks for paid subscribers. In fact, I’m adding new perks as we speak (well, as you read this) and planning even more soon. It’s just that paywalled content will no longer be the primary value proposition of a paid subscription.

I sincerely believe there are plenty of reasons why a paid subscription would be extremely valuable to some people, but I totally understand if you’re not interested in it. And I hope sustainability also comes from alternative sources such as books and other compilations.

What's in for supporters, then?

Glad you asked!

To begin with, all current paid subscribers just got their subscriptions extended for an entire year. This is me saying thank you for your support so far. You’ve made this last year incredibly rewarding for me, so please accept this token of appreciation.

Second, I will send supporters draft links of all educational posts at least a few weeks before they go public, sometimes much sooner. This is a way for me to get much-appreciated early feedback and for you to help me decide what to prioritize. Your input on these drafts will help define my writing topics and their depth and breadth. You will also receive all final versions in your inbox one week ahead of everyone else.

Third, I will continue to offer full discounts on all my current and future books. I have two in the making and at least a couple of ideas for two more, which will be announced later this year. Also, whenever possible, I’ll give you discount codes for the printed versions so you can get them at shipping cost.

Fourth, I’m creating a private space in my Discord server for supporters. I’ll be available each week to answer whatever technical or other questions you may have that I can help you with. I plan to call it “office hours” and make an official announcement when everything is set up.

Last but not least, you’ll always have my eternal gratitude and the promise that you can email me anytime you think I can help you out. ❤️

---

And that’s all for today. Here’s a link to previously paywalled content that you can read now for free. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it.