Three years of crowdfunded research | Andy Matuschak on Patreon

Note: I'll probably publish this publicly in the next few days, as a sort of public service for others interested in membership-funded research. I’m an independent researcher. That’s an unusual position, for sure—but what’s even more unusual is that 2022 was my third year as a crowdfunded independent researcher. My primary income is, and has been, a membership program. Most researchers answer to a few grantmaking committees; I answer to hundreds of internet strangers. The funny thing is that they don’t quite feel like strangers anymore. In 2020, I viewed my membership program simply as a funding source, a way to pay my bills without contorting myself through grant applications. But slowly, spontaneously, the program has grown into something much more central and vivid in my creative life. Now it’s a compelling rhythm, a context that scaffolds and energizes my work. Three years in, the membership program is still evolving, and so are my feelings about it. But here’s a snapshot for the n

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• Judah Newman