Why WOLF STREET Will Stay Free and Won’t Use “Ad-Blocker Blockers” But Needs Your Support.
People ask me what my exit strategy is, and my answer is always this: I’m going to keep doing WOLF STREET until my brain freezes over.
I’m having a blast. I have the worst slave-driver boss in the world, but that boss is me, and he makes me struggle with new things every day. WOLF STREET now has a fairly big readership (for being the little guy), and all these readers out there – all of you – give me purpose. In other words, I have the best job in the world. And I thank all of you for it.
WOLF STREET wouldn’t exist without you. I’m the little guy scurrying around between the boots of giants. And I’m ecstatic that we’ve made it this far without getting crushed.
Back in February, I vowed to continue WOLF STREET as a free publication, not hidden behind a paywall. Erecting a paywall and switching to a subscription model is the biggest no-brainer in the history of mankind, and a lot of publications are now going that route. But it doesn’t fit my goals in life.
This is likely my last gig, and I’m going to keep it fun.
The work I do for WOLF STREET readers adds meaning and purpose to my life. I love being open to the world. Anyone is welcome here. And I thank everyone for coming.
Some of you come just for the articles and never dare to dive below the line into the hurly-burly world of comments (you’re missing out!).
Others never read the articles and go straight for the comments, and some of you have told me that even, GRRRR. But yes, the WOLF STREET comments are a great place to hang out.
And others “come for the articles and stay for the comments,” as commenter Ripp pointed out.
Whatever the reason for coming to WOLF STREET, thank you!
I could make more money, and possibly quite a bit more, with a subscription model. But it would change my focus from digging into complex and often arcane economic issues to trying to rope in subscribers. There would be “churn,” and just to stay even, I’d have to spend a lot of effort marketing my site. And the comments behind a paywall would wither.
Now I spend zero effort on marketing. Every ounce of energy goes into the stuff I post on a daily basis. And I love that. I don’t want to change this focus. And the comments are vibrant and open, and I want to keep it that way. And so WOLF STREET will remain free for all, that’s my promise. Because I’m happier that way.
No “ad-blocker blocker” either.
And WOLF STREET won’t block ad blockers either. The ad-blocker blockers are the latest craze in this battle over ad dollars. You have already seen that many major and not-so-major publications will no longer let you access their content if you use an ad blocker or a browser like Firefox that blocks most ads by default. This technology of blocking ad-blockers is relatively new, and it’s taking over like wildfire.
I get why websites use ad-blocker blockers: Ad blockers cut revenues to websites. And so these publications are fighting back. I get that.
And I totally get why readers use ad blockers. The ad technology on many sites is so aggressive that the site is nearly impossible to read without ad blockers. I understand why people don’t want to engage in hand-to-hand combat with ads. And so you will continue to be welcome to read WOLF STREET while using an ad blocker.
But WOLF STREET needs your support.
Some of you have asked me to send a reminder out once or twice a year. So here is my first one ever – the inaugural reminder to donate to WOLF STREET.
Many of you have already generously donated. I’m immensely appreciative for each and every donation. I also love the little notes some of you add with the donation. They’re heart-warming. Thank you so much. This site depends on you.
The donate button takes you to WOLF STREET’s PayPal page where you can use your debit or credit card. Tip: On that page, enter the amount you wish to donate before you click the “Debit or Credit Card” button, or else it doesn’t work:
Or you also can mail a check to:
Wolf Street Corp
1288 Columbus Ave. #196
San Francisco, CA 94133
Thank-you gesture: a WOLF STREET beer mug if you donate $100 or more.
I still have some of these wonderful and funny “Nothing Goes to Heck in a Straight Line” beer mugs (see photo below) at my media mogul empire headquarters. This is a wrap-around design. On the other side (not visible in the photo below) is a hilarious wolf, which would be me, that is howling the line you see.
I will personally send you one of these beer mugs (while supply lasts) to thank you for your very generous donation of $100 or more if your address is in the US.
To receive the beer mug, please make sure to include in the PayPal form, or in a note if you mail a check, your US address and phone number. FedEx won’t ship without your phone number.
I appreciate your support immensely. It tells me that you like what we’re doing and that it matters to you!
Enjoy reading WOLF STREET and want to support it? You can donate. I appreciate it immensely. Click on the beer and iced-tea mug to find out how:
Would you like to be notified via email when WOLF STREET publishes a new article? Sign up here.
I don’t use an ad blocker on this site. Is that good enough?
A good client of mine ( and friend) just got me a Mug for my Birthday and one for himself too.
I believe they will be useful to help us digest all that is coming at us.
Upstate,
As has been suggested by “Unamused” (??), if things go wrong, the WOLF STREET beer mugs can also be used a shot glasses.
heya Wolf, I finally got that 100.00 donation off to you today. I tried a couple weeks ago but paypal was not cooperating. I sure would love a mug if there are any left. It looks BIG! We are going to need it. Keep up the great work, love this site come every day:) Frequently link to others as well
Bet,
Thank you!! Yes there are some mugs left (quite a few, actually). Yes, it’s pretty big. The beer you see in it is from a standard 12-oz bottle, and there is room left at the top. So if you top it off, you might get 15 oz into the mug.
OK Wuff made me laugh!
@Lance Manly
Is a handful of pennies good enough for the education you receive from wolfstreet.com?
Who would pay for this stuff if it was behind a paywall? Just being realistic, site is entertaining but basic caters to doom and gloomers who probably are preppers. I am not sure how anyone can invest off this stuff.
Stock market is ripping up and to the right
“site is entertaining but basic caters to doom and gloomers who probably are preppers”
ha! the only prepping I do is packing a diaper bag on my way to Disneyland.
I am fairly certain this site pulls from a wide variety of people and belief systems (albeit some a little less palatable than others). I discovered this site for the housing data. I’m not active on the “finance market” whatsoever, but find the conversations about it all riveting. And I’ve come across some of the more insightful observations on the economy here. A few of these commenters deserve their own site. (*ahem Unamused*).
And nothing on the internet today beats a JSRG vs Wolf debate.
You have made reasonable arguments.
@girl in oc
Who is jsrg?
I assume I have seen / read what u speak of but, JSRG isn’t ringing A bells
RagnarD,
“Just Some Random Guy”
GirlInOC – Yeah it’s housing that brought me here. There was a constellation of housing bubble sites leading up to the actual bubble burst, like Dr. Housing Bubble, Professor Piggington’s, etc., and a few are still around but since they were proven right they kind of lost a lot of their pizazz. But this place covers housing, stocks, shipping, cars, all kinds of things.
Not that someone like me can afford stocks, housing, cars, etc. but it’s interesting to read about.
And yes, Unamused keeps me amused!
Wolf Richter provides a data driven MBA style analysis of many topics. I have used his perspective to shape the balancing of my portfolio – to my benefit. I also pay other “macro” type sites and services for information but Wolf’s insight is actionable and I really appreciate his efforts as well as his writing voice.
Lol. Always thought Wolf was kinda optimistic. With that being said, yeah, my bear fur is a little hot and itchy, but it’s about more than just stocks you know. Some of us actually live out in the real world.
Actually, we come here because it is NOT a ‘doomer’ site: the situation is – if one is an intelligent observer – rather grim…..
I’m not a prepper, but I do have a huge woodshed and some beautiful axes – no utility or bank can cut me off from that.
Juts a sensible way to live, if you can do so.
I have no issue with so called prepping or anyone who is well prepared or self sufficient. However when it morphs into investing it can be deleterious to one’s net worth if the impulse is not rationally controlled. For example always being bearish despite evidence to the contrary.
My “preps” are pretty much skills (I survived the Starving Seventies as a kid and if that doesn’t make you at least fairly adept at foraging, fishing, scrounging, etc. then you weren’t there) and things like the 100lbs or so of dry Italian spaghetti I recently dumpster dived; I can always get water from the rather shallow water table here, and so on.
I have no illusions; if we have the kind of crash the “survivalists” pine for, I’m toast. So are 99.99% of them.
I’m hoping to get out of the US if possible, to a less “f*ck you, I’ve got mine!” society, to retire.
Wolf,
“I am not sure how anyone can invest off this stuff.”
Suggestion – Ads for inverse/shorting ETFs,
which are also a very interesting topic in and of themselves.
Specifically, why the highest PE stocks tend not to have their own focused inverse ETFs.
Gold is ripping up and to the right.
This site is the only site on the ZH banner that is not blocked for comments.
Well ALT is open, but Brandon deletes virtually all posts, unless you 100% support what he is saying.
Saker too, will allow some posts, but you have stick within their narrative.
The thing is all forums are pretty much the same, and sponsored by the same narrative.
Wolf too, its not much open to ideas other than his own narrative, if I were Wolf I would use this more as an opportunity to learn, rather than a means to collect pennys.
Hm I dunno about that. Wolf allows me on here and I’m almost the antithesis of this site. I’m 10 years younger than the average, $1 million less wealthy, and inhabit a Universe so different from the reality of those here and I’ve jokingly called myself a fluorine-based life form.
And yet, Wolf has actually asked me to write for him! Of course I turned the offer down, because what do I have to offer? I’m not playing with $millions$ in the the stock market, don’t own a string of apartment buildings, and can’t produce the kind of charts and graphs that would do an astrologer proud, that this site thrives on.
But it’s far from “mere tolerance” that Wolf would actually extend this offer. Like Spock mind-melding with the Horta to at least determine that the rest of the crew were pissing it off by stomping on the thing’s eggs, that Wolf doesn’t simply ban me says he’s willing to post some pretty extremely opposite views.
You could comment on the real economy, Alex. It’s 100% out of synch with Wall Street and the Emerald City in Washington.
Ad blockers: two things I hate: 1. Opening a web page and a video ad immediately kicking off. I immediately close the page. 2. Start reading an article and 15 seconds in a page overlays the screen to “register now!”. Why disrespect my time and attention? I immediately close the page.
Paywall: How do new people know a site’s information has value to them if they have to pay to see it first? The worst one’s ask for your credit card at $10.00 a month and you can always cancel later. Before you actually see the material. Zero chance I’ll ever do that, it’s a waste of my time to have to go through the cancel process.
Ads: why in this day of super-duper artificial intelligence and knowing supposedly everything about me do I only get ads for things I might of searched for in the past and probably already purchased?
Right now I looking at ads for medical colleges (son is in med school), satellite comm equipment (purchased some stuff for hurricane Dorian), Halcyon 250 motorcycle (thought it looked cool a couple of months ago, not going to buy one). Not one thing based on any kind of predictive analysis of what I might be interested in in the future. Some AI.
I’d advise you to periodically remove some of the “cookies” that sites add to your computer. Other sites sometimes access these to see what you are surfing and then add more. Keep the ones you want, such as your work site, your subscribed publications, etc., and junk the rest.
This free product lets you clean up your computer:
https://www.ccleaner.com/ccleaner/download
You could also switch to a browser such as Brave that simply blocks most of this stuff in the first place.
I use Brave almost all the time but not all sites work well with it. I bet most companies do not test their sites with Brave. I have to go to Chrome to make a few sites work.
Thanks for this great website Wolf!
Lol Kent, I could have posted myself the above, allow me to come here with a #metoo ;)
I could add to that aggressive ads that try to overlay the screen or that blink all the time. Come on, I come for the story not for the add?
Another issue not mentioned are comments lines that once enabled almost freeze my computer. (I use no script and I enable only the scripts that I deem to be needed) Now what does that script do? I hear the hard disk working hard, computer is almost frozen and all I see are 3 comments lines? There are no more comments but the disk continues to work minutes on? Now really?
What I want to say here is that I really appreciate the non intrusive comments section. Comments are the salt and pepper for the meat of the blogpost and I love to have them too!
This opens the next subject/issue on how to reward a writer for his hard work. I am happy and thankful Wolf found solutions that enables him to continue his valuable posts and us to read and comment. This is a commodity that’s become really scarce. Thank you again!
If you use FireFox, there is an “about:config” setting you can make to disable autoplay. Unfortunately FF has increasingly made it difficult to not have your UI loaded up with c**p, so it isn’t in the normal options/config. Just search for “firefox disable auto video play” and there will be a ton of sites that tell you what to do. Also, the mechanisms changed over time, so make sure you are reading instructions for your version of FF.
Regards,
Cooter
How true … but don’t forget this AI is going to be driving cars in a couple of years and whizzing us to Mars for a pizza in a decade!
I keep getting ads for WeWork! Not on here (so far at least) but on YouTube lol.
Wolf, could you make some shirts/apparel too?
Brian,
Commenter “Ripp” — who has been instrumental in getting the beer mugs off the ground — has been suggesting something like that. His company specializes in that type of merchandise, shirts, caps, etc.
Lead-lined jock strap, in case I need more radiation therapy?
Hilarious … if it weren’t so serious! All the best.
Maybe something like Victoria’s Secret lingerie, also. Not for me, I’m just asking for a friend.
We’re all little guys. I even have to shop for clothes in the kids sections. And I get tired of Mickey Mouse and Superman
His site is free and provides valuable insight in a way not available on the Internet. Give him a few bucks.
Just stick it behind a paywall. Your website is getting roughly 3 million visits a year. Which probably means you’re getting about 100k active unique visitors. If you can persuade 1% of them to pay $9 a month, you’re looking at $110k revenue a year, probably with a ~90% net profit margin. Add in some adverts on top, in the free section, and that will probably bring in another $50-100k per year. You should be able to rake in $150-250k a year. Not a bad little sideline.
Ha! He lives in San Francisco. $150-200K per year will get him a refrigerator carton to live in.
I’ll buy a mug even if it says heck instead of hell but I’d double my contribution for “hell” and triple it for “shit”.
Come on Wolf, put on your big boy pants. ;-)
BTW I’ve been on this site since inception and in the past made a few editorial contributions. I have to say that I’m extremely impressed not only by the growth (popularity) of the site but the quality of the discussions.
One of these days we have to meet in person after so many years of online friendship.
Respect!
Mike
Mike,
Totally agree. Next time you’re here, or I’m in Houston, we’ll make sure it happens.
No kidding about the quality of comments here! Very smart commentators, for sure. Have you seen the “quality” of comments on ZeroHedge lately? LOL
The comment was very nice. I enjoy Wolf’s report & does give us heads up about whats going on in the market. I am a novice in the stock mkt.
I want to send you check for your time.?Happy Thanksgiving
I remember, as a very early reader and regsitered member of ZeroHedge, that the comments were few, interesting and readable. Then the comments became numerous, often irrelevant and as a result unreadable.
The result was that ZeroHedge stopped the log in and comments.
Unfortunately I can imagine that happening to this web site.
Looking at official US stats for H1 2019, depending on definition, the “true” average wage-per-person in San Fran is actually between $60k and $105k.
So, a $150-250k income, for just one individual in a household, is someway above-average for SF and quite healthy. Especially for just typing out a few words on a laptop.
Michael Gorback,
Thank you!! Now you’ve got a “Heck” beer mug coming whether you want it or not :-]
I noted your creative suggestions. There might be justification in the future to get some mugs out with “Nothing Goes to Shit in a Straight Line.”
R2D2,
Wolf Street gets over 1 million page views a MONTH, average this year. So it will be over 12 million this year. A record.
Wolf has already said (above) he knows how to make more money along the lines you mention, but he chooses not to. Did you read it?
Buy Wolf’s book “The Testosterone Pit” too. Great story.
Department Zero,
Thanks. For Amazon Prime members, I believe it’s free. Everyone else has to fork over $2.99
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009NOFGXA/
Got Prime but not at all inclined to pay $umpty-ump for some damn “Kindling” device for which no doubt I’ll need the latest and greatest computer ….
I only buy BOOKS not bits, BOOKS.
You can download the kindle app to your XP or later laptop for free and read the book for free if you’re Prime member.
OR, you can go my Amazon page and click on the book cover and the book will open up, and you can start reading for free. You’ll get a good ways into the book before they block you.
I bought that book. I second it; a great read. Makes me dislike auto dealerships even more.
Funny, it made me want to go into car sales. But only to work with Wolf!
Wolf, it is my pleasure to donate $100 to your giant media company as you are really a “voice of reason” that is so badly missing in most financial analysis. If you still have any mugs left I would like one, if not no big deal. Keep up the great work, I look forward every day to your read. And your excellent writers who have joined in your support are to be given honorable mention.
Lewis,
Thank you!! I still have mugs, so you’ll get one. I hope you included your phone number. People forget this all the time. If you forgot, email it to me.
Helping to spread the gospel, I see that Bill Bergman is posting some of your articles on his, “Morning Call” newsletter!
Yes, and I have posted some of Bill’s blog posts from Truth in Accounting here.
Zero Hedge also has a lot of Wolfstreet reprints.
I Quote Wolfstreet a lot, where I post regularly at lenpenzo.com.
I kicked in this year or last year, but can’t remember exact date. So I appreciate this reminder. Twice a year is perfect, not too obtrusive yet still serves the purpose to remind us to pitch in if we can and if we appreciate what Wolf does.
However, I ask, why is Wolf only showing one side of the mug and not showing the Wolf side that he talks about? We readers need to demand full disclosure in this very, very serious breach of website honesty.
:-)
I’ve shown it before. So here it is again, my alter ego, as seen by artist Kitten Lopez:
Alter ego? I thought it was a candid portrait.
After all…
“No one knows you’re a dog- er, wolf on the Internet”
The beer mug is great! I put my in the freezer for icy cold adult beverages after a long day!
I used a paid investment adviser but honestly I have made more money from reading your columns and making choices off of well researched, practical advice.
Forever grateful and always look forward to your pieces!! Thank you very much Wolf!!
Wolf you should also sell a “Nothing Ever Goes to Heck in a Straight Line” coffee mug. I would dig that.
Agree! or a wine glass! for the ladies, come on Wolf!
Here is the Wolf Street glass “coffee” mug.
https://www.wolfstreetstore.com/wolf_street_store/shop/product-detail/1001944
And here is the Wolf Street “wine” mug.
https://www.wolfstreetstore.com/wolf_street_store/shop/product-detail/1001944
I see what you did there….linking the same mug twice under the guise of “coffee” and “wine” mug. Not gonna work with the ladies Ripp, a gigantic beer mug for our delicate coffee and wine? Besides, haven’t you heard of the “pink tax” ? You can basically charge double for anything targeted towards women. Get at it and make Wolf popular with the ladies!!!
;-)
I have the screwdriver mug and the plonk mug.
:)
I like to look at it as the Swiss army knife of drinkware. Mars has got it figured out…
Or a sake set. With a chart running through them.
Sold! Especially if the chart is Wolf’s prediction for the housing market.
Done. Happy Thanksgiving, Wolf.
Thank You!!
Another way to earn money is to invest in the start-up that will make the ad-blocker blocker blockers.
Other merch idea: A T-shirt with Wolf’s visage, that says “ce n’est pas Willem Dafoe” underneath.
Seriously though Wolf, thanks for all the hard work on the site. Love that it is data-driven and measured.
Wolf, I just donated recently (even before the reminder :)
The article also reminded me about a suggestion I actually already shared in the comments earlier – shared banner ads.
Say, you get X for displaying a banner a month. You offer N readers a possibility to share the banner for Y, so that NY=2X (or 3X or 4X).
Each reader’s banner will be displayed 1/N part of the time – on average.
Could be just done as a round-robin.
From a reader’s prospective – if I donate anyway, I will be happy if my banner will be shown even for a short time. So N can be big.
All depends of course on the numbers and whether there is enough demand for that from readers.
Andrei,
Thank you! So far you’re the only one who suggested this type of rotating shared banner ad. If other people are interested, we might be able to set something up.
I don’t work in this space professionally, but …
In the begining, this is exactly what sites did. Over time, 3rd party companies started consolidating the advertisers and giving them better (targeted) results so the site owners themselves didn’t have to mess with it (and made more money).
As the (3rd party advertiser/marketing) companies grew, they started using 3rd party cookies (this lets them track your behavior as you move between sites), purchasing data from where ever, tracking sales/user behavior on sites, and everything else you can think of – all to improve the targeting of adds and click through/sale rates.
It is very opaque and complicated these days – but it works and folks pay for it – so if you are Ford or Proctor & Gamble – you have to go through these large advertising companies (i.e. Google – which is not a search company, it is an ADVERTISING company) to have the broadest reach.
As pointed out by Andrei, you could “roll back time” and just do a rotating banner – which isn’t as targeted or “smart” – but is still an impression. Basic plumbing to make that happen shouldn’t be too hard, but it will get more complicated (read: expensive) as you want to add features to make managing/rotating ad content easier, to target readers in certain geographic areas with content specific to them (local businesses in an area with no interest in advertising elsewhere), keeping up with impression counts, click throughs, conversions, etc.
I think this could get complicated pretty quickly if you saw any real growth – but you are cutting out the middle man in monetizing your site directly – and doing it they way you want it to work.
And on that note – there might even be a start up out there that has a product already that let’s sites monetize their own traffic versus giving the business to a 3rd party. Given some of the black listing going on in the “site monetization” space – this would be a solution, assuming a site could figure out what advertisers wanted to be along side their content.
Best of luck!
Regards,
Cooter
I’ll donate you enough to buy lots of beer…!
In bitcoin… mwuhahaha!
I have tried several times to not use ad-blocker on your website, but amount of ads are enormous!
They are everywhere, left, right, at the top, at the bottom, in the middle of the articles (several times), between comments (and they are jumping each time new ad is loaded).
Cut them at least in half, and I’ll try your website without ad-blocker again.
Thank you!
I don’t get the beef with the ads AT ALL!
I click on them here and all over the internet and get a kick out of what follows me where. An AlJazeera home elevator ad followed me here and showed up for a couple months. (I just wanted to see the mechanism, which wasn’t shown.)
Also it’s kinda fun painting a nonsensical “portrait” of myself and seeing what happens. “AI'” has a LONG way to go.
Nothing has EVER interfered with reading article or comments, and I learn a lot from both, not to mention things to go lookup.
No Bic!
Taking some of that fed liquidity injections from recent repos and sharing it with Wolf.
Goldbugs ought to be happy to share their worthless fiat with something as tangible as free access to high quality knowledge ;)
chillbro,
Yes!!! In knew I’d benefit from these repos in some way. The Fed promised!
I just jetted you a check. Thanks – and “don’t ever change”
Thank you for allowing us to vent …..and the hard work you put into offering the excellent analysis and information.
First time, long time Wolf. Your informative articles hooked me and the insightful commenters sealed the deal. Just set up a recurring donation so you can keep the beer fridge stocked!
Wolf didn’t mention it – Wolf, might be worth a post edit – but donating via Paypal incurs a cost of 3-4% of each donation. But you can avoid that tax by using the Paypal “Send Money to Friends and Family” feature using his e-mail address – I tried it a couple months ago to make my first donation, no problem whatsoever, got a kind thank-you reply from him a few hours later. Just make sure to check the ‘fee’ field before clicking that final ‘Send’ to make sure you are not getting charged any kind of fee.
ewmayer…
I tried that with a friend of mine, but to send the money without the fee, I had to set up my PayPal account to use my bank account, which I refused to do. I’d rather not put bank account info online anytime, anywhere, even if the account only has $5 bucks in it.
If I use PayPal, which isn’t often, I’ll pay the fee.
Me, also. I will not use PayPal because of their demand for my bank account info.
Now, I read this!
I have been simultaneously systems testing my WolfStree mug and sending a donation.
The only problem is the number of zeros…can”t wait to get my Visa statement and see what I did…
…returning to testing now.
Thank you! Got it. There were only 16 zero behind the 1. Just kidding. The mug will be coming.
Lots of folks donating a $100 bucks.. I can only do $10 a month.. Hope that’s OK.. I’ve been impressed by this site for some time now.. Insight is wonderful plus trends the CNBC crowd won’t cover.. What has really impressed though is the personal responses to actual meaningful questions.. and the tongue-cheek putdowns for those who really need a cold dash of reality.. If I drank alcohol I’d order a mug but definitely will order some tees when you get them.. All the best..
David,
You’ve been donating regularly for a while. Thank you!! All donations are immensely appreciated.
Could only do so little; saving up for my mug.
You rock, or rather, Wolf!
There are ways of disabling ad-blocker blockers, and now there is a bypass-paywall plug-in for Firefox.
WOLF
Will send $100 check tomorrow. $8/Mo for your content is a steal. I will put my BillPay on auto-pay so it issues annually. I will have my return addy in the Memo section of the check (if any mugs left when you get the check). :-)
Thank you! We might not have any mugs left next year, but for now we’re good.
Coolio…….check is in the mail today – from my Rock Band company – Dawg Rox LLC. You should receive it in about a week. Return addy is in the Memo section. Do you know the difference between a musician and a large pizza??
A: A large pizza CAN feed a family of 4. :-)
-Beardawg
as a drummer (not a musician), that deserves a rim shot!
Just a suggestion – how about a mug with the national-debt graph and the famous “debt out the wazoo” text and arrow going up out of sight? Now that would be a great conversation starter!
BTW, can mugs be sent to an FPO (military base) address? If so, I’ll order one or donate. Thanks for everything you do!
Hobbes,
The answer is yes. Please check your email (the one you logged in with) for more details. Thanks.
Wolf, I really appreciate what you do, and so so superbly well. I literally can’t use sites with aggressive advertising. I can’t read anything on a page with any kind of motion or too many colours, so have had to abandon a lot of sites that I used to use.
I’m a tiny one-man software business, with some good quality free stuff and some even better paid stuff. It’s a delicate balance. Without the free stuff I’d never sell anything, and I have to sell some stuff because I need some money. I also have some stuff that I just couldn’t stomach giving away for free. This free + paid model works ok for me. My income is ridiculously low, but I have a pretty good life and I don’t have to work for some a-h of a boss.
As I have said before, I think you could do something similar by keeping back some special reports that only go to people who show their appreciation with a substantial or regular donation.
As a casual UK reader I really enjoy your blogs Wolf.
You explain complicated topics in easier to understand ways.
The most interesting post you wrote (for me anyway) was where you defended light tariffs. It is almost a universally accepted thing that ‘tariffs are always bad’ but (I paraphrase) you wrote that actually businesses adapt pretty quickly and they can sometimes drive more desirable business decisions that drive better societal outcomes, eg, more local employment for the regions.
I will chuck some superior dollar you way this evening (££) :)
I am only a Pensioner here in Australia and am quite happy to buy some Beer Money ever so often. Sadly the Aussie Dollar is crap and hope that my donation of $4.00 does buy a Beer.
Always look forward to read your Articles every Day.
This is the best site I read. Intelligent and courteous comments too which is nice to see nowadays. Donated with thanks.
First time poster, long time reader (7 years?, maybe) – from Almada (south of Lisbon), Portugal.
I read WS on a daily basis.
I have no investments, I just read to be informed on what is happening all around the world.
Keep up the good work Wolf.
Abraço
Love it, Wolf.
Might even buy one of those silly beermugs you’re offering.
Thanks for all your hard work Wolf. Much appreciated and respected.
I’d like to add that people should contribute through commentary as well. Even though many people don’t like to venture into areas like monetary policy, I particularly enjoy hearing stories about what people see on the ground in their community, or industry, and what they notice others doing that seems a bit new or odd.
Before the last financial crisis, the best information I came across was via ground-level observations. The most misleading and worthless information came from the usual media outlets.
For example, I had a random bar conversion with two distant acquaintances who just started a mortgage company. These people were not the bright, but they were making tons of money writing mortgages left and right. They told me they could set up loans with undocumented income, and, unfortunately, I immediately disregarded that inside information nugget as unreliable aberration. As it turned out, this information was extremely valuable. I just didn’t know it at the time.
Around that same time, I saw a group of law enforcement acquaintances gathered at a bar, obviously strategizing about something. I asked what they were talking about. They hesitated to divulge, but they slowly confided they were pooling cash to speculate on housing (unfortunately, at the top of the bubble). This was valuable information as well. When non-finance types start organized speculating, it says something.
Hey Wolf — how about setting up a crypto wallet to receive donations? I’ll volunteer to be your first millennial contributor ;)
Night before last, I dreamed that I was sending “happy holidays” card with check to you, Wolf.
Have you cloned yourself ? Don’t know how you do what you do, and believe it is only possible because, as you have said, you love the work.
So the great expectations are intact, and I will be following the dream soon, Wolf.
THANK YOU
*******************
…nice to see that at least one millennial prefers monarchy to socialism… seems like pure monarchy has historical precedents, but not so much with socialism….. neither of them has a promising track record….
FYI, re the ads: some months back, I was getting lots of ads on the left-hand margin that displayed partly OVER the blog and comments. That has not been a problem for some months now. Much better !
There are lots of ads, but they are not now a problem if they don’t block the post and comments. Kind of interesting to see who is pitching me what.
Hi Wolf, as the first “official” donor to the site–and prompt for others to follow suit–I’m happy to support you until your brain freezes over :-). I’ll send you a check to save you online commerce charges–thanks for making that possible. Hey, save me a mug, will you?
And keep up the good work!!
Karen,
Thank you so much for encouraging me to set up the donations page back in 2017 (2016?). This has opened up a wonderful experience in terms of creating a more direct relationship with my readers. Many are adding hart-warming notes, which always make my day. I’ll be grateful to you until my brain freezes over.
Your mug is lined up right here — where “I got all my mugs in a row,” as I will from now on say when chaos around here has somewhat subsided.
You are warming our hearts with your impeccable analysis AND selflessness. So glad you have a mechanism not just to receive donations but all the well-deserved praise!
OK Wolf, I donated $100 – gimme my mug.
BTW, what actually impressed me with your site was that I did not have to register my soul and create “an account” to enter comments.
BTW, who says “heck” these days? That says something about your integrity that you have not degenerated to the level of current common discourse and I respect you for that.
I found your blog back when it was the pit. Never looked back! Thank you for all you do. I’m a smarter more informed person for reading here everyday.
Donated. Your articles are always the clearest explanations of financial stuff, and your graphs are the BEST in the world.
I really enjoy this blog. It’s the only financial blog I read on a daily basis.
When I first started reading financial blogs the first one I liked was a blog called Calculated Risk. This blog started out as primarily a housing blog but expanded to cover the economy in general. What made CR unique real time comment updates which made it work more like a chat room. For some reason I drifted away from CR and when I went back to visit a while ago the real time comments section was gone and all the comments deleted. I do see some CR regulars that have turned up here.
I never took a liking to ZH as I see that as more of a right wing blog that sometimes also covers economics. I stopped reading Clusterfuck Nation for the same reason.
Keep up the good work!
i want to donate, but yo don,t acept bitcoin, if you open a wallet and a public key, i send the donation, you don,t have to lose nothing, and the can Change your view of the bitcoin
Why would I take your beautiful and beloved bitcoin from you? You can just send me your hated and doomed and soon-to-collapse-and-disappear US fiat to get rid of it once and for all.
We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Wolf.
WolfStreet.COM is very enjoyable,
and the signal-to-noise is extremely low.
Were you to beg for money, Wolf,
I’d be uncomfortably concerned about your welfare.
Thank you Wolf, every now and again I will support you with a small donation.
Your articles help me to understand what is happening to the economy and in financial markets as I scramble to understand how that may affect me and my dear ones.
Once again, thank you very much for your efforts to give me that food for thought!
Hi Wolf. Thanks for your great content! Some time ago you had a get together in SF with your readers. If you ever want to do something similar in Amsterdam for your European readers, please let me know and, I will help you organise it. Or perhaps you could combine something both in London and Amsterdam. I can help you organise that too.
Thanks. If I do, I’ll circle back to you.
Thank YOU for authoring content worth reading. So much financial commentary on the internet is junk, hyperbole, spin. It’s easy to see that you make an effort to keep it factual. I have donated in the past and will again in the future.
I turned off my ad blocker to see what Testosterone Pit looks like without it. I left it off for the site as there are very few ads.
BTW, I have been donating and bought two mugs.
I surely enjoy the site.
Thank you, Erle!!
David Stockman links to you regularly and includes your charts in his articles. That’s how I found you. You are easily the best independent financial journalist. This is the only readable comments section anywhere on the internet.