Little guy wriggling more or less adroitly between boots of giants amid the internet advertising crisis for publishers. But WOLF STREET traffic jumped 30% this year. Thank you!!
By Wolf Richter for WOLF STREET.
This has been a crazy year for the publishing business, where I’m just the little guy with my WOLF STREET media mogul empire, wriggling more or less adroitly between the boots of giants. The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and many other publications have reported record site traffic, and strong increase in subscription revenues, but a sharp decline in ad revenues. Google and Facebook have figured out how to get the lion’s share.
The giant of giants, Google has put itself at the center of the infrastructure of internet advertising with its various services and ad exchanges. And it has become a huge publisher of sorts via search and its various news services, without creating content. In the second quarter, it experienced a year-over-year revenue decline. And it appears, it’s squeezing publishers even more than before to boost its own results, from what I can see in my dealings with it. You get the drift. In the third quarter, Google reported gangbuster results.
Facebook, the other giant of giants in internet advertising, has also placed itself in the center of the ad business, but in a different manner, and it too reported an increase in revenues in the third quarter.
However, the publishers in the classic sense have gotten squeezed. The New York Times reported that in the third quarter, as subscription revenues rose 13%, ad revenues plunged 30%.
News Corp, which owns the Wall Street Journal and many other big publications, TV channels, and other outlets around the world, said that its subscription revenues ticked up 0.7% while ad revenues plunged 45%.
The internet has changed the power structure of advertising, with Google and Facebook getting most of the spoils. This shift has been going on for years and has upended the newspaper publishing industry – long before Covid-19.
In February, McClatchy, the second-largest news publication group by circulation – Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Miami Herald, Kansas City Star, Sacramento Bee, Charlotte Observer, etc. – filed for bankruptcy. Another line item on a long list. Its assets were subsequently acquired by hedge fund Chatham Asset Management, which already owns the National Enquirer.
But it’s the most exciting thing I’ve ever done, and I’m having a blast.
For little guys like me, the internet opens doors to readers directly. That’s huge. In theory, advertising allows us to make our publications free, and open to all, and it doesn’t matter whether homeless and reading my site at the library or whether partner at Goldman Sachs and reading my site in a corner office.
I’m in a thrilling business, and I’m thrilled to be in it, and I work ungodly hours, doing what I love doing, and my humble site has been growing every year. But 2020 was special.
Traffic in the 10 months so far jumped by 30% year-over-year to 1.3 million pageviews per month on average (over 13 million pageviews in total). I spend zero money on advertising the site. Growth is all organic. So this 30% increase in traffic is great. Thank you, Dear Readers!
Yet, like other publishers, despite the 30% growth in traffic, ad revenues dropped 17%. At one point, it was down a lot more.
I use four ad services and ad agencies, one of which is Google. But Google also backfills when the other ad services don’t have enough ads to post. If you’re overseas, you’re likely seeing only Google ads. Google ads are everywhere, directly and indirectly. Despite their large presence, Google ads account for less than one-third of total ad revenues.
Donations from readers are crucial; WOLF STREET needs your support.
Donations show me that what I’m doing matters to you, and that you enjoy reading the site, and maybe get a chuckle out of it once every now and then. I love reading the notes that come with some of the donations. And I immensely appreciate each donation. Your donations are crucial in supporting WOLF STREET. The site depends on you.
Many of you have already generously donated throughout the year by clicking the little beer mug at the bottom of each article, and I thank you so much!
Some readers use ad blockers, and I totally get why, and I don’t blame anyone for using them. That’s why, unlike many other publications, my site doesn’t use “ad-blocker blockers.” But ad blockers deprive my site of ad revenues. If you would like to support the site, please donate. I appreciate it immensely.
The donate button takes you to WOLF STREET’s PayPal page where you can use your debit or credit card. You do NOT need a PayPal account. Tip: On that page, enter the amount you wish to donate before you click the “Donate with a Debit or Credit Card” button, or else it doesn’t work:
Or you also can mail a check to (very much appreciated):
Wolf Street Corp
1288 Columbus Ave. #196
San Francisco, CA 94133
Thank-you gesture: a WOLF STREET glass mug if you donate $100 or more.
I still have some of these hilarious “Nothing Goes to Heck in a Straight Line” 15-oz glass mugs at my media mogul empire headquarters. But the Wolf Street Store, which was managed by a company where commenter “Ripp” worked, has run out of those mugs, and they’re no longer for sale.
On the other side of the wrap-around design is a hilariously howling wolf, which would be me:
If you donate a very generous $100 or more and would like a mug, please then specifically email me because I already sent mugs to people who didn’t want them?
Email me your shipping address in the US (I cannot ship the mugs outside the US) and your phone number (FedEx will not deliver without it) to: howlatwolfstreet@gmail.com
Thank you for coming to my humble site, for your many, many comments, and for your support. Wolf
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.
Ever thought of just starting a Patreon and including it a link? It’s what all the cool kids are doing nowadays. Seriously though, I think I might be on the younger end of the spectrum of your audience, and I’d rather make it a part of the monthly bill of other people producing content on the Internet and making a similar pitch.
MavenACTG,
Thanks for the suggestion. WOLF STREET readers are right here, and there is no reason to send them anywhere else to donate to WOLF STREET. If you’re a creator and don’t have a big website, Patreon is great. By I have my own site with many loyal readers.
Wolf the world is changing. Time to get away from donations, ad revenue, or product sales to customers. Need to be like all the other businesses and just get what you need from the Fed! You’ve been documenting this for months, now its time to make the leap!
Pretty sure I already donated once this year but just flipped another $10 spot your way.
Why $10?
I think pretty much everyone who reads this site could match that amount.
So? Y’all up for it?
I’m in and will raise you $5. I love Wolf’s unbiased content vs. CNBC *and* Bloomberg these days, IMO.
Yeah Dano. Just donated. I’m not a part of the commenting community or anything, just one of thousands of regular readers (and an IT and singer/songwriter guy in real life). Wolf Street is a valuable and unique factual resource, and I don’t want to see this business go defunct anytime soon. As a bit of a data nerd at times myself (the IT stuff), I like Wolf and how he goes about things.
Book ’em Dano!
For the curious about the singer/songwriter thing, I seemed to forget for a moment I have a website of sorts…a bandcamp link. Fixed with this comment.
you’re so cuuuuute!
x
Yours is one of the only sites to tell the financial story like it really is, without all the delusional “blue sky” hype. It is obviously a shirtload of work. Thank you. Sadly however for most people it is all too complicated. I do try to plug your site on social media where appropriate. But to understand what is actually going on takes much more than a nice 20 second “sound bite”. Most stay willfully ignorant until reality comes a knocking (all too late). I personally stay away from the big “g” and crapbook. If/when the big explosion happens, advert revenue will dry up. Making money out of content creation without being under the heel of some capricious gatekeeper is very hard: just ask youtube and spotify content creators. Good luck and I hope you won’t be forced too far into the paywall thing as it is important for all strata of society to have access to non-MSM, non-partisan economic data in the twilight of western civilization.
I am in for half a mug…Thanks for all you do! Kabuki-cho forever!
I remember Kabuki-cho. My son and I were on vacation in Tokyo and went to a metal club in a high rise office building. A good group was playing. We got separated and he wandered back to the hotel the next evening.
Thank you, Wolf, for providing serious analysis of the financial markets.(unlike the CNBC propaganda)!
My all time favorites are your site, Wall Street on Parade & Rudy Havenstein on Twitter (who just ruthlessly makes fun of Wall Street & the Fed).
We definitely need you to cut through all the BS & tell us the truth, so I just donated.
Wolff, Wrapping a Warm Blanket of Appreciation & Gratitude for all that you have done, do, and will continue to do! Bring on 2021!
PS: Know that you are beloved by your fans and captured by newbies who just woke up!
PSS: I consistently share your weekly link on my LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook & Quora platforms
Wolf, I have donated around $100 this year because of the accurate & high level of detail in each daily analysis provided by you, often several articles per day which is unheard of! After spending $600 with David Stockman’s competing site, ContraCorner, half of which was supposed to provide me with a Lifetime Subscription via Agora Financial Publishing, Stockman this year wanted some $300 plus per year going forward regardless of the previous arrangements. I said, “See Ya!”.
I would, personally, have no problem with paying $10 per month which could be set up as an ACH debit to my checking account or via PayPal, quarterly might be more efficient; the ACH would be cheaper for you. With all the comments that pour in, and I know you read most of them, I am surprised if you have time to walk the dog during the day. The canine may be fitted with a NASA space diaper!!
Maybe the first article of the day goes to volunteer payors and the remaining articles go to quarterly or annual subscribers. Jim Sinclair calls the latter his Premium Service, but I think based on the quality of your articles AND THE ABUNDANCE OF SAME, you need to be able to fill the beer mug to the point of intellectual liquidity, whatever that means.
But in this era of informational dishonesty or bias, your material is a breath of fresh air, and, hence, very valuable to investors, consumers, and citizens in its fair and balanced (sorry) presentation of very relevant and timely information for weathering the developing storm we all find ourselves in. Knowledge is indeed power and will be worth every penny spent to obtain it.
Never be afraid to make a modicum of money for efforts that are at the pinnacle of informational content.
Have you considered moving over to a static site? Might reduce some web hosting fees
Wolf – I read your articles (and many of the comments) every day. Your perspective is unique: timely, relevant, insightful, unbiased and fact-based… with a sense of humor. Thank you for what you do. I will make an additional contribution now.
Hi Wolf, is shipping available to Mexico?(for a mug) thanks.
Tony,
I’m set up to ship only in the US. So if you do not have a US shipping address, I cannot ship the mug. Sorry.
You’ve had a number of saying and topics that have stuck here and laughed about (in a good way) elsewhere. Have you considered with going with more merch? People have different tastes and the mug doesnt do it for everyone. I’m waiting for that triple shot glass with your debt off the wazoo chart. Could have Warning: Dont Attempt to Drink the National Debt.
You could do T shirts with your old Testosterone Pit with vintage lettering. Other people who know you better can offer more ideas.
Thanks for the suggestion. I run a website. Retail is an entirely different business. And I really don’t want to be in retail. The Wolf Street Store that sold the beer mugs for $25 and coasters and bumper stickers wasn’t my company — that was by Design a Shirt, and that type of thing is their business. I just did those mugs for fun.
Wolf,
I was under the impression that there are highly specialized drop-shippers who handle merch sales for websites…the site authors/owners have almost no hands on retail/packing/shipping/returns/etc. work once they have plugged the drop shippers’ code into the website (the drop shippers even provide the blank t-shirts, pins, coasters, bumper stickers, etc., ready for the website owners’ trademarked logos/phrases/etc).
Obviously the drop shippers take a big/huge chunk of the gross price, but product sales (think non-Amazon affiliate marketing too) may be the way to go because the very nature of the internet (very, very inexpensive to serve up incremental ad displaying page) is going to tend to drive display CPMs down to very low levels (I see CPC’s as closer to affiliate marketing).
I’m fairly sure that even the Googles/Facebooks of the world (with astronomical ad slot inventories) mostly/frequently get sub $1 CPM rates for general display ads…but they make it up with mind boggling volume, hyper targeting (with high premium CPMs), and CPC keyword auctions (Google Adwords…which is their cash cow by far).
Btw, I find posts like this fascinating and would not mind hearing more about the mechanics of trying to hunt up incremental revenue on the web (I think a lot of blog readers are latent/aspiring webmasters themselves and would like to hear more about how to make a theoretical living at it).
Since you have to engage in the revenue hunt anyway, you might as well get a few blog posts out of it as well.
Oops, just re-read your post and clearly I missed the fact that you are already aware of the merch drop shippers.
Sorry about that.
Cas127,
Concerning the drop-shippers, yes and no.
The mug was made by a specialty firm due to its precision three-color printing that the regular mug companies couldn’t do. This is a specialty product, and not a run-of-the-mill mug with a logo. And the company that made them does not deal with retail customers. It only ships to other companies.
So Design-a-Shirt handled the set-up to get the mugs done, and they handled the orders, sales, and shipments (they have a warehouse) of the mugs that people bought for $25. Whatever they made on those mugs was theirs to keep — that was my deal with them — because they — meaning commenter Ripp — were hugely instrumental in getting it all put together. This was a lot of work. You need pros to do that, and Ripp is a pro (he has now moved to another job in another state).
And only a few thousand people read blog posts about mugs :-]
Retail is really, really a different business, it’s very tough. I used to be in retail (auto industry), and I do NOT want to be in retail again. I run a website. That’s my job. And I’m 100% focused on it.
You have a bitcoin wallet address for donations?
No. The PayPal payment system works fine.
I donated $100 via PayPal, but there was no message box that appeared to indicate that I wanted a mug and my address and phone number (for FedEx purposes). How can I do that privately without posting for the world to see?
Harvey Hahn,
Thank you. You can reach out to me at howlatwolfstreet@gmail.com
I have never and will not ever say how much money, if any, I have or have not donated to WolfStreet. I find it personally distasteful to announce this info (and to read it from others).
At any rate, I appreciate Wolf’s great articles. If I could ask for anything, it would be some improvements to the comment system. Being able to edit would be great to fix typos. I would also like to be able to block certain commenters so I don’t have to read them. I give people a lot of chances but there are some people who I have decided just aren’t worth my time reading. Others may feel the same about me. It would save time to be able to block them.
Disqus has a great comment system with a lot of good features. Not saying you should switch to that because I am sure it costs money, but you could take a lot of cues from their feature set.
Zantetsu,
In terms of the comments: your comment resides on my server, and I control it. If I use Disqus, that’s a third party, and the comment will no longer be on my server, but on their server, and it’s theirs, and they collect all the data on commenters and readers, and I lose control over the comments. Never :-]
Thanks, Wolf. Please retain as much control as you possibly can for as long as you can. In addition to your superlative articles we also come here because of your rare level of integrity (which pops up from time to time). I like that my comments are only shared with you and your readers and not sold off as a commodity. Regarding blocking, I especially read through comments I disagree with. How else does one obtain perspective? If someone wants a self-censored echo bubble there are plenty of other sites for boosting an ego.
Time is limited, and intelligent people can decide when a source of information is no longer valuable.
Hear hear Wolf. I find your comment management very reasonable and do not like blanket blocking or 3rd party “fact checking”. Even when you block my ingeniously astute comments. Sometimes these are meant for you and I expect to be blocked since I know you read them all.
Keep up the good work. This site is actually unique in it’s detailed articles and honesty and lack of partisan politics. I find it a civilized version of the old ZH.
Something that can only be achieved by one person control.
Wolf,
You know, it might sound goofy, and probably runs contrary to almost all “consensus” internet ad wisdom…but I wonder if some of your banner ads might get more clickthrough (and therefore pay more to you) if you set up a dedicated *ads only* page (I said it was going to sound goofy).
My theory is that while ads interspersed within posts/comments is the traditional technique…it is extremely vulnerable to banner blindness (that is why almost any site’s display ads maybe get 1% clickthrough).
Such ads are simply too easy to scroll through and completely overlook.
But a dedicated ad page (visited in the spirit of too-cheap-to-donate-but-willing-to-maybe-help-Wolf’s-advertisers-if-I-am-maybe-in-the-market-anyway-and-and-a-quick-special-page-visit-costs-me-nothing) focuses attention in a way that interspersed ads cannot.
You could put a “Please Consider My Advertisers” type banner near the top of every post or during periodic revenue pushes.
I’m not sure how contextual ad placement would work on an “ads only” page…Google et al might simply default to looking at overall blog topic (versus text context)
Would be easy to test and easily reversible.
Just a thought.
Zan, ignore buttons are distasteful imho. I don’t like to read some stuff from some people and vice versa of course, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. It’s an insight into thoughts of the people you are trying to rationally convince about issues that are important to you (not that I always follow my own advice) and an opposing opinion can be quite thought provoking. We all have to come together rather than push each other away.
Sorry, the Beatles were on the radio a minute ago. Where was I? Oh yeah, I agree with the ability to edit most decidedly, although it does force me to at least try to proof read what I post. Most times anyways.
I have deleted entire posts on a proof read. This probably should have been one of them!
Zantetsu
I type up my comments on a word processor first (where spell check is available) and then copy and paste it to the comment box after reviewing it, saves a lot of hassle. Just passing this on.
Zanetsu-
you’re waaaay too funny and aware to go for cutting out other thoughts and re-creating yet another deadly echo-chamber.
and regarding money being tasteless to talk about, i understand but we’ve gotta get past that now especially now, as well.
that $100 donation Wolf forwarded to me has already bought art supplies and inspiration for new art that’s also going towards new things here in this traumatized town.
2020 going forward is all about LESS secrets, LESS boundaries, LESS secrets. i’ve pledged to blow up the artists’ and lovers’ 5D because no time for being coy.
and i’m putting tailoring on the side for now since it’s a bad time for touching people and because i had so much fun doing Mondgragon’s lettering and Wolf and the anonymous sweety heart’s art, i am returning to art/writing and putting my velvet books on my site. so i forced myself back to read more about wordpress again.
new ideas come from letting things IN.
x
Appreciate that but we all make decisions about when a source of information is no longer valuable. For example, if I stop reading a web site entirely because I’ve decided that it’s not producing valuable enough information to be worth my time, am I now putting myself into an echo chamber because I have stopped that source of information?
Are we all supposed to always read everything that is ever put in front of our eyes because we are afraid of missing some nugget of truth?
In actuality we all make decisions constantly about where our attention is best directed, and saying that we should have no control over that, just ignores reality.
I have blocked people on Disqus all the time because after reading 10 or 15 of their comments I realized that the signal to noise ration was far too low and I would be better served by not wasting even a millisecond more reading their comments. Is there a chance that I miss something valuable in the future? Yes. But balance that against the chance that I miss good stuff from other people because I run out of time reading the good comments because I’ve wasted yet more time reading comments from posters very unlikely to produce useful content.
Anyway, it’s just a small feature request. Obviously Wolf isn’t going to do it and I figured there was about a 0.00001% chance he would so I’m not exactly surprised here ….
I don’t quite understand how he came to the conclusion that I was actually asking for him to switch to Disqus comments since I explicitly said that’s not what I was asking for. I’m just asking for more features and using Disqus as an example.
no need to be so defensive, my dear Zanetsu. i was actually complimenting you because smart intelligent people learn how to skim not ignore. it’s alpha vs. beta response. alpha has to know ALL / beta can be petulant and ignore (at their peril and position).
skimming/sensing without NOT SEEING/IGNORING, it’s even a 5D sense to be honed in Real Life because you need to understand where someone’s coming from for at least a cursory response, even if to duck from danger. and it’s truly a skill that will be useful with your next wife (smile).
i’d further you suggest your AMOUNT and focus on QUALITY. that’s why so many people recouperating from the mass of constant BS out there just come to Wolfstreet. / like me. i’ve to much to actually DO to sit and read everything. i’m wasting (beta) time. to make new things from a powerful vantage point you go where you need to go for information, figure gossip throughout the day will fill in what you need to know–like impending disasters, and otherwise gets stuff DONE.
this is political too, right? why we’re all at each other’s throats. i see death and punishment for entrepreneurs fighters workers, but IGNORING and HIDING for the ones who get paid for staying home with the stock market soaring.
i’m saying: ZANETSU: you’re funny smart but be more in charge of what you skim where you go what you take in. don’t take an onslaught and sift out parts of one CONVERSATION in a place where you KNOW Wolf’s taking it in the shorts and not reading comments an hour before bed, so you don’t have to avert your gaze. you’re snacking. what you’re doing is a dead giveaway. pay attention with all your BEING. to the entire conversation.
even and especially the not-so-off topic tangents.
and don’t use your humor to kick up your ego for internet hits during such times. waaaay too funny an intuition on Paolo. that was comedy gold i tell ya! –you took the piss out of him BRILLIANTLY and as any artist or New Yorker would agree, i see it as a form of “love” because you have to have been paying ATTENTION to him to know him that well from afar to get the DETAILS so brilliantly.
so focus and don’t waste yourself.
yes. i’m back, Zanetsu. i’d listen to me if i were you. when i’m like this i’m GOOOOD.
(smile)
i’m a leo. and arrogant. i work hella hard to back up such audacity. i’m actually being humble. i’m but an ant trying to fluff you up even bigger, Zanetsu. and how you LIVE here for your kids? ah! you love big and holy. don’t be a pussy to even yourself.
mwah! there… all without shtupping you.
x
and don’t “reply” to me, Zanetsu, or i know you’re just posturing and not paying attention. there is no proper response for all i wrote. just take it in. that’s all that is expected and the only thing that makes sense.
whether i’m crazy or not.
(wink)
the older cats here know this game all too well.
x
Zantetsu,
You’re not alone in mentioning Disqus. Quite a few people have over the years suggested I switch to Disqus and I checked into it a while back and thought about it, and I made my decision. So now, when the topic comes up, I give what is kind of a standard reply. It’s not personal. I’m just conveying a decision I made a few years ago, and why I made that decision.
kitten, I’m not being defensive. I’m just explaining my position clearly.
Anyway, I can and do skim already. But I have found that some people’s comments get skimmed with greater and greater frequency to the point where, I am pretty sure it would save me time to never see them.
That being said, I will admit that there is some avarice involved. It is so satisfying to block someone who annoys you. It’s a small and petty pleasure, but there it is.
Also I get annoyed easily, probably comes from being a jerk in general. I have found on Disqus that not seeing comments that would have annoyed me (and I can usually tell that they would have annoyed me because I can see the replies to the blocked comments which give me some idea of what was said) keeps my overall mood in check. When you are an easily annoyed person you have to learn some survival techniques for staying sane! And blocking out comments that are likely to annoy me really helps with that.
Call it a personal problem looking for a technical solution. But there shall be none on this site, so I will just skim, fume, and repeat!
“jerks” are necessary now. us assholes keep things interesting. we just need to learn to channel it into a newer better design or way. that’s why the smartest folks are here / i still don’t understand most of what’s on here, but i’m smart enough to know i need to shut up and listen.
you’re not afraid of laughing at yourself and calling yourself out. good. you’re already there. / being annoyed is others controlling you and your energy. when you notice how powerless/meaningless a choice that is, it’ll make you itchy because you realize you’re wasting your sacred life energy focus and time on the mundane and selling all that love insight and power out.
are the comments sections elsewhere even worth it? ask yourself do you just get squirts of irritation. i think it’s like a drip of at least SOME kind of feeling. change your …”what makes you jittery” preferences. what kind of charge. that’s being in control and making your world and thus the world for your children.
i got this idea as well as tutoring from my own father. / that’s why i recognize some of you here.
x
kitten you seem like such a caring person! Not sure how to express when I am thinking exactly but, I do appreciate your taking the time to talk me out of a little bit of my cynicism.
I kind of agree that mentioning how much you donated, or even the fact that you donated at all, may not sound polite. However, a lot of people in the silent majority (1.3 M page views is a lot of visitors) will take a note of the fact that others are indeed enjoying the content and more than willing to pay for it. Those who are on the fence will probably chip in and those who are far from the fence will be encouraged to come closer.
That’s why my comment on donating a $10 spot was public. Hoped to challenges a few to think “yeah, I can give up a $10 spot for this!”
Wolf, I’m in for the usual this year and glad you still have more mugs. A third one will relieve me from doing dishes as often, I can pile them up for a couple days.
While I don’t derive much investment ideas from most of your content as I’m out of stocks for a long time, metals instead, your posts and comments are very entertaining for an old curious guy. Your sense of humor is also quite enjoyable along with the wit of some commentators.
Keep in going and growing !
Just shut off my Adblock. Cheers and congratulations!
Keep up the good work Wolf, I like the articles you write but more interestingly are the comments that follow each article that people leave,
The world is better with WOLF STREET site.
I live “Over There” and will cut you a cheque on a semi- dormant California bank account, just so they know I am still alive.
Let me see now —–, envelope, pen, cheque book, stamps.
It’s good to go back in time now and then.
Don’t wait around for the postman. I’ll get to it manyana.
Now; Where did I put that cheque book?
??
Thank you!
Yes, its hard to find ‘real’ news these days on the internet (financial or otherwise), even if you are ready and willing to pay for it. It seems almost every large site now has some prepackaged massively biased agenda bought and paid for by the billionaires to try to influence you.
I used to subscribe to the Wall Street Journal back when Dow Jones & Co. ran it (it was an excellent paper, expensive but worth every penny). I paid it gladly. I quit it though once it got taken over by Rupurt Murdoch, who destroyed their newsdesk and turned it into another shill paper not worth the paper (or bits) its printed on.
Interesting about McClatchy, same story there.. our local McClatchy paper turned into a ‘woke’ rag over the years, full of one-sided nonsense about (it seems) pretty much anything that white or educated people do is ‘racist’, criminals are not responsible for crime because they are ‘victims’..etc..
Writing quality was on par (and with almost the same topics) as a college newspaper. Certainly not worth subscribing to with real money but I would in a heartbeat if it became a real newspaper again with articles showing both sides of stories and investigating actual facts (rather than spewing the ‘woke’ day after day on end).
These days I subscribe to The Epoch Times. Still not ideal or as good as the Wall Street Journal of old, but it is the best I could find..
Wolf Street is in the WSJ category..I am buying a mug today.. :-) watch for the paypal on the way
Oops, WSJ of old category I meant above. When WSJ used to be great, like Wolf Street is today !
I donated/paid. Keep up the good work Wolf!
I come to WS for three reasons: the articles, to watch Wolf ride herd over hundreds of unruly, independent commenters, and of course, to read what those commenters have to say.
Sure is worth $100. I’m not sayin’ what I donated, or how often, but whatever I contribute, I certainly get my $ worth.
And to all you commentariat, I say “thanks”. This is one of few places I go where I can learn something interesting and useful almost every trip.
Ditto
Want true unfiltered economic data presented in an easy to understand form? Wolf Street is who have recommended for years. I even bought the books. The car dealership was a hoot. The Japan adventure reminded me of some of my adventures.
Send him some money. It’s not the thought that counts. Can’t eat kind thoughts though they do make one smile thru hunger. :)
Hi Wolf, I agree with the rest of your readers, a great site, and interesting content, also your articles are a favorite with the Kaiser report, Stacey often quotes from them in the first part of the show, keep up the good work, and I do donate from time to time.
Congrats. Last year and this I’ve been telling my co-workers and students in my computer lab at college where to go to get the REAL facts not the paid hype, so they would have a clear view of what to prepare for or not get into in the first place.
Wolf, I know that I’m not part of your target aufience, but your website has been a major source of insight and economic vision for me. It seems that you’re the only one who’s paying attention to the extremely worrisome debt crisis in numerical terms, and also lots of other important, under-the-radar issues.
Because of the sanctions against the authoritarian regime, and the innocent people of Iran, I’m unable to use PayPal, and I can’t donate; sorry.
The only thing I can do is to say: “thank you for your great website.”
Thank you and be careful.
Thank You Wolf!
Please stay adroit amongst the boots of giants for that is where most need You most and may You never be ‘called to Rome’ to kneel, heel and be harnessed.
I just made a credit card payment to your vast empire, Wolf. I was hoping for a mug but now I see I should have done the PayPal option so I could send a message. I will send an email with my mailing info. Hope that does not cause too much extra work for you. Thanks for all that you do, and thanks to your wife also. Her behind the scenes presence is appreciated. I’m probably projecting but still . .
Thank you! Email works. But don’t forget the phone number. FedEx will not deliver without out it :-]
I realize I’m preaching to the choir, but revenues will fall further, and at some point re-valuation (to the down-side) will play a role in this recession. It’s no surprize that traffic is up here @ Wolf, because there are many fine well informed economic postings! I appreciate your efforts!!
Strange chart:
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=xOSL
Thanks Wolf for a great Website
I am a partner in a residential Real Estate appraising business in the swamp of Washington DC (Actually calling DC a swamp is being too kind. A swamp is an ecological balanced environmentally favorable entity. A better name for Washington DC is a cesspool). When I first arrived here in the 1970’s it was a beautiful southern city. Now it is a third world lawless hell-hole with an incompetent mayor.
Nevertheless we are doing a booming business with the artificially low interest rates. Refinances are booming as well as first timers and investors buying homes. Its like 2005/2006 on steroids. When interest rates go up (especially the 10 year treasury note) because of the massive government debt and deficits the real estate market will crash just like it did in 2008/2009. Also the Federal government is so bloated that at some time in the near future massive cuts in the government beaurocracy will have to take place and a lot of these government workers and their supporting contractors will lose their jobs. They will have to sell their homes at the worse possible time.
We refer to your Website in all of our reports to help justify the values on the properties we appraise since your Website is the one of the few places to get unbiased data and useful information. I’ll be sending you a $50 check to support your excellent Website.
I flipped you $10.00 on paypal also.
Check is in the mailbox. Thanks Wolf for your excellent skills in numerous categories.
I appreciate what you write and have donated. I use adblocking because sites are so abusive with advertising. Most people won’t donate and if they do it won’t be very much.
I suggest the following:
1. create some content that subscribers get access to.
2. Adblocking doesn’t block ads that come from your site. If you start offering advertising that lives on your site we would see that. You can see how Linux mint does this: https://www.linuxmint.com/donors.php
I have donated because I can get a link for advertising. They also have sponsors who donate more and get a larger image.
3. Create a marketplace that relates to what you offer.
I ditched my subscriptions to The Economist , Wall Street Journal , My local corporate owned news rag and the Sunday pick-up of the NYT at Wallgreens. The reason I did this I was feeling as if I was in a echo chamber like the old Soviet Union Tass or Pravda created . I took the money and have been spreading it around to sites like Wolf Street. I do this in the spring because I am the most optimistic and less cynical in the spring. My problem for the Spring of 2021 is that I have found value in many sites that need supporting. Therefore my dilemma is do I dilute my standard $100 a year contributions to these sites due to the additions or shrink the number to keep the $100 contribution. I am delighted I find value in a growing number of sites and welcome this minor problem. The value of Wolf Street at $100 a year is not in question at all. How about a “sweetener” of say $125 for a Wolf Street ball cap? I do not wear ball caps with logo’s on them but I would wear a Wolf Street ball cap . I have actually had the ” Heck” mug start conservations with people who want to know what is a Wolf Street. The ball cap would really work. I have steered people to Wolf Street many times for them to get some facts of honest labor on subjects twisted by the “echo chamber”.
Even Elon Musk will be donating soon to Wolf’s cause. TSLA is going to be included in the S&P 500 next month!!!
S&P caught a LOT of heat for not including TSLA last quarter.
Bloomberg has this Opinion piece: “When Tesla Joins the S&P 500, You Know It’s Game Over”. My Spider sense is telling me: “BEAR TRAP!!!”
Thanks for the highly informative site Wolf. I set recurring PayPal payments earlier this year to send you some $ each month. A worthwhile investment for sure. Only one other site has got me to pony up a monthly donation and it’s a wonderful and eclectic listener supported internet radio station that I’ve been tuned into for almost 20 years! I wish you the same longevity in your WolfStreet endeavor!
Keep on fighting the good fight. Need more of that these days. Thanks!
I upped my contribution to $100 from $50 to get your beer mug. I’m going to need a Bud Light at every evening meal with the way things are going in this country. The check is in the mail.
Mad Dog,
Thank you! If you did not include your screen name and/or email in the missive, I have no way of connecting it to “Mad Dog.” So in case you did not include your email or “Mad Dog,” please let me know of the connection via email: howlatwolfstreet@gmail.com
Dear Zanetsu–
i don’t intend to try and talk you out of your cynicism. on the contrary; hold tightly onto it until you don’t NEED it anymore.
for now i don’t want to rely on your loss of cynicism because optimism hope and faith can be precarious things unless they’re found when you’ve been the lowest degrees of FDOB (“Face Down on Bed” if you remember the Stephen Sayadian/”Rinse Dream” reference).
it’s about that “Enlightened Self-Interest” thang: i re-committed to double down and give my all to manifesting a lot of the energy and ideas on this very site, by trying with all my heart to bring us together in person over and over so we start something no one can tear asunder.
and you also being in SAN FRANCISCO, it is in my best interest to have the best of you up and at ’em in the rebuilding of this place. you’re funny and you’re committed to this place for your kids. you make good sense as an investment of my time and consideration.
(shrug)
see? enlightened self-interest. if you’re happy, a lot more people are gonna be happy.
this is what i’m trying to garishly show you all, those of you who wince at the tastelessness of discussing money, i get it… i’m half white/ but that’s all b.s. and look where it got us all… desperate at the shores of Wolfstreet going “how the fuck did ALL this happen? and what IS happening?” etcetera.
the $100 Understanding has turned into me giving art to artists here and rediscovering myself and my renewed commitment to San Francisco on a local level, as well as an existential level.
and i have rules of engagement because i actually WANT the ease of cutting people off. see, hold onto your cynicism because i actually do all i can to AVOID people. they burrow in under my skin and then i’m TRAPPED and a courtship can go on indefinitely and i’m locked as if in marriage.
so hold onto your cynicism for i wanted to keep working on MY own work because this $100 Understanding, the gift passed from Anonymous Sweety Heart, then Wolf passed on to me when he could’ve KEPT IT! wow! cynicism has no shoulder on which to land anymore over here!
anyhow, i believe i have to pass it ON. pay it forward like when you get your wallet back in the mail with money minus the shipping and believe in god for a second! why so short? we are so crude.
“annoyance” is arrogant and crude and passive and elitist and dare i say, effete, to me.
see for yourself. pay attention next time and laugh at what an asshole you were. then use that to do something interesting daring and vulnerable and dare to care too much.
so forget ME and any pretentious “caring” i may seem to be publicly performing, and do that and cynicism will find no shoulders on which to land with YOU, either.
if my english sucks (shrug), i write it as it comes out and sounds good.
if i edit according to the chicago manual of style i will instantly die. these ideas cannot co-exist with conforming to the chicago manual of style.
and so it shall be as you figure out how to be Zanetsu Who Gives a Damn in the San Francisco of 2021. i’d rather have you humble audacious funny and showing up and sharing tips from what you learned on your new adventures.
ya dig?
whew. / there. now i’m tired.
i wrote because you’re not supposed to write back. i told Wolf you must be YOUNG. you young men talk soooo much. hush. this isn’t about last words.
it’s about dropping the mic because we went so deep hopefully you’re speechless. but really as my own mentors used to tell me, “if you answer you’re not paying attention. hush.”
and i did. it’s exhausting to defend yourself. nod and listen. i think it’s a cowboy thing.
(smile)
so there. clutch onto your cynicism like a friend soon going off to die. don’t avoid… double and triple down til your sick and laugh yourself into the wonderment of your own babies!
just because they grow up and can smell funky doesn’t mean they’re any less precious, right? look at yourself the same.
try and hold onto your cynicism THEN! ha!
gotcha.
and i had nothing to do with it. because the moment i let you down you’ll blame me for its return. i don’t want that responsibility or power.
okay. off to sleep, Zanetsu.
to be like this isn’t for pussies. you’ve gotta take a punch to give a damn. and then again and again. but the payoffs in the 5D and now 3D are again… no shoulders! just transcendence!
good night. / i’m tired. if you forced me to respond yet again i have nothing but grunts, trust that!
x
Mr Richter reports that his page views are up substantially but ad revenue is down fairly significantly. Here is a different view of the situation.
My personal experience is that ad volume is up a lot. Ad obnoxiousness is up a lot. Ad distractions are up a lot. Ad intrusiveness is up a lot. Ad relevance to me is zero.
Like others I enjoy this site, the information it provides and the insight provided by many people commenting. However, the ad content makes the site extremely annoying to use without some means of controlling the ads. Some time ago I posted here what I do to manage the situation without using add blockers. Shortly after that my technique was thwarted.
Previously I have made some donations to Mr. Richter and had set up on Quicken to do so on a regular basis. However, I have ceased those donations because the ads have made the site increasingly difficult for me to use in an enjoyable manner. I refuse to donate to something I have to jump through hoops to enjoy. At some point Mr Richter could very well be on the horns of a dilemma for his source of income.
My fantasy is that the ad system will crater as it grows to occupy an ever greater share of available time and space. Yes, that is a total fantasy. However, I am old enough to remember when a 30 minute TV program had one single 60 second ad in the middle of the program. How times have changed. In the meantime I will do what I can in my little slice of the world.
Love the Wolf Richter. Amazing coverage, ability to synthesize concepts and articulate them in a concise manner. I appreciate the mind of Wolf. He’s added light and insight to a lot of topics. Keep up the great work!
Wolf,
(1) KEEP THE ADVERTISEMENTS AND BRING IN MORE. You make a product which is useful, which draws patronage, which attracts advertisers, who pays you – the perfect capitalist reward system with reward commensurate with the quality of the product. A subscription system is a socialist system, and human nature being what it is, will result in no improvement of the product as it will not bring in more revenue. A donation system will be a degradation to an even lower level. So I strongly vote for your web site staying funded by advertisements, the question is how to improve it to bring in more revenue.
(2) INVOLVE THE READERS. Most of your articles are sequels to an earlier article on the same subject with updates based on new information and your newer thoughts. This is perfectly OK but I suspect most readers wouldn’t read most of the comments on the article, so whatever useful contribution they make to your articles are lost to the readership at large. How about quoting your readers’ comments (which are useful and meaningful) on your views in your next article to let them have a place there? If your readers have some very good ideas about a subject but you don’t feel like talking about that subject, how about letting them publish their ideas on your web site, like op-ed columnists do in a newspaper?
(3) BE INCLUSIVE OF DIVERSE IDEAS. If you know of some person of knowledge who has ideas which are significantly different from yours, or who has information which can significantly complement or supplement yours, or who likes to tell others what they think about socio-economics issues which you think not important enough to talk about, how about you include links to their web sites, so that readers get a richer content. You might even get paid for directing traffic to their web sites?
(4) ANALYSE THE ADVERTISERS. I welcome advertisements, so long as they are not blatantly lying or otherwise are fraudulent, because they are also a source of information. That was how I discovered your web site’s existence, and I come for information and education on economics and investment. The advertisements I see on your web site are however, all irrelevant to economics and investment. So, are you not exposing your website to the right advertisers? Are you losing old supporters as you gain new readers, and the advertisers notice this? Why has patronage gone up but revenue gone down in all you have referred to?
William,
I just want to tackle your point #4: “ANALYSE THE ADVERTISERS. I welcome advertisements, so long as they are…”
That’s not how internet advertising works. I have no idea what ads you’re seeing. There is a bidding system at ad exchanges (Google owns the biggest one), where advertisers — meaning more ad exchanges — bid to display ads on the page that is being put together in front of your eyes in real time. Everyone sees something else. What you’re seeing is based on numerous factors, having to do with information stored in your browser, the topic of the article, etc. It’s fairly rare that I have a direct relationship with an advertiser and post the ad myself, where everyone sees the same ad.
Wolf,
I think you need to know:
1. The ads I see are about women’s apparels, tours and vacations, real estate and many others which I don’t know and can’t see what they are about unless I click into them;
2. I can see that Google has done a very bad job in analyzing me and hence serving up ads which I am not interested in and have never clicked into the ads.
Yes, the Google algos are clueless. I see it every day :-]
My contribution was some well deserved advertising. Have mentioned you on radio and in person as a very good source of realistic impartial information and a way to learn the gears of the beast and what goes on out of public view for the most part in the economy.
Thank you