I found it very interesting that film critic Maryann Johnson has invited her blog's readership to donate money towards her site's upkeep ($1 per head, or more.) It's not mandatory, but if she reaches various donation targets the rewards will be gradually less advertising embedded in her blog FlickFilosopher -- of which there's a lot right now.
I don't know Maryann's financial or professional situation, although she admits she doesn't make much cash from FlickFilosopher's current advertising, but I wondered if the idea of donating towards the upkeep of a blog and its author's expenses is something you agree with -- in principle. Or should ALL bloggers accept that people don't expect to pay for online content like this, and generally won't, so it's doomed to failure. I think it's worth stressing that there's a distinction between people who blog as a pastime and (semi-)professionals who use blogging to grow or supplement a career, too.
Comments on Maryann's first post asking for donations suggest her readers are backing this move with an outpouring of donations. Are they abnormally generous readers? Is Maryann's blog more worthy of support than most? Will regular donations surely dribble away once the "novelty" of being asked to contribute has worn off for people?
If I did a similar thing and asked for £1 donations from everyone reading -- how many of you would gladly participate? Be honest, please. And if you DID donate £1/$1 per month, would you want anything in return? Should the donated money only be used to pay for blog-related expenses (extra storage space for more photos, my TV subscription/license fee, DVD box-set purchases, etc)?
I'm not saying this WILL happen here (although if the overriding response is "yes" and I calculate I could make £200 pcm, it would be a huge help), but I'm wondering what the general feeling is.
If you'd like to, please discuss the idea of supporting blogs financially in the comments below. I'm eager to hear your thoughts.
