Become a ᵐⁱᶜʳᵒsupporter
Why don’t you just have paid upgrades like a normal person?
I have no aspiration for all of you to become my main source of income. I am privileged to have a full-time job that I enjoy and no offense but I’m pretty sure that if writing a newsletter was my full-time job I would hate it!
I don’t covet the economic pressures of paid subscriptions, but I do covet the mutuality: giving readers a way to say “we care about and value your work.” Money is only one way of doing that, and it may not even be the best way.
Ok, what can I give you?
If you would like to become a ᵐⁱᶜʳᵒsupporter of Escape the Algorithm, you can do so by performing a tiny act of codependence:
1. Send me a gift
This can be something you’ve made, something with a story, or something you think I in particular would enjoy
Physical address:
Elan Ullendorff
115 S 40th St,
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Virtual address:
hi@elan.place
Include ETA Gift in your subject line2. Write me a thoughtful postcard
Physical address:
Elan Ullendorff
115 S 40th St
Philadelphia, PA 191043. Take me out for a cup of coffee in person when you’re in Philly
Email hi@elan.place
Include ETA coffee in your subject line4. Contribute a guest post to Escape the Algorithm
Pitch me!
Email hi@elan.place
Include ETA pitch in your subject line5. Support Escape the Algorithm financially
6. A secret sixth thing
Send me an idea, I’ll probably be down.
Email hi@elan.place
Include ETA sixth thing in your subject lineNo matter which of the above you choose, I’ll mark you as a paid subscriber in my mailing list. Please include the email address connected to your Substack account so that I know where to find you.
What do I get?
For now, the perks of support are simple:
Soften the para part of our parasocial relationship
Support my commitment to only sending out emails when 1) it brings me joy and 2) I have something to say
At some point I’ll take a ᵐⁱᶜʳᵒsupporter pulse check to see if there should be any other benefits (group chat? escape the algorithm workshops?).
What happens if I don’t do anything?
Nothing! All Escape the Algorithm posts will remain free.
What is Escape the Algorithm again?
Escape the Algorithm is a newsletter about taking control of our attention and finding a more human side of the internet. Here are some nice things that people have said about it:
“One of my very favorite newsletters and a continual source of incisive, lyrical observations about life online.”
Caitlin Dewey (Links I Would Gchat You If We Were Friends)
“It can seem that as our tech wizards conjure up new things for us to click, they're also magicking away the parts of the internet that I fell in love with. If you feel that way, too, then check out [this] incomparable newsletter.”
John West (Lead R&D Technologist, The Wall Street Journal)
[One of the people] quietly keeping the spirit of the human, personal, creative internet alive.