I'm a micropatron. I am someone who has contributed hard cash to Jason Kottke's recent foray into full-time blogging. I've never met Jason, never even exchanged a single email save my recent well wishes for success, but I've been a long-time reader (and not so infrequent poacher) of his site. Like many successful blogs, Jason's voice is strong throughout — he's subjective, daringly honest and tireless. He's also perceptive and provides a well-manicured digest of ideas, memes, and the random what-have-yous circulating the web at any given moment.
My "patronage" is not just about supporting this kind of writing. It's also about supporting web writing as a professional endeavor outside of an advertising-based model, and rescuing blogging from mainstream media's ill-informed dismissals of amateurism. In other words, it's a vote of confidence.
I wonder what it's like to be in Jason's shoes right now — to witness an outpouring of support from readers who have been relatively anonymous or unknown until now. What an incredible leap of faith it must have been to trust us, and an equally incredible validation.