On Saturday, Recompiler Media, which publishes a print and online magazine as well as a podcast (hosted by me) turned two years old. Yay!

Audrey reports about year two accomplishments:

• We published three issues: #4 (legacy systems), #5 (hardware), and #6 (data).
• We shared 20 new articles to read for free on our website.
• Our Kickstarter for The Responsible Communication Style Guide raised $21,006.
• We released 28 podcast episodes.
• We added two new products: a DNS mug and a technology tote bag.

I’m very proud to be producing a podcast component of the magazine. We’ve shared interviews with amazing, thoughtful technologists such as Meli Lewis, Amelia Abreu, Helga Hansen, Sumana Harihareswara, Thursday Bram, and Heidi Waterhouse. We’ve talked about what happens when your toaster has a DNS bug, we’ve shared all kinds of creepy fun tech news, and we’ve figured out how to hop the internet.

But it’s tough because the Recompiler currently doesn’t generate enough revenue to pay me, so I do it for free, on the side, as a “passion project.”

Audrey provides more details in her post about where we’re struggling:

• We currently have 120 active subscribers (this is down from a peak of about 250 last year).
• We receive $63 each month in support from readers.
• We have three sponsors for Issue 6 totaling $300 and none for Issue 5.
• We receive $6 in support for each podcast.

This is not a sustainable level of subscriptions, sales, and reader support. The way things are right now, we won’t be able to continue publishing The Recompiler into year three.

We know we have a lot of enthusiastic readers, and many of you contribute what you can. Here’s what we need:

• If you forgot to renew your subscription, please do that! I send out reminders but there is a limited amount of time I can spend on admin tasks and still keep the articles coming.
• If you’ve been meaning to subscribe: this is the time. We have print and digital options, and we can do invoicing or bundles for schools, libraries, and offices. Email us to discuss.
• If you have the means to make a recurring contribution or sponsor an issue, this makes a huge difference in our ability to keep things running smoothly.
• Finally, if you haven’t ordered a copy of the book yet, it will be out soon and it’s a great resource.

We need to bring in about $3000 by the end of the month in order to publish Issue 7 (security) on schedule.

Audrey has pledged the following: for every $500 in new subscriptions, renewals, monthly pledges, and sponsorships, she’ll find something fun to post on our Twitter account.

For my part, I am pledging:

• For every $500 raised, I’ll record a dramatic reading of a tongue-twister for the podcast. (We’re up to $1588 as I type this, so I’m on the hook for three already. Can you help me it four? Five?)
• If we exceed the $3k goal by 50% or more, I’ll figure out how to do the readings LIVE.
• If you pledge $100 or more, I will read any short message of your choosing on the podcast (within reason, subject to our code of conduct).

Thanks for reading this far, and all your enthusiasm and support. We wouldn’t be able to do this without you!