You may have noticed a new icon on the right of your screen, next to the old stand-bys of RSS, Twitter, and Facebook.

It is for a creator support site named Patreon, which I recently established TheMook.Net on. Patreon is a crowd-sourcing site, similar to Kickstarter, but instead of raising funds for one specific project the way Kickstarter does, it allows creators of all types (writers, singers, video makers, artists, you name it) to connect directly with those who enjoy their work and want to support them.

For example, on Kickstarter you might make a one-time pledge of 20 bucks in exchange for a new card game, or a costume for your beagle. You pledge once, and the product is delivered when it’s completed. After that the campaign is over, and you and the creator go your separate ways.

With Patreon, it’s more of an ongoing relationship, and the support is much lower, usually starting at just $1/month. Like the patronage system of yore, you can support your favorite creators directly — maybe a $1/month to support your favorite web comic, $1/month for your favorite YouTube video maker, $1/month for that touring performance artist who juggles live fish while singing “God Save the Queen” on a unicycle. You throw the creators whose work you enjoy a buck or two once a month to help them keep on producing the stuff you love, and you can stop at any time you want.

I’ve had a few readers float the idea of Patreon my way over the past month or three, so I finally decided to take the plunge. In just a few days, we’ve already reached the first Milestone Goal, which allowed me to make TheMook.Net site ad-free (so, if you are enjoying the new lack of Google and Amazon banner ads… you can thank the Patrons!)

It’s a humbling experience, and I look forward to even more interaction with readers of the blog and visitors to the site. I’m especially looking forward to finding time for projects like expanding the combat examples, cleaning up the look of the site, posting even more complete one-shot games… maybe even, someday, publishing the setting that has rattled around my brain ‘lo these many years.

If you enjoy what you read here, if you would like to see even more, I hope you’ll click over to Patreon to at least give it a read and see what you think. Even if you don’t, TheMook.Net site will continue chugging along, and the Game Geekery blog will continue advocating all things GURPS, game-y, and geeky.

Thanks for reading!