My Own Hypocrisy

I believe in a free and open internet.

I’ve said it many times. I’ve written it into my bones. I push for it, I cheer it on, and I create content under that philosophy.

And yet, if you scroll through Niche of One, you’ll see members-only content.

You’ll see a paid tier.

You’ll see a subscribe button asking for support.

So yeah, let’s talk about my own hypocrisy.

All My Articles Are Free
Everything I publish, from essays, reflections, creative work, digital minimalism thoughts, writing strategy, is 100% free to read.

I don’t hide it behind paywalls.

I don’t care if it gets AI-scraped or copied.

Ideas are meant to be shared, not hoarded. That’s the internet I believe in. That’s the world I want to help build.

But…

Newsletter Posts Are Members-Only
This part is intentional.

If you want to read my weekly letters, you need to subscribe.

It’s free.

No bait-and-switch. No spammy upsells. Just a gentle gate to keep the space focused, engaged, and intentional.

I’m not doing this to restrict access.

I’m doing it to filter noise. My newsletter is a conversation, not a billboard. I want to talk to people who actually want to be here.

Why Paid Members Exist
The paid tier? That’s not a vault of life-changing secrets.

It’s simply extra stuff.

Behind-the-scenes thinking. Bonus resources. Occasional experiments and deeper dives.

It’s for folks who want to support what I’m doing and get a little something in return. Nothing that will make or break your experience on the site.

So… Am I a Hypocrite?
Maybe.

But I think of it more as a contradiction I’m willing to own.

The internet should be free. But it’s not free to keep a site alive, write meaningful content, or support a growing community.

I’m not here to get rich. I’m here to connect, create, and continue.

If offering a few extras for members lets me keep doing that—without walling off the core of what I create—I can live with the tension.

It’s not about perfection.

It’s about integrity in practice.

And that’s the kind of internet I still believe in.