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*Note. I plan on publishing this on SubStack, but I will publish to nostr first.* Hello SubStack! My government name is Marc. I write a blog about freedom tech on [nostr](https://start.njump.me/). You can find this blog at npub.npub.pro. but I decided to cross post this blog on Substack because more people use Substack then [habla.news](https://habla.news/). Here's a little more about the blog. ## A Free And Open Source Blog  This blog is written using the [Creative Commons 0 license](https://gitea.marc26z.com/marc/BlogImprovementProposals/src/branch/main/LICENSE). Since I write about free and open source software I call freedom tech. I thought it would be silly to keep my writing behind a paywall. I would rather my prose be available for free for all. This means all of my work is available for free, but to be honest, I like the subscription model. If SubStack gave me an option to charge sats, I would use their subscription service. Since they don't, I set up an account with [Flash](https://paywithflash.com) using [Alby Hub](https://albyhub.com). ### Ads Suck, But Product Reviews Can Help Bootstrap The Circular Economy  **Ads** suck as much as paywalls, but I also wish to monetize this. Therefore, I have decided to try Jack Spirko's Membership Brigade model I learned about on [The Side Hustle Show](https://fountain.fm/episode/YjUia39xEzXvFGNoBNUO). I already was a member when I listened to this episode, bur the basic idea is ro charge $5.00 a month. For this price, Jack saves his listeners money by procuring discounts for products and services he uses and work great for him. He basically gives product reviews for his advertisers and his membership brigade receives discounts for those products and services. Since I'm just starting out, I don't have any discounts to offer yet, but I have some ideas. I also recommend free and open-source software that can save you money because it's free. These are not ads. They are more like consumer reviews. There is a bitcoin circular economy developing on nostr. I want to recomend great products from this circular economy like LeatherMint's belts. They're not cheap, but very high quality. He hand crafts these belts to a size customized to yoir wasteline. He's from Canada and he sells these high quality belts for sats. That was not an ad. It's my honest opinion. LeatherMint did not pay me to say this, but I wouldn't mind if he did. I give my recommendations to the Marc's Mention Members. The goal is to provide value by saving you sats. It's still a work in progress. ### Shop Marc's Merch  I also created a merch shop on shopstr.store. This is nostr-powered shopping, an online mall that uses the native currency of the Internet. This is a quintessential example of freedom tech. I don't have too many products, but my goal is to add more. I'm working on personalized coffee mugs, but I don't yet have a minimally viable product. Until then, I'll sell other stuff. I also must test it some more before I start taking real money. :) Thanks for reading. [Marc](nostr:npub1marc26z8nh3xkj5rcx7ufkatvx6ueqhp5vfw9v5teq26z254renshtf3g0) [878,550](https://mempool.marc26z.com/block/00000000000000000000b8d817132eb988ed6adb55e9b578dbb0c03ee7856542) [Become Marc's Mention Member](https://marc26z.com/become-a-marcs-mention-member/) [Marc's Merch](nostr:npub1marc26z8nh3xkj5rcx7ufkatvx6ueqhp5vfw9v5teq26z254renshtf3g0)