Macfilos at 15: An opportunity to contribute to the future

Macfilos at 15 — the blog is now a gangly youth but looking always to the future. We started in 2008, originally operating as an Apple-centric technology site, spurred on by the success of the new iPhone. Since then, the focus has changed dramatically and Macfilos has become a significant voice in the world of Leica photography. The name remains the same, however, and the Mac bit is easy to understand when you remember our Apple past.

Labour of love

Working on Macfilos has become almost a full-time job for me, as editor, but I am fortunate in that I am retired, I enjoy it and have the time. However, the continued operation of the blog depends on self funding. With no advertising or sponsorship, the day-to-day running costs come from my own pocket and the bill gets ever larger.

Fortunately, I am no longer alone. In the past couple of years, I have had tremendous support from our editorial colleagues, Jörg-Peter Rau in Germany and Keith James in California. We’ve formed a small editorial board and discuss activities daily. We are also blessed with a strong and growing band of regular contributors based all over the world, and that makes curating the site so much easier.

The combined efforts of our contributors and editorial team has resulted in steady increases in both visitor and page view numbers. Thus, between June 2022 and June 2023, visitor numbers increased by 112% and page views by 70%. Macfilos is reaching more photography enthusiasts than ever, with content that is relevant, well regarded, and readable. We deliver gear reviews by photographers who have used the equipment in the field, travel articles from far-flung locations, news about the latest developments in the world of photography, and of course, lots of outstanding photographs.

Macfilos at 15 is becoming expensive

Costs continue to rise, however. Hosting fees are inflated because of the huge number of photographs we upload to the site every year. There is a whole raft of additional fees and subscriptions, including agency bills, to make sure that the site is running reliably. And we have to pay for spam protection, malware protection and daily backups, which are essential in maintaining a constant presence.

Now, we face additional costs in implementing a cookie policy to comply with data-protection legislation. We have put this off repeatedly (because I hate the intrusion when I visit websites) but now we have to do something, although we aim to implement it in the least obtrusive way possible. We are not interested in collecting or using data in any way, but, unfortunately, we are swept up in the increasingly onerous do-gooder restrictions being forced on all blog owners. They are well-meaning, I am certain, but they irritate me beyond measure when I visit other sites.

The best way forward for Macfilos at 15?

The obvious way of helping to pay for all this is advertising. Yet, this is something we have decided to avoid*. For simplicity, then, we have chosen to use a PayPal donate button. If you feel that Macfilos is worth supporting, you can use it to send whatever you think is appropriate. We do not offer any special service or additional content to supporters since we wish to keep it simple.

Our annual running costs this year will be around £3,000 ($3,800, €3,500) and all of this is paid entirely by the editorial board who, in addition, give up a big chunk of spare time to bring you regular stories and images.

If you have enjoyed reading Macfilos over the years, please do consider making a donation of any size; no amount is too small and everything will be received gratefully and put to good use. We are not in the business of making profit, so any surplus will be carried forward to future years or could be spent on upgrading to a new theme to make reading more pleasurable and rewarding. While we mark Macfilos at 15, let’s look forward to celebrating Macfilos at 25.

Why make a donation NOW?

• Macfilos is part of your daily/weekly ritual and you enjoy this entertainment
• Macfilos has saved you money when buying (or not buying!) gear
• Macfilos makes you aware of things you newer knew about
• Macfilos shows you images and places you might otherwise never have heard of
• Macfilos authors work on a voluntary basis, receiving nothing for their work apart from feedback from fellow users
• Macfilos creates one of the friendliest communities in the world wide web
• Macfilos editors give the best they have: knowledge, time, talent — they should not have to throw in their money as well

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* We have considered gaining financial support through Go Fund Me or Patreon, but these systems involve some reciprocal activity and higher commission costs

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