Happy New Year!
I hope this letter finds you all very well, and that your respective holiday vacations were enjoyable, restful, and fattening. Yes, fattening, because it’s probably cold out where you are, and who doesn’t like to sit on the couch and eat all day instead of going outside? Just me? Okay.
I wanted to check-in with all of you to first say thank you. Thank you for making 2017 such a rousing success for Colin’s Last Stand. I’m just one person -- not a group or a company -- and so to have one of the most successful Patreons in the world during that time is really cool, and something that I’ll always remember. I’ll always and forever be thankful for the life you guys have given me, and will always preach from the mountaintops that hard work absolutely, positively pays off, especially when you’re doing something you love. I doubt CLS will ever reach those heights again, and that’s fine. Maybe CLS will ultimately fall off of a cliff, and I'll go do something else with my life. I dunno. That’s ultimately up to all of you. I can’t demand an audience, or your time and attention, or a market for what I do. I can only do my absolute best to earn what’s been given me, and to return a volley of content that I hope entertains and informs you.
As I’ve explained to you in the past, I’ve always wanted Colin’s Last Stand to hinge on a limited rotisserie of content that stresses quality over quantity, content that changes with your whims and desires, as well as my own (because I want to stay sane). Fireside Chats spawned because you guys missed me talking to other people. It’s now a mainstay of CLS. Side Quest came to be because you guys were sick of my hard-headedness about not talking about games. It’s now the brand’s most popular show. Change will continue to come, as new shows are introduced, and others put on hiatus. Nothing is permanent; yet, nothing will ever be retired. It's beautiful, really. Colin's Last Stand has no definition. It is whatever we want it to be.
On that note, let's talk about what's new. Late in 2017, I told you that I had a new show in the works, a new idea. Over the holidays, I met with the co-host of this new show, and we’re working towards solidifying what the show will be, and hope that it will see the light of day no later than March, but hopefully in February. I won’t reveal the co-host quite yet, but I will say that it’s going to be a nerd culture-driven audio podcast. Games. Movies. Books. Whatever makes sense.
It’ll be conversational and informative, and focus less on what’s hot at the moment, and focus more on diving deep into what we love and are passionate about. It's finally going to allow me to collaborate with someone I’ve wanted to work closely with for a very long time. I think this show makes sense for one reason in particular: We focus too much on what’s next, but rarely marinate on anything long enough to truly appreciate, understand, or enjoy something, and this is especially true in our space. I don’t feel like many podcasts reflect reality for those who are listening, who don’t have the time to play what’s new, or get to the most recent movie, or jump into the hottest TV show. I want this new show to reflect your reality, which is also my reality, frankly. You should see my backlog of games, movies, and TV shows. It’s insane. And I do this for a living!
The other thing I wanted to do here is to announce a new, temporary Patreon tier. Last year, a talented artist named Jake Kontou drew the picture of me (seen above), and, if you support me in the month of January at the $50+/month level, you’ll get a high-quality, signed print of that art along with your postcard. I only did something like this one other time, when I signed The Infamous Tweet. This is something just a little different that I want to do, and look forward to shipping those out in February to interested parties.
Speaking of Patreon, I want to wrap-up on that note. Colin’s Last Stand continues to depend almost entirely on Patreon to survive. I recently started serving YouTube ads to algorithmically help my videos, and to increase their discoverability, but the money made there over the course of a year is unlikely to even cover the cost of the schoolbook charity CLS did late last year (truth be told, I haven't even taken the meager funds in AdSense out yet; it's just sitting there). Merch makes money, too, and has sold very well, but my insistence on Made in the USA, American-designed-and-printed, high quality gear means that it’s also a drop in the bucket, once costs are covered. In short: Your help here on Patreon is much-needed.
If you don’t support CLS on Patreon already, please do. Even jumping in at a low level really helps, and nets you some cool perks, including voting rights for future topics ($2/month), early access to Fireside Chats ($5/month), and Q&A Video access ($10/month). And if you’re already here, please consider upping your pledge if you enjoy what Colin’s Last Stand is all about, and what it’s attempting to do.
As always, your feedback is very welcome. You can leave your comments here on Patreon, or message me privately with Patreon’s messenger, too. I’d love to hear what you like and don’t like about the content, what you’d love to see in the future, and how I can better use Patreon to make it more worth your while. As anyone who has messaged me before can tell you, I pretty much always message back.
And, hey, if you wanna just enjoy the content without paying, you’re more than welcome to do that, too. Your access won’t change, and you’re still a welcome and cherished member of this community. I just figured I’d ask again for your support, just in case you’re on the fence.
Here’s to a fantastic 2018! I’m wishing you and yours nothing but the best, and hope you continue to enjoy what Colin’s Last Stand is doing -- and will do -- well into the future.
Yours, -Colin
Colin Moriarty
2018-01-08 19:09:42 +0000 UTCAlex Kloeden
2018-01-08 08:41:59 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-07 19:03:22 +0000 UTCAlex Kloeden
2018-01-07 07:27:32 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-05 03:48:32 +0000 UTCAdvent
2018-01-04 21:56:36 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-04 21:50:59 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-04 08:04:46 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-04 08:04:25 +0000 UTCBryan Finck
2018-01-04 05:33:45 +0000 UTCA.G.Rowe
2018-01-04 05:09:33 +0000 UTCA.G.Rowe
2018-01-04 05:03:01 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-04 02:02:04 +0000 UTCTravis farmer
2018-01-04 00:55:25 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-03 19:30:15 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-03 19:30:08 +0000 UTCPaul James
2018-01-03 16:51:58 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-03 07:42:44 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-03 07:42:11 +0000 UTCCampbell Jones
2018-01-03 06:01:40 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-03 04:54:56 +0000 UTCRay Briggs
2018-01-03 04:52:45 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-03 03:56:26 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-03 03:56:17 +0000 UTCKelly Machande
2018-01-03 01:33:34 +0000 UTCMarty Blois
2018-01-03 01:19:53 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-03 00:57:27 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-03 00:57:21 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-03 00:57:07 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-03 00:56:55 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-03 00:56:38 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-03 00:56:05 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-03 00:55:53 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-03 00:55:35 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-03 00:54:43 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-03 00:54:01 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-03 00:53:51 +0000 UTCGustavo
2018-01-03 00:45:02 +0000 UTCMike Collins
2018-01-03 00:27:37 +0000 UTCDon Le
2018-01-03 00:15:08 +0000 UTCTony Colton
2018-01-03 00:08:09 +0000 UTCNicholas Swanson
2018-01-02 23:15:37 +0000 UTCBettyAnn Moriarty
2018-01-02 23:05:54 +0000 UTCNeely 4x4
2018-01-02 22:51:20 +0000 UTCRyan Carrig
2018-01-02 22:50:23 +0000 UTCJohn Lynch
2018-01-02 22:49:05 +0000 UTCDav9834
2018-01-02 22:47:41 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-02 22:45:25 +0000 UTCAustin Tex Perez
2018-01-02 22:38:24 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-02 22:35:38 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-02 22:35:28 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-02 22:35:01 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-02 22:34:47 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-02 22:34:24 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-02 22:34:11 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-02 22:34:03 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-02 22:33:52 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-02 22:33:07 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-02 22:33:01 +0000 UTCMarius Skarsem Pedersen
2018-01-02 22:29:03 +0000 UTCJon Rodriguez
2018-01-02 22:13:26 +0000 UTCJohn Schulz
2018-01-02 22:11:08 +0000 UTCDaniel D'Amore
2018-01-02 22:10:47 +0000 UTCTonys_Always_Write
2018-01-02 22:10:13 +0000 UTCAnthony Wright
2018-01-02 22:06:21 +0000 UTCTyler
2018-01-02 22:06:19 +0000 UTCAnthony Wright
2018-01-02 22:04:02 +0000 UTCIan (616Entertainment)
2018-01-02 22:02:58 +0000 UTCCameron Paterson
2018-01-02 21:59:15 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-02 21:58:26 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-02 21:58:17 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-02 21:57:44 +0000 UTCDonovan Lipscomb
2018-01-02 21:57:05 +0000 UTCJon Cordeiro
2018-01-02 21:57:02 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-02 21:56:17 +0000 UTCAnthony Wright
2018-01-02 21:56:11 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-02 21:55:06 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-02 21:54:57 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-02 21:54:49 +0000 UTCJoe Aldape
2018-01-02 21:52:47 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-02 21:52:24 +0000 UTCJimmy Valentine
2018-01-02 21:51:11 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-02 21:50:04 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-02 21:48:31 +0000 UTCSteven Camilo
2018-01-02 21:48:19 +0000 UTCColin Moriarty
2018-01-02 21:47:31 +0000 UTCSimon Winstanley
2018-01-02 21:45:39 +0000 UTC