> No. Like I said above, Stratechery is a business, and it’s the quality of my audience that makes this deal possible. Moreover, Stratechery has never promised to be ad-free: what I am selling is access to my paid content, and it’s on me to make that content worthwhile.
This is disappointing. As a long-time Stratechery subscriber, and someone who cares a little too much about where my time and attention is spent, I go out of my way to pay for the ad-free tier for almost all the content I regularly consume.
After years of reading Ben’s arguments in favor of advertising, I was finally starting to come around to his point of view. This announcement, though, leaves a sour taste in my mouth.
I think Ben’s own distinction between lean-in and lean-back engagement is particularly relevant here. When I’m mindlessly scrolling Instagram, an ad for an interesting product is just as welcome a diversion as the wedding photos of some long-forgotten acquaintance. But when I’m reading Stratechery, I’m deliberately giving a subject my attention, hoping to come away with some new insight. An ad for Stripe in the middle of that experience serves as a distraction and decreases value rather than increasing it.
And, in the spirit of Ben’s own disclosures, I should mention that I recently joined a company that competes with Stripe. Make of that what you will.