What (if anything) do you support through Patreon?

I use to support PNWS podcasts. They make a lot of really interesting and spooky sci-fi podcasts that I like a lot. But they ended a couple of the stories I liked, ran another one I liked into the ground, and haven't really been releasing anything that interests me lately so I had to pull the plug on that. Though I strongly suggest checking them out.

Small Beans is a group of ex-Cracked writers making a bunch of content that they want. I was a really big fan of most of these people when they were making articles and videos at cracked, so when they got fired and started their own small group it was pretty natural for me to follow them. They have a really wide variety of things they release because there are so many different creators under the umbrella (there's a political podcast, there's a series called into the pit that talks about mental illness and depression. Started as one guy's look into his alcoholism and suicidal tendencies. There are some film and TV reviews, sometimes they get together and stream playing board games. There's a lot of different types of content). I'm a patreon for them because I really liked the content they make and its pretty minimal commitment. Edit: to answer your follow-up. I actually started being a patreon for what I gather is a weird reason. I liked their content and then one of their members made a tweet about how depressed he was because he'd been unemployed in LA (doesn't see small beans as his whole career) for a long time and he was barely paying his bills and really depressed about it. I became a patreon because I believe he's really witty and makes great content, and I want to support him and help him out how I can.

Last one is the Try Guys. This one might age me a bit. I just think their content is funny and I like smoking weed and watching 4 reasonably funny guys do dumb things and I like supporting independent creators (they just left buzzfeed to start their own company with the goal of helping other content creators grow their brands as well).

Pop Culture Detective Agency! Jonathan McIntosh makes such great videos about the intersection of masculinity, pop culture, and equality. Some of them are hard to watch (especially the ones that point out the misandry/misogyny in very popular media), but they are all so well-researched and well-made.

They're not all doom-and-gloom, either. He makes video essays about really cool depictions of masculinity, as well!

Tildes and Friends at the Table, an actual play podcast focused on critical world building, smart characterization, and fun interaction between good friends.

I'm a fan of the Film Reroll as well, though I find it works better for movies you're more familiar with. The Bill and Ted's episode was a lot of fun

The main creator I support is sleep with me podcast. I give him $10/month and I have never regretted a dime I sent his way. Finding that podcast was single-handedly the best quality of life improvement I have experienced.

I also follow a handful of YouTubers. The most notable is Ahoy. He doesn't release many videos, but every single one is spectacular. (I also follow him because YouTube's algorithm hates his release schedule and will not tell me that he has a new video out, even though I have watched every video he releases within a day of me finding it.)

EDIT: A followup question. Does the amount that a creator on Patreon is already receiving have any bearing on your decision to contribute?

Yes. If it's something that's more in the category "a shame if this would disappear" instead of "I get a lot out of this/I actively consume or feel part of this" and it's already doing well, I don't contribute. For instance, I used to be a supporter of the Partially Examined Life podcast. But I listened to later episodes less and less, so I cut them. They already have quite the support base.

On the other hand, I support Nicky Case, who makes really cool stuff very infrequently. I so appreciate these and I really want her to make a living from her work.

I also support the very awesome Philosophy Bites and, because of this thread, Tildes.

I support OpenPowerlifting. It's a FOSS project that is archiving powerlifting history. The goal is to remember every lifter at every level of the sport, not just the record holders. All the data and code are released for free. They have currently archived over 22,000 competitions and 395,000 unique lifters

Some independent artists like Zhillustrator who make really cool art. I've bought multiple prints from that guy, really love his work. It's awesome if artists can live off of their work so l'll gladly help.

Three things:

1. Tildes
2. The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast -- its great. I don't always agree with him, but he's got an interesting view on a lot of popular subjects like PC culture, #metoo, the state of film, etc etc. His first podcast with PodcastOne had a lot of bigger names, but this one has more writers and lesser known folks, who are remarkably interesting. BEE can come off extremely pompous and full of himself, but you get used to it after a while and... well, you just get it. I'm on the lowest tier at $2 per episode, which is a fair price.
3. The OMDB API -- I maintain a large spreadsheet that pulls data from OMDB using importjson.gs. I also pull from TVMaze and TMDB, but IMDB doesn't have an API and for a time the free one was severely limited / timed out a lot. I import TV and movie info and then paste the values into their respective sheets. I also have some output tools to generate markdown so I can quickly suggest shows with detail. All in all, the OMDB API is a valuable part of this process and well worth the buck a month.

I used to support Door Monster when I had a steady income.

Now, I'd support SovietWomble. He doesn't need it – he says so on the page – but I would, nevertheless, because the man delivers constantly.

I'd also consider supporting Hundred Rabbits – partly because they lead a cool lifestyle, partly because they make some really creative software and web design.

Tildes, and Way Out West: A Blow-In Blog. Tim and Sandra have a small farm in Ireland where they keep a lot of animals, run a therapeutic riding program, invent stuff, grow all kinds of things in an environmentally friendly way, make very entertaining YouTube videos, and generally struggle along as top-notch human beings.

Edit to answer the follow-up question: Yes, if a creator is already making a good amount of money on Patreon I don't feel the need to add to it. I don't have much to spare, and can only choose a couple of causes to support in my very small way.

Just a video series called Easy Russian, that does person-on-the-street interviews. They release often and do good work with subtitling (in Russian, transliterated Russian, and English), which is pretty rare, so that one is definitely worthwhile.

I had also Patreon'd Cloth Map for quite a while, but the release consistency just wasn't there. I should add Tildes, as well, since my current method of "just PayPal money whenever I think of it" isn't the most effective method.

I'm a patron of Decoherent on YouTube, he has some really good RimWorld (great game too) Let's Plays.

So far only The Blindboy Podcast. It's the best thing I've heard in a long time. You need to start at the start though, and it takes a while to get into properly, probably about 6 episodes.

Currently I support:

Errant Signal, a video essayist on video games, and imo the best games writer out there in general. Also just a very nice guy.

The Pedantic Romantic, an anime video essayist. They're one of the best in that lane, but I particularly like to support them because I enjoy having a trans and leftist voice in the YouTube anime community...it needs it. The community in their Discord server is also quite nice so I appreciate them in general.

Piper Tompkins / SocialRevolution on YouTube, an old friend of mine who I haven't talked to much in a while but who I want to see continuing to work on her anarchist political writing and work on YouTube. One of the most thoughtful people I ever knew, really...and I'd love to see that shared with the world more :)

...and Tildes!