Friday Notes #70 — My Personal Way of Supporting Others

I’m not the most generous person on earth when it comes to charity. Recent events in Europe are prompting me to reconsider how I’m helping others and what’s the best way to spend or invest my money to achieve that goal. I’m very selective. But first, let's put charity aside and consider the software I’m using to create content and publish on the web (if you are curious to know what I'm using, read my latest blogger workflow update). I don’t always need everything that I’m paying for. Some software is making a big difference, but others do not. Even though some applications that I paid for aren’t really needed, I do pay for some of them because I think they are well crafted and are a great way to show my support to the developer. CleanShot Cloud is a great example. It's cloud-based storage for hosting screenshots, a great addition to CleanShot. I don’t truly need it, but since I’m a big fan of CleanShot, their cloud service for storing screenshots is a nice addition. This service isn’t free. It's a subscription. I think CleanShot is a one-man shop. I want this guy to thrive and have a chance to succeed. That’s why I'm willing to show support. The same applies to Acorn, an image processing app for macOS. Lightroom and Pixelmator are good software that I already use. Why use a third one? I probably liked one thing or two about Acorn, I found the software well done, so I paid for it. The same goes for Commento.io, a service that adds commenting options on two of my blogs. Nobody is really taking advantage of this feature, but if someone wants to post feedback, they can do so by posting a comment.

Now, back to helping others. The war in Ukraine is calling for help from as many people as possible. I decided to give to the Red Cross. I asked my employer to do something about it too, and we created a task force on how we could help as a company. Furthermore, I’m preparing to give some money to one of my colleague’s relatives living in Poland, near the border with Ukraine, in Rumania. This person is helping her community cope with the refugees coming from Ukraine. Finally, I’ll write and send a letter to my local federal government representative asking the federal government to continue and even increase help to Ukraine while increasing pressure on the Russian government. These are small gestures that, I hope, will help make a difference. That’s one of the few ways I’m helping others.

Tomorrow, I’m leaving for a week of vacation in Mexico! I’ve been waiting for that one for a long time! Take care!