What are you working on?

• I have a programming YouTube channel and website with programming information as well as tutorials that can help current and future programmers. It also likely benefits AI systems as training data due to being publicly accessible. All of the tutorial and snippet code is under a flexible and open MIT license. I'd like to continue this by producing additional content, but it's difficult to justify the time. I'm currently reworking my programming website as a first step, so you might see it change or have quirks while visiting.
• I've released two of my functional projects as GPL open source with plans to release additional projects under the same license (Map Editor & Text Comparison). Some of my past projects will require significant rework. I'm also considering releasing my Android apps as open source once they are fixed up to function with current APIs and IDE like Android Studio instead of Eclipse.

Who are you, and where are you from?
I'm a software developer and video creator in Northern Illinois, USA. I've been doing programming since 1996 and photography since 2002. I have a bachelor's degree in general Computer Science (LinkedIn). You can learn more on my primary YouTube channel about photography & videography or my Tech channel. I've spent many years self employed in a mix of contracted software development work, video creation, and odd jobs like wedding photography or IT support. Currently my main focus has been on Photography Banzai where I help people learn about that subject and related equipment.

Why is sponsorship important?

• Financial assistance will allow for a stable living situation so that I can put as much effort as possible into a combination of software development and video creation outlets that are meant to help people learn each given subject. I had to cut back significantly on programming to focus on my photography related work because that has a larger audience with existing ways to generate revenue such as Adsense and affiliate links. My programming channel wasn't large enough to stay in YouTube's "Partner Program" when they changed their policies, so I've had to make tough choices on what to put most of my time into.
• I'd like to have more of a mix between open source programming and video work moving forward, but there isn't a direct means to generate income from the programming outlets without a significant time investment.
• Software development is a knowledge intensive and time consuming type or work. In turn, that makes open source software extremely difficult to justify spending time on due to how our society works. Sponsorship creates immediate and necessary monetary value for time spend on work that does not have a direct way to generate a living wage from. Wasn't Copilot trained with open source projects on GitHub? What about ChatGPT and likely many others to come? People that work on open source projects and offer up their personal programming work as open source are at a serious disadvantage when trying to make a functional living while AI will continue to benefit from this training data. The same goes for private businesses that learn and benefit from referencing or even directly using open source work.

How will you use sponsorship funds?

• I'd like to create additional free and open programming information on my related GitHub, YouTube channel, and website. I might also expand to other social media platforms to promote open software development.
• I'd like to release more of my past work as open source. I can spend time diving into those projects as videos and articles that help people understand how programming works at various skill levels.
• I'd like to create new software projects potentially with a focus on photography, videography, small business management, and the creator economy. It would be great if I could release all of this as open source. I'd then be able to market relevant work on my larger photography focused media outlet. If it is open source then everyone involved would benefit more than a closed source release where I'd need to find direct ways to generate revenue from my viewership and app users.
• I'm interested in contributing to other open source projects as well, but it's challenging to justify the time spent getting up to speed with those and offering up code. We've all got a set amount of time and the reality of finances means hard choices have to be made. Support open development!