❤️🔥OPEN ME! I'M A VERY SPECIAL NEWSY ❤️🔥
Besties! First of all...
Today's newsy is an extra special one because we've just sent out our 100th edish (!!!!) Since there are now OVER 50,000 OF YOU READING ALONG EVERY DAY, I figured it was time to get a lil bit more personal with you, re-introduce you to who and what SYSCA is, and let you know that we can’t continue to do this without you 🥺🥺🥺
It’s issue 💯 and we’ve kept it 💯
You never know if people are gonna vibe with a new thing that you put out into the world - which is why I was nervy as hell when I sent out the first-ever newsy. Thankfully for me, you were all into it. In fact, you’re super into it! Not only do you choose to receive it every day but you also 1) open it and 2) respond to it - and this is a BIG DEAL! I’m not gonna lie, it takes a shit tonne of effort to wake up trawl through the news, understand it, translate it, and then actually write this thing every day - but you’re the reason I keep doing it - you light up my life (and my notifications.)
Since a bunch of you are new here (hey!!) I thought it might be a good idea to re-introduce SYSCA to you.
✨A re-introduction to SYSCA ✨
Shit You Should Care About was born about three years ago in the back of a lecture theatre. I was wondering why the hell I wasn’t understanding any of the world events my International Relations lecturer was referring to and why, when I tried to learn more, the news was so hard to understand!? Naturally, I text Rubes and Liv (forever besties & now workmates!) asking them if they wanted to start something called Shit You Should Care About, where we could talk about ✨literally anything people might want to care about ✨ in ✨words we all understand✨ and thankfully they were into it.
For those of you who don’t know, Rubes, Liv and I are from a small town in New Zealand, and have been literally inseparable since we were about 15 (we all actually met much earlier in our lives, but this is the long-story-short version.) When you’re from a small town (not even classed as a city), there’s not much to do except talk and think and plan businesses with your best pals. We went from dreaming up magazines, to playgrounds (but for adults), to full-blown mental health cafes (which is still low-key a good idea.) Somehow though, we landed on a little unassuming media company with a swearword in its title and a big love for Harry Styles.
Over the last three years, SYSCA has gone from a few text messages sent in a lecture theatre and a clunky WordPress blog, to an Instagram account, a couple of podcasts (we made and sold 100 tote bags to save up money to buy the two mics we STILL USE for The Shit Show today!!), a daily newsletter, a WEB SERIES, and a stupidly big and loving social media community where people feel safe to come and stan whoever or whatever you want (we will never shit on you for being a stan!!)
And it’s still just Rubes, Liv and me talking about the same shit, except now it’s actually our jobs - which is where you come in.
You’re the ones who listen to us on our podcasts (and put up with our at-home studios and messy edits - with your support we can hire an actual studio/editor/sound engineer!), you’re the ones who let me learn in real-time when I fuck up and use the wrong language on Instagram, and you’re the ones who fill my inbox with love every morning when I send out this newsy.
And hopefully, you’re the ones who’ll support us to keep this thing going.
Normalise paying for the media you love 💰
I’m not going to beat around the bush here (that’s not really my style is it???) We would love you - and need you to - come & support us here at SYSCA by becoming a ✨SYSCA supporter.✨ It’s really easy for me to say things like “newsletters are the new newspapers” but how many of us have actually ever had to pay for a newspaper in our lives??? Us youngins have grown up having everything available and accessible to us all the time - which is AMAZING for so many reasons, but there is a cost to free things - even if you can’t see it. When the emerging tech world is so mystifying, countries are literally at war, and misinformation is spreading like a leaked Harry Styles song, finding media that you trust, understand and actually want to read is so important - which is where I come in.
So many of you email me or DM me saying how much you love what we do, thanking me for explaining topics you might not have heard of, and telling me how much it means to you that you’ve got a friend on the other side of this thing (🥺🥺🥺) - so I know you value what I do (I value you too!) If you believe in paying for the media (or the person???) you love, then please consider becoming a supporter.
BECOME A ✨ SYSCA SUPPORTER ✨
And in case it wasn’t obvious, none of this is possible without you 🥺
Honestly, it’s fucking amazing that after 100 editions of the newsy, over 4000 Instagram posts and HUNDREDS of podcast episodes, I still literally love every single part of doing this wild job - and that’s because of you all. My besties, my penpals, and often my teachers, I never wanna stop doing this for you.
The fact is (and this has been fact-checked) - one way or another, we’ve gotta pay for our wages/bills/pod studio/office space… all the things that go into making stuff for you via this (much more than) full-time job. And your support is how we can do it! While we do dabble in some advertising, we’re suuuper particular about the organisations we work with - and we want to keep it that way! Your support means that we only work with the vibey clients & continue making the cool (and editorially independent) shit that we all love!
✨One last thing✨
We’ve moved over to a fun new platform to look after our SYSCA supporters!
Why?
As I’ve just mentioned, our goal is to be mostly ✨audience supported✨so that we can continue to do bigger and better shit for you! But in doing so, we never want to leave anyone out. I’ve had so many emails from you asking if you could pay more, pay less, or pay just one time - and I hear ya! This new platform lets us offer a monthly, yearly, or one-off donation, so you can support in whatever way makes sense to you.
What if I can’t pay anything right now?
It’s no dramas!! We’re all at different spots in our life, and believe us - we get it. Of course, you’re still going to receive the daily newsy and all of our podcasts free of charge, and if you can’t afford to support us monetarily, you can go and rate/review and subscribe to our podcasts, or send the newsletters to your friends and family! Things like that help us sooo much.
I’m already a paying supporter - do I need to do anything?
Nope! Everything has been seamlessly finessed on our end, so you shouldn’t have to touch a thing! In fact, if you’re already a paying supporter, you’re now known as one of our ✨founding supporters✨so you’ll continue to pay the same thing as you do right now, even though our new prices look a lil different. To change any of your deets and log into your account, you’ll need to log in here!
Everything else you need to know to become a ✨SYSCA supporter✨ is right here, and I can’t wait to see what magic we make together next!
So please consider becoming a ✨SYSCA Supporter ✨ — shityoushouldcareabout.memberful.com
Donate monthly, annually, or one-off!