John O'Nolan
@johnonolan.bsky.social
Founder/CEO at @Ghost.org - Geographically restless.
Mostly posting about publishing, media, open source, JavaScript, Laravel, bootstrapping, SaaS, activitypub, and design.
Mostly posting about publishing, media, open source, JavaScript, Laravel, bootstrapping, SaaS, activitypub, and design.
After 3 months - counting by number of servers (unique domains) - @ghost.org is now the most-deployed piece of ActivityPub software out there
31% of all sites that interop with open social web standards are running on Ghost
31% of all sites that interop with open social web standards are running on Ghost
October 30, 2025 at 12:05 PM
After 3 months - counting by number of servers (unique domains) - @ghost.org is now the most-deployed piece of ActivityPub software out there
31% of all sites that interop with open social web standards are running on Ghost
31% of all sites that interop with open social web standards are running on Ghost
Doing ~12M req/mo now on my laravel app - which powers explore.ghost.org (the public front end is very simple, the back end is much more extensive)
Still blows my mind how much you can build/manage singlehandedly with a bit of help from Claude and Laravel Cloud
Still blows my mind how much you can build/manage singlehandedly with a bit of help from Claude and Laravel Cloud
October 29, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Doing ~12M req/mo now on my laravel app - which powers explore.ghost.org (the public front end is very simple, the back end is much more extensive)
Still blows my mind how much you can build/manage singlehandedly with a bit of help from Claude and Laravel Cloud
Still blows my mind how much you can build/manage singlehandedly with a bit of help from Claude and Laravel Cloud
I'm always impressed by just how many people who've never maintained any open source software are so wonderfully generous with their advice about how to do it correctly
October 15, 2025 at 12:44 PM
I'm always impressed by just how many people who've never maintained any open source software are so wonderfully generous with their advice about how to do it correctly
Had an amazing time this week speaking at PenpotFest in Madrid - there’s a lot of inspiring work happening in open source design tools these days that gives me a lot of optimism for the future
Thanks for having me @penpot.app 🫶
Thanks for having me @penpot.app 🫶
October 10, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Had an amazing time this week speaking at PenpotFest in Madrid - there’s a lot of inspiring work happening in open source design tools these days that gives me a lot of optimism for the future
Thanks for having me @penpot.app 🫶
Thanks for having me @penpot.app 🫶
@rmccue.io You were workin' as a waitress in a cocktail bar
October 3, 2025 at 8:44 PM
@rmccue.io You were workin' as a waitress in a cocktail bar
it’s amazing (not in a good way) how many books these days are just lengthy accounts of every guest the author has had on their podcast and what each of them said
September 30, 2025 at 10:39 AM
it’s amazing (not in a good way) how many books these days are just lengthy accounts of every guest the author has had on their podcast and what each of them said
Aggregate publisher revenue on @ghost.org is currently growing at ~$1M ARR per *week*
The business of independent publishing and journalism is looking in better shape than it has in a very long time
The business of independent publishing and journalism is looking in better shape than it has in a very long time
September 10, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Aggregate publisher revenue on @ghost.org is currently growing at ~$1M ARR per *week*
The business of independent publishing and journalism is looking in better shape than it has in a very long time
The business of independent publishing and journalism is looking in better shape than it has in a very long time
A blog post is a very long and complex search query to find fascinating people and make them route interesting stuff to your inbox
www.lesswrong.com/posts/vidXh2...
www.lesswrong.com/posts/vidXh2...
A blog post is a very long and complex search query to find fascinating people and make them route interesting stuff to your inbox — LessWrong
I was born in July 1989, which means I am of the last generation who will remember the time before the internet. The cables and data centers and hype…
www.lesswrong.com
September 10, 2025 at 9:20 AM
A blog post is a very long and complex search query to find fascinating people and make them route interesting stuff to your inbox
www.lesswrong.com/posts/vidXh2...
www.lesswrong.com/posts/vidXh2...
Ah I see! It’s not a 12MP crop of a 48MP sensor, it’s a pro fusion telephoto liquid XDR Dynamic Island camera system ultra
September 9, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Ah I see! It’s not a 12MP crop of a 48MP sensor, it’s a pro fusion telephoto liquid XDR Dynamic Island camera system ultra
One of the easiest ways to spot an AI generated reply, other than em dashes, is the endless use of the phrase: "This isn't [trivial, insignificant thing], it's [important, considered thing]."
Stands out like a sore thumb.
Stands out like a sore thumb.
September 8, 2025 at 1:54 PM
One of the easiest ways to spot an AI generated reply, other than em dashes, is the endless use of the phrase: "This isn't [trivial, insignificant thing], it's [important, considered thing]."
Stands out like a sore thumb.
Stands out like a sore thumb.
I took a couple weeks off, can someone catch me up on the 4years of AI news that happened while I was away? So far I've gathered that we all hate Claude now
September 8, 2025 at 9:45 AM
I took a couple weeks off, can someone catch me up on the 4years of AI news that happened while I was away? So far I've gathered that we all hate Claude now
Another story hidden between the lines of this one:
Publishers on Ghost are earning (multiples) more revenue compared to some other platforms that are endlessly shilling their "game changer growth hacking features"
Quality content > Growth hacking
Publishers on Ghost are earning (multiples) more revenue compared to some other platforms that are endlessly shilling their "game changer growth hacking features"
Quality content > Growth hacking
We've now generated over $136M from free, open source software with @ghost.org 📈
$36M in revenue from managed hosting
$100M in platform revenue for indie publishers
The ecosystem is growing really quickly at this point, and really excited about where things are heading next:
$36M in revenue from managed hosting
$100M in platform revenue for indie publishers
The ecosystem is growing really quickly at this point, and really excited about where things are heading next:
August 19, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Another story hidden between the lines of this one:
Publishers on Ghost are earning (multiples) more revenue compared to some other platforms that are endlessly shilling their "game changer growth hacking features"
Quality content > Growth hacking
Publishers on Ghost are earning (multiples) more revenue compared to some other platforms that are endlessly shilling their "game changer growth hacking features"
Quality content > Growth hacking
We've now generated over $136M from free, open source software with @ghost.org 📈
$36M in revenue from managed hosting
$100M in platform revenue for indie publishers
The ecosystem is growing really quickly at this point, and really excited about where things are heading next:
$36M in revenue from managed hosting
$100M in platform revenue for indie publishers
The ecosystem is growing really quickly at this point, and really excited about where things are heading next:
August 18, 2025 at 5:04 PM
We've now generated over $136M from free, open source software with @ghost.org 📈
$36M in revenue from managed hosting
$100M in platform revenue for indie publishers
The ecosystem is growing really quickly at this point, and really excited about where things are heading next:
$36M in revenue from managed hosting
$100M in platform revenue for indie publishers
The ecosystem is growing really quickly at this point, and really excited about where things are heading next:
When writing was first invented, it was critiqued as likely to create the “illusion of wisdom” - because people would no longer bother to memorize knowledge.
What happens when we invent tools?
We adapt, and we evolve.
What happens when we invent tools?
We adapt, and we evolve.
We’ve already seen one major tech-driven culture shift from the pre-internet era to a swipe-and-stream generation hooked on instant gratification and app convenience.
When AI is always-on and omnipresent, what behavioral rewiring comes next? What happens when thinking itself feels too hard?
When AI is always-on and omnipresent, what behavioral rewiring comes next? What happens when thinking itself feels too hard?
August 17, 2025 at 3:47 AM
When writing was first invented, it was critiqued as likely to create the “illusion of wisdom” - because people would no longer bother to memorize knowledge.
What happens when we invent tools?
We adapt, and we evolve.
What happens when we invent tools?
We adapt, and we evolve.
Single most annoying thing to me about Claude Code is that it consistently does "what it believes you meant, based on what you said" rather than "what you said"
Apparently this is a deliberate/intentional feature - but really wish there was a way to disable
Apparently this is a deliberate/intentional feature - but really wish there was a way to disable
August 13, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Single most annoying thing to me about Claude Code is that it consistently does "what it believes you meant, based on what you said" rather than "what you said"
Apparently this is a deliberate/intentional feature - but really wish there was a way to disable
Apparently this is a deliberate/intentional feature - but really wish there was a way to disable
my kingdom for a flight booking MCP so I never have to touch an airline website again
August 13, 2025 at 12:04 AM
my kingdom for a flight booking MCP so I never have to touch an airline website again
Reposted by John O'Nolan
this is the future www.theverge.com/news/718286/...
One of the biggest newsletter platforms now syndicates to Bluesky and Mastodon
Ghost 6.0 adds social web-focused features.
www.theverge.com
August 4, 2025 at 5:23 PM
this is the future www.theverge.com/news/718286/...
Ghost 6.0 has arrived! An enormous amount of work went into delivering our biggest upgrade yet:
🔥 Networked publishing with ActivityPub
📈 Deeply integrated native analytics
🛠️ Thousands of upgrades and improvements
💸 $100,000,000 earned by indie publishers
ghost.org/6/
🔥 Networked publishing with ActivityPub
📈 Deeply integrated native analytics
🛠️ Thousands of upgrades and improvements
💸 $100,000,000 earned by indie publishers
ghost.org/6/
August 4, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Ghost 6.0 has arrived! An enormous amount of work went into delivering our biggest upgrade yet:
🔥 Networked publishing with ActivityPub
📈 Deeply integrated native analytics
🛠️ Thousands of upgrades and improvements
💸 $100,000,000 earned by indie publishers
ghost.org/6/
🔥 Networked publishing with ActivityPub
📈 Deeply integrated native analytics
🛠️ Thousands of upgrades and improvements
💸 $100,000,000 earned by indie publishers
ghost.org/6/
Reposted by John O'Nolan
2.3b tokens for $200 is prob the best money I’ve ever spent tbh
July 25, 2025 at 12:05 AM
2.3b tokens for $200 is prob the best money I’ve ever spent tbh
Reposted by John O'Nolan
Yep. I saved hundreds or even thousands of dollars a month just from switching from Substack to self-hosted Ghost.
I pay a roughly flat $85/month now (~$75 for mailsending, $10 for hosting), vs. 10% of all my subscription income.
I pay a roughly flat $85/month now (~$75 for mailsending, $10 for hosting), vs. 10% of all my subscription income.
Former Substack creators say they’re earning more on new platforms that offer larger shares of subscription revenue
Former Substack writers who exited the platform in early 2024 are making more money on Beehiiv and Ghost thanks to their fixed pricing models.
digiday.com
April 11, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Yep. I saved hundreds or even thousands of dollars a month just from switching from Substack to self-hosted Ghost.
I pay a roughly flat $85/month now (~$75 for mailsending, $10 for hosting), vs. 10% of all my subscription income.
I pay a roughly flat $85/month now (~$75 for mailsending, $10 for hosting), vs. 10% of all my subscription income.
nobody:
logitech: what if your mouse had ChatGPT
logitech: what if your mouse had ChatGPT
July 3, 2025 at 8:21 AM
nobody:
logitech: what if your mouse had ChatGPT
logitech: what if your mouse had ChatGPT
If you want 50% off chatgpt plus, just click cancel
July 2, 2025 at 1:12 PM
If you want 50% off chatgpt plus, just click cancel
Gemini CLI: 1M token context window is nice, but it burns 50% of its context window making mistakes and trying to correct them, so...
July 2, 2025 at 8:13 AM
Gemini CLI: 1M token context window is nice, but it burns 50% of its context window making mistakes and trying to correct them, so...
"Stop making things up and go research" is starting to become my most common response to ChatGPT 4o
It almost never invokes in web search by itself these days if I don't remember to explicitly toggle it on
It almost never invokes in web search by itself these days if I don't remember to explicitly toggle it on
July 2, 2025 at 6:55 AM
"Stop making things up and go research" is starting to become my most common response to ChatGPT 4o
It almost never invokes in web search by itself these days if I don't remember to explicitly toggle it on
It almost never invokes in web search by itself these days if I don't remember to explicitly toggle it on