# John O'Nolan > Founder/CEO @ Ghost.org — Geographically restless. Publishing, open source, and independent business around the world. Public Ghost content for AI and LLM tooling. Use `/llms-full.txt` for consolidated page and post context. Append `.md` to any post or page URL to get the content in Markdown (for example, `/example-post.md`). ## Pages - [About me](https://john.onolan.org/about.md) - I'm a thinker, entrepreneur, designer and developer. I love open source technology, socially responsible business models and independent journalism. I work and play at the intersection where all of these things meet. * @john@john.onolan.org * Twitter * BlueSky * LinkedIn * Threads * GitHub Now I'm… - [Contact me](https://john.onolan.org/contact.md) - I love hearing from strangers and old friends alike, so drop me a line and say hi any time on john@onolan.org. I especially enjoy hearing from Ghost users and developers, but if you need technical support or help you'll get a much faster response on the Ghost forum. You can also find me around and… ## Posts - [I built a CLI for Ghost](https://john.onolan.org/i-built-a-cli-for-ghost.md) - And it made me wonder what the future of UI holds - [Open Source in the age of AI](https://john.onolan.org/open-source-in-the-age-of-ai.md) - Early 2026 is a very weird time to be an open source maintainer. On the one hand, the burden of codebase maintenance has dropped dramatically. Small teams with long todo lists now have the ability to accomplish more than ever before. On the other hand, the dynamics of the software industry are rapi… - [I'm making an RSS reader](https://john.onolan.org/making-an-rss-reader.md) - Why am I making an RSS reader? I don't know. There are a thousand RSS readers out there already, and they all read RSS feeds, but none of them work the way I'd like them to. So I'm making my own. It's obviously a terrible idea. So why do it? Mostly for fun. There are all sorts of interesting things… - [$136M](https://john.onolan.org/136m.md) - We've now generated over $136M from free, open source software with Ghost $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. For a while it felt like the e… - [Reflections on the social web](https://john.onolan.org/reflections-on-the-social-web.md) - My biggest point of uncertainty about Ghost 6.0 was whether people were going to "get" the social web integration. The technology is wonderful, but complex. For many people, terms like ActivityPub, Fediverse, bridge, protocol, server, toot, boost, and Webfinger are alienating and confusing. They su… - [12 years of Ghost](https://john.onolan.org/12.md) - Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one - [Centaurs of vibe coding](https://john.onolan.org/centaurs-of-vibe-coding.md) - I'm reading Range by David Epstein at the moment, of which the below is an excerpt. I can't help but draw parallels between the evolution of AI, 10+ years ago, and today – if you just switch chess:programming, and freestyle:vibe-coding. It feels remarkably similar. In a 1997 showdown billed as the… - [Democratising publishing](https://john.onolan.org/democratising-publishing.md) - Thoughts on open source governance and how to create trust within technology, communities, and media. - [ProNotes](https://john.onolan.org/pronotes.md) - If you use Apple Notes a lot - this (free!) app/plugin for it makes it 1,000% more useful and usable. It adds a formatting toolbar and inline markdown support, which makes Apple Notes feel a bit more like Ghost or Medium: ProNotesSupercharged Apple Notes I shared this on Threads and someone pointed… - [How members got added to Ghost](https://john.onolan.org/how-members-got-added-to-ghost.md) - I was digging through some old design files yesterday and came across two of the first ever sketches I made for the idea of memberships and subscriptions in Ghost, from way back at the very beginning of 2016. These seem pretty obvious, now, but at the time nothing like this really existed. It's kin… - [A decade after being rejected by YC](https://john.onolan.org/a-decade-after-being-rejected-by-yc.md) - About 10 years ago I applied to Y Combinator with Ghost. At the time we were trying to get $120k in funding for 7% equity — but got rejected (twice). So instead we launched on Kickstarter and then bootstrapped. Today Ghost has earned over $25Million from customers for 0% equity, and all of Y Combin… - [How web bloat impacts users with slow devices](https://john.onolan.org/how-web-bloat-impacts-users-with-slow-devices.md) - A great post by Dan Luu looking at the relative performance of different web platforms running on devices with limited CPUs. - [A new start blog for 2024](https://john.onolan.org/a-new-start.md) - At the end of 2023 I started working on a new project called Vintas, a simple hiring platform for remote teams. Initially I shared a few thoughts on Twitter and Threads, but I quickly ran into the same problems I always do when sharing anything on those platforms. The algorithms are unpredictable.… ## Optional - [RSS Feed](https://john.onolan.org/rss/) - [Sitemap](https://john.onolan.org/sitemap.xml) - [Full content of pages and posts](https://john.onolan.org/llms-full.txt)