Medium is a slot machine
And the house ALWAYS wins!
The MEDIUM is the message … and the program
I like to write essays (mostly about human nature and work) and I was attracted to Medium by its simple clean layout as well as the opportunity to read and interact with other writers. I like it here.
But I’ve noticed that there is quite a bit of unhappiness among the Medium membership lately as captured in the following comments and complaints:
- I’m angry that I’m not making enough money!
- I’m writing X stories every day and I’m burning out!
- I’m angry when someone gives me less than 50 Claps!
- I’m angry when someone puts a link to their own story in a comment about mine. They’re trying to “steal” my readers!
- I’m angry that I’m writing more lately and making less money!
- I’m angry that my stories aren’t being boosted!
- I’m angry that I have thousands of followers but very few of them read my stories.
- I’m angry at those people who get hundreds of reads and claps. They’re not even as good a writer as I am.
- I’m …. ANGRY!!
So I started wondering why so many people seem to be so angry and unhappy here at Medium camp. Here is what I came up with.
The “WEB”
The original World Wide Web was an expansion of a program of interconnected computers (ARPAnet) created by the Department of Defense. Its purpose was to enable scientists and engineers to share documents and files with each other from their desktops. It was a closed system (intranet) with computers running the same operating systems and software.
Then the computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee developed a program language (HTML) that enabled computers running different systems to communicate seamlessly with each other. Pretty impressive engineering feat.
But here’s the really big deal. He did NOT patent his invention, and offered it for FREE to the world. His vision was an unregulated not-for-profit network that enabled EVERYONE to work and play together across the whole world. Beautiful! Thanks for your service Tim.
Corporate Capture
The big telecom companies realized that the internet could be a cash cow (along with cable) with big profits for them. Tech start-ups began to create products (websites, search engines, games, apps) that ran on top of the internet and could be monetized and create walled gardens that attracted and locked in its customers.
Pretty soon Big Tech was able to position itself as the gatekeeper and on-ramp to the internet, and the erstwhile free-way became a toll-based highway. Rather than a loose open “flat” network structure, the internet is now a vertically dominated semi-closed system. The values and rules of the road are now all about selling stuff as well as capturing user attention and monetizing it for profit.
Writers’ Roulette
When you see comments from people on Medium saying that they are upset about “writing more and making less money”, they’re talking about rewards and how they’re delivered. Turns out we know a lot about how humans (and other sentient beings) respond to environmental rewards.
Behavioral scientists have learned a lot about rewards and motivation and gambling and addiction. Corporations hire them and use their knowledge to influence their customers’ behavior. Long story short: you can get people to do a lot of work (e.g. writing!) for very little money if you manage the payment schedule/algorithm correctly (Hint: trickle down … drip … drip … drip). I wrote an in-depth article on my Substack about reward algorithms and behavioral control. You can read a bit about the different payment algorithms on Medium vs. Substack here:
Profits/Loss and the balance sheet
Whenever you write or read here, it’s worth keeping in mind that Medium is a business. It needs to make a profit. The less it pays out to its writers, the larger the profit margin, and the happier the investors are. It’s simple bookkeeping (P&L).
There are many ways for Medium to limit how much of the pot of $5 membership fees (and the bonus check from the Friends of Medium program) gets paid out to its writers:
- Reduce the visibility of writers’ posts on their followers’ feeds (e.g. get rid of the bobbleheads)
- Set internal limits on the number of stories that will be boosted (previously: curated) each day to limit exposure/readership
- Adjust the algorithm for how many reads and claps are required to generate a penny of writer payout
- Adjust the definition of a read (time, % page viewed, etc.)
- Reduce the percentage of total revenues dedicated to writer payouts
Of course these tweaks and adjustments are invisible to Medium’s members/writers, which makes it nearly impossible to game the system and win.
Another economic factor working against making much money as a writer on Medium is the supply/demand curve. There are just too many writers/stories chasing too few readers/dollars. When supply exceeds demand, prices and wages fall. Nothing nefarious there. It’s just the way markets work. You can’t do anything about it.
This means that most of us mortals are NOT going to get rich here. Sad! ☹️ So if we want to make money, we shouldn’t bet too heavily on Medium. We shouldn’t quit our day jobs or side gigs. Even before the internet, writing (magazine articles, books) for fame and fortune was always a risky business.
Good news!
There is a 100% guaranteed way to win the game of Medium: write for the intrinsic pleasure of expressing yourself! 😀
People who do something because they enjoy it are happier and healthier and more productive than people who are chasing rewards. It takes talent and courage to create something from nothing, but you’re in control of that process and the rewards of writing are great.
Go for it! 🖋️ ✏️ 🖍️ ✒️
Author’s Note
I expect this article will provoke a reaction (if anybody reads it!). Some will view it as paranoid, cynical and/or pessimistic/hopeless. Some will demand “proof” for the ideas expressed. It might even get me “banned” from the platform!
My career has been all about helping people by providing the just right information that can help them change for the better. When I see the amount of unhappiness expressed by so many writers here on Medium, it makes me want to help in some way. That is the motivation for this essay.
This is what I write about ⬇️
