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Medium Is Not A Slot Machine and Other Pieces of Advice

Getting a few things straight about Medium

Douglas Giles, PhD
All About M

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(Source: Piqsels)

There has been so, so much kvetching this last week about Medium. Some of it is well deserved, but some of it along the lines of “if I don’t get to bat first I’m going home!” Sorry to say, attitudes of entitlement aren’t sexy.

I’ve been writing on Medium since 2018. I’ve published over 500 articles. I’m a fervent supporter of Medium and what it could be and a fervent critic of how Medium is failing to live up to what it could be. Given the most recent Medium disaster and the ensuing complaints, I have these things to say.

Understand What Medium Is

On the one hand, “Coach” Tony doesn’t owe you a living. On the other hand, “Coach” Tony doesn’t care if you starve. You aren’t hiring Medium to promote your writing. You are paying them to host your writing on their platform. You are not their client. Your Medium membership is paying them the rent to store your articles, and you are paying for a subscription to read other authors’ articles. Do you read other authors’ articles, or are you just here hoping to make money?

Chill

You write on Medium. That’s cool. Yes, authors can make money on Medium. That’s really cool. Guess what? Medium isn’t…

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