Farewell, CodeX
I’m stepping down as the founder of CodeX
Hey everyone, it’s your Nikhil from CodeX. I’m writing this post to let you guys know that I’m no longer associated with CodeX and I’ll be leaving the publication at the start of 2023.
I wanted to make this post as short and precise as possible but I don’t know if I could have another chance to share the story of CodeX, so here it goes.
The Story
Part 1: The Cause
I started writing on Medium right at the time when the pandemic hit its peak. To be precise, it’s around June 2020. At first, I posted stories on Finance but after some time when I made content about programming, I got the chance to publish with a huge publication. At this point in time, getting into this publication was equivalent to getting into any of the Ivy League Schools for me. After becoming a writer in that publication, I posted some stories with them and those became massive hits. Sounds like a perfect success story, right? Well, I’m not finished.
I was around 15 years old when this happened. So I couldn't handle my enthusiasm and excitement. Since my posts with that publication attracted a lot of readers, I wanted to write articles for them constantly. And this is what I did and I have to admit this. I started posting plagiarized content with them and they eventually found it. You would have predicted what happened next by now. That’s right, I got kicked out and all of my stories were taken down from the publication.
But the thing is, I didn’t even know the concept of plagiarism at this point in time. I copied some content but I didn't know it was a whole term. After getting in touch with the editors of that publication, they explained to me the violations I caused. Though after making changes to my articles like citing the sources, adding references, and many such things like that, the publication never considered me or my works. I would say that's the right action taken by the publication because only then I knew the effects of plagiarism.
I was literally shattered after getting kicked out of the publication. I couldn't handle it. Because on one side, my family was fighting against the virus, and on the other side, me, getting banished from the publication without even lasting for six months. So yeah, it was tough. And I went to crazy measures to get into the publication again like contacting the founder and the editors several times through LinkedIn, sending them new and fresh content to accept my application, and so on. But every attempt was a failure. I didn’t know what to do and I went blank because writing content for me seemed pointless. But soon, an idea struck.
Part 2: The Idea and Birth
One day I had a very hard thought. Why should I even depend on a publication when I could create my own and be independent with it?
While many aims to join publications and wish to reach their content to a larger audience, I aimed at creating a publication and help others in content distribution. I thought, “It’s not time to get into an Ivy League School, but to create one”.
That’s when I decided to create a publication that acts as a platform to involve new developers and help them in pouring their thoughts on technology and translate their ideas into words. Thus, CodeX was born.
Part 3: The Struggle
This is where things get really interesting. I did have the zest and motivation to grow my publication, but to be honest, it started to fade away day by day. This is due to several reasons.
Firstly, there was a conflict of time between managing my school works and overseeing the publication. Again, I’m a high school student. So I still have these things called homework, exams, and other frustrating activities. But at the same time, I got to manage the publication. I was not able to dedicate myself entirely to growing the publication.
Secondly, the huge publications were crushing me. The competition was so stiff than I thought it would be and trying to thrive in this market was such a tiring task. Funny thing, I actually violated a lot of rules and got into trouble with other publications to overcome this problem. But that’s a story for another day.
Thirdly, and the most important one was to accumulate writers. They demolished my whole publication with just one simple yet logical question, “Why would I consider your publication over other big players who have a larger audience?” This was a very serious question but I had only one blunt answer, and that was, “Believe me. Believe the publication. Believe the concept. Just believe”. Guess what, they believed, and let me tell you, life happened.
Part 4: The Growth
After an endless amount of sleepless nights, constant rejections from writers, and a limitless number of trial and error experiments, we were able to see some growth and the publication gradually started to pick up.
But I was not satisfied because right from the beginning, I was comparing the growth of my publication with those of the big publications on Medium and I badly wanted to compete with them directly. So I wanted to see the growth rate multiplying itself day by day.
After six months of launch, we reached the 200K+ monthly visitors mark. By the end of 2021, our audience base was 500K+ monthly readers. At present, we are standing at 1M+ monthly readers. Then the writers base. We had around 300–400 writers by the first six months and it grew to 1000 writers by the end of 2021. Currently, there are more than 3000–3500+ proud contributors for CodeX.
Part 5: The Future
Me, leaving CodeX, does not mark an end but denotes the beginning of a new phase. CodeX will still run on the same principle which is providing high-quality fresh content to our readers and facilitating a healthy environment for the writers.
CodeX will continue to stay in the hands of the proud editors. So, fear not, readers! I have complete faith and belief in them and I request you guys have the same in them.
I have laid out several plans for the future development of CodeX which will be implemented soon even though I’m leaving the publication. Both the readers and writers can expect a great year ahead.
The Reason for Leaving
I know many of you guys might wonder why I’m leaving CodeX suddenly but it was a thought I had for the past few months. The thing is, I’m a teen who loves to explore different things and I’m currently at a stage of transitioning into a different field.
I recently struck upon this new and innovative area called FinTech and I just fell in love with this concept. I wanted to delve deep into this field but I could not entirely dedicate myself to learning it as the work at CodeX was getting hectic every day.
I thought it was this time I need to call for an important decision and truly follow my passion. It’s definitely not like I’m no longer interested in managing the publication because CodeX is a child of mine but FinTech got me more involved than the affairs of the publication. That’s why I made the decision of leaving CodeX.
Thank You Notes
I want to dedicate this part of the article to show my gratitude towards all the people who were really supportive of building CodeX.
First off, my huge thanks to all the dedicated contributors who made CodeX what it is today. Their sole faith in the publication helped in its growth and development.
Secondly, thanks to all my dearest and enthusiastic readers who were really generous in welcoming content from new writers and celebrated great articles.
Thirdly, my greatest thanks to the editorial team who poured and directed all of their efforts toward the editorial activities and helped in developing and sustaining the publication. The editorial team members are the pillars of CodeX. So thanks to all the volunteering editors, both the previous editors and the current editors, for their incredible support and help.
I would also like to thank Medium for providing guys like me the opportunity to create and build something truly meaningful and helpful to others. I encourage the people at Medium to proudly continue the same work in the upcoming days.
That’s it!
Two complete years of surrealness and overwhelming response from the public are now coming to an end. Things I learned and the experience I gained from various great people I met during the course of managing the publication are something that I would never forget.
Though my journey ends here, CodeX still got a long way to go and I’m more than excited to see how it goes and improves itself each and every day. I’m wishing all the very best to the editorial team and the writers and encourage the readers to continue supporting the publication’s content.
It’s a bit emotional but it’s all for the better. With that being said, see ya guys! Also, happy new year, and have a great year ahead!
