TONI TALKS | THE VIEW FROM HERE | PRUNING PROSE
Mastering Gardening On Medium
Metaphorically musing on five years of planting, reaping, and organically cultivating content in the fertile soil of this site
“If you tend to a flower, it will bloom, no matter how many weeds surround it.“ — Matshona Dhliwayo
Blogging on Medium is akin to planting seeds in a metaphorical field of dreams. We writers are like gardeners. We toil in the same place while tending to our varietals.
Gone is the gate installed when I found the field in 2018, then paid to plant on a plot in 2019. Yet, I didn’t write my first post for another two years. I joined in March 2019, and my first post debuted in Quy Ma’s “About Me” in October 2021.
Medium had erected a user experience fence as a precaution. New arrivals were encouraged to peruse the landscape before picking a place to plant.
I’d read more than 4,000 writers before posting a word. On the flip side, I’d garnered just under 500 followers.
One of the best things they did was to disavow advertising. In effect, this action halted unwanted pests. Though the no-ad rule is still in place, the fence that prevented writers from monetizing until they’d reached 100 followers is gone.
What’s changed the most is Medium’s effort to monitor quality. A range of caretakers, aka editors with established pubs, were given authority to call attention to fragrant flowers grown in their gardens.
Caretakers are also in charge of whacking the weeds to offer a better view to the readers passing by. Yet, locating the perennials that abound amid the forget-me-nots has become increasingly more complex.
Regardless of the changes, gardeners who lovingly stay long-term do so for the joy of watering and watching our seedlings sprout.
The best part about Medium’s “field of dreams” is that it extends level ground. Though we gardeners range from amateur to professional, everyone starts in the same place.
We each tend to our plots with vastly different skills and tools. I draw on, pun intended, Canva to attract sightseers. Others rely on a range of visual plug-ins to achieve the same goal.
The commonality is our expectation of reaping benefits in comments, claps, and coins. What I know for sure is … gardeners who flourish do so because they cultivate their flowers with consistency, kindness, and light.
Ode to Writers On Medium
We’re here to labor at what we love.
We’re here to plant, nurture, and grow.
We’re here seeking authentic connection.
We’re here to be acknowledged for our skills.
We’re here to inspire readers with the words we write.
We’re here seeking validation in claps, comments, and cash.
We’re here to contribute to the most diverse garden on the planet!
The image above was chosen as the focal pic because it channels my sentiments as a gardener on Medium. I’m a 1970s version of a daily television show that adheres to a regularly scheduled broadcast.
The concern is linked to content. It plays on a loop. The problem is that it’s hidden in a virtual field. I’m trusting that the universe will boost the signal far and wide.
The result will attract the “right readers.” These folks will tune in because the content is designed to engage and empower readers. They will leave my words wanting more. Why? Because the content contains a mix of education, enlightenment, and/or entertainment.
❤️About Me 🎤Toni the Talker ←🆘Growing Older & Bolder ❣️
Rewriting my Reality ➖ Walking My Talk 💬 Becoming Better NOT Bitter
