Renewal
On Medium and writing in the new year
We believe people who write and share ideas should be rewarded on their ability to enlighten and inform, not simply their ability to attract a few seconds of attention. We believe there are millions of thinking people who want to deepen their understanding of the world and are dissatisfied with what they get from traditional news and their social feeds. We believe that a better system — one that serves people — is possible. In fact, it’s imperative.
Ev Williams on Renewing Medium’s focus
Earlier today I happened to notice Ev Williams’ piece and read it with interest. It’s a very authentic and respectful piece, the kind I like best. I especially appreciate the part quoted above because it seems to indicate things here have the potential to improve and become more like what I’d hoped they’d be when I joined. Hope is always a good thing. We will see.
About a year ago, what I was looking for (in a nutshell) was a big, friendly, welcoming writing community that’d make it easy to find support and encouragement. Because if there’s anything a new writer would love from fellow writers it’s support and encouragement. Or at least that’s my thinking. I just didn’t think it’d be as difficult as it is.
This place often makes me feel very alone, as if I’m standing still, by myself, in the middle of a vast open courtyard through which many, many people are passing in every direction. Sometimes individuals will pause momentarily to watch a busker. Sometimes small crowds will gather around stalls set up by longer-running or larger acts with fancier setups and smarter clothes. As I stand there I notice something. Inevitably the people all move on, including the performers. But then that doesn’t really matter because other people flow through and occasionally flock, other buskers bring out their battered apparatuses, and the stalls which are sometimes replaced by different stalls produce bigger and louder displays.
Within the last couple weeks I came across a few special pieces that spoke to me so clearly in affirming things I believe about how life ought to be lived and how the best stories are told. These pieces were not on Medium. I would love to be able to find an abundance of that kind of writing here, but I don’t think I ever will, because there is little reason for such thinkers to write in a place where their audience isn’t, and where they generally aren’t well received to begin with.
Anyhow, this new year I’ll likely be reading more in other places: books with real paper pages, news and opinion sites I trust, and cool blogs. And I’ll still be writing. But I’m going to follow the same path as those pieces that spoke to my heart. Maybe there’s a way I can get that path to fruitfully crisscross this platform — I don’t know. Regardless, I feel renewed to continue the race. Who knows what milestones wait ahead?
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