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JUNE 2045
The Most Successful Writing Platform of All Time
Orbit 42 has now been running for 33 years
Few would have predicted that Medium would change its name. Amazon started as an online bookstore named Cadabra, AuctionWeb became eBay, MatchBox became Tinder, so changing names was nothing new.
Medium’s name change in 2028 was by necessity.
Ev Williams, the guy behind Twitter and Blogger, founded Medium in 2012. Blogger was sold to Google in 2003, netting $50 million. Google shut it down in 2033, having been wrung dry by AI.
Twitter’s short character limit was a contrast to Blogger’s long-form style. Medium’s format provided a satisfactory middle ground and the inspiration for the name. Ev Williams wanted Medium to change internet publishing by letting anyone write on the platform.
In 2022, Elon Musk purchased Twitter for $44 billion. Musk changed Twitter’s name to X and promptly ruined the platform with right-wing rhetoric and self-aggrandising. It was bankrupt and binned eight years later.
Medium made it easy for writers to post articles, and its clean, ad-free interface made it popular with readers. In 2017, it became even more popular when it began paying writers.
