Thought Leadership

Dear Medium, Please Restore Your Faithful Creators’ Trust, Hopes, and Dreams

An examination of the damaging impact of your mishandled survey

Introduction

I haven’t read a single positive story about Medium’s recent survey to set the future goals of the platform for creators.

What is significant about the overwhelming uniformity of reaction is the variety of those expressing it.

My disappointing experience is reflected in this story.

In summary, this survey purportedly designed to figure out the future of creators disqualified me after entering my age over 50 and my country Australia.

My disappointment resulted from excluding my extensive contributions to this platform and insights to the writers, readers, and technical aspects of the landscape. We could have provided instrumental input that can give valuable insights into the future of the platform.

Now leveraging the comments on my story and other stories from writers that I read after mine, I want to give you a picture of this story and show you why it is highly alarming for especially experienced creators, creators with significant life experiences, and all creators residing outside of the US.

I also received many private messages reflecting concerns but I have excluded them in this story due to privacy reasons.

Let me start with the comments on my story and a few other stories by Linda Kowalchuk, Phil Truman, Melinda Blau, and Agnes Laurens.

I provide the comments with links to the original sources.

Thoughts and Sentiments of Writers

A top writer and editor of several publications Claire Kelly said:

“I received this same survey and as soon as I indicated I was from Canada- my fun stopped as well!”

A highly curated writer, retired medical doctor and an editor of several publications Thewriteyard commented:

Well they didn’t even offer it to me, and I would clearly be outside the parameters — a doddery old fool no less ( or that is perhaps how the youngsters would see it).

A well-known writer with millions of views on Medium and other platforms from Switzerland, Rebecca Stevens A. commented:

I enjoyed this brilliant analysis Dr Mehmet Yildiz . I had the exact same experience and the feeling I got was: I was invited to a party, but when I arrived at the actual event, the hosts shut the door in my face. It hurt. I did wonder what was happening at the party for the rest of the day. Mostly I did ask myself, why was I excluded? I thought that the hosts were my friends — so why did they turn me away from the door? So yes, spot on with your analysis. I wonder how they would feel if we did the same thing to them. Thanks for your brilliant analysis — Medium should realize that they can have a market of 8.6 billion souls (the whole world), if they want it. They shouldn’t solely focus on their domestic market of only 330 million souls. They need to have the wide vision to consider what’s possible — In terms of high profitability and incredible margins if they include the whole world.

A writer from the UK Humaira Iqbal said:

This makes me sad. I’ve only recently joined Medium but I already know how much you’ve done for writers on the platform. You’ve created so many publications that actually HELP writers (especially new writers like me), you constantly share tips and challenges for new writers as well. I’m sorry this happened to you Dr Mehmet Yildiz but know that all of us members, writers and readers of all your publications truly appreciate and value you and what you do. So thank you for always helping us to do better! I’ve also just completed the survey, and after filling in that in from the United Kingdom, I’m also not a good fit. I’m assuming it’s targeted at the USA only. Regardless, I agree with the points you made.

An award-winning top writer on Medium and several other platforms, Julia E Hubbel commented:

The understatement of this century so far, Dr. Y. I started on the survey, found it invasive and unnecessarily revealing in ways that I kept thinking, none of your fucking business. I never finished it. As it seems, my guess is that I’d have been similarly disqualified for age reasons. I have a two word response, you know what it is. The survey was written by a team of idiots. But then, given what we saw with Medium over the last year, we expected….what? Brilliance?

and Julia added

Nope. You aren’t missing a thing. I didn’t finish the survey, don’t give a flying crap about the survey, and am quite happy to NOT give Medium so much private information about myself which they would likely keep but then boot me away anyway because I’m too old. Besides, many of their best writers have already dumped the platform and gone elsewhere. That should tell us a great deal.

A popular writer Riku Arikiri said:

This is the highlight of the survey, clearly done by neophytes lacking empathy.

An experienced writer Biswanath Datta had a similar experience as mine.

What a coincidence! I went through the same disappointment this morning. As soon as I typed my age, I got the same message, without proceeding to the next question, country. I have mentioned several times that writers from India are barred from joining the partner program. So, I certainly feel discriminated. Didn’t know that Australians are unwelcome too. The issue is that it is a take-it-or-leave-it situation and you or I probably can’t change it. Sadly we are aware of this.

A prolific writer Adebayo Adeniran showed sentiment commenting

I am profoundly outraged.

Another prolific writer and editor of several publications Dr. Preeti Singh commented

Dr. Mehmet I received a message too. It asked me my name age sex and country that’s it no more.

A writer from Ireland Vinicius Monteiro expressed his disappointment:

I was disappointed too! In the first email it actually said: “Eligibility: This study is restricted to writers based in the United States” I didn’t like that. Then I received the reminder and didn’t have the eligibility restriction information. I thought maybe I’ll be able to do the survey after all. When I chose Ireland, it stopped there. I don’t know why such a restriction. And the format is poorly designed..it’s leaving many users/writers disappointed. Honestly, they know our location. I’d prefer to not receive the request in the first place.

A reputable author with several published books and an active Medium member Phil Truman commented:

Thanks for writing this piece, Mehmet. You said it in a much more elucidation (and kindness) than I did. I hope the young monkeys on the Medium Research Team read this and re-think.

A popular writer and editor of several publications Sumera Rizwan pointed out that:

I got the survey email which I ignored, then I got a reminder email again saying that it is an opportunity for a paid survey for writers located in USA. Shouldn’t they know where I am from I have given all my details while opening the account? Wondering why I am getting reminders.🙄

Another popular writer The Garrulous Glaswegian made a comment of which I was not thinking in my assessment but it is an interesting point of view:

Well, they’re sexist, so I’m unsurprised at this.

A prolific writer Elle How emphasized the lack of diversity in the survey:

I, too received their survey. In the first email it stated it was for the USA writers only. As weird and shortsighted as it maybe, who knows how experienced these people are. I gave it a shoulder shrug because I didn’t want to delve into the lack of diversity it has shown. That being said maybe the American writers can speak for us. Great perspective though. Thank you for sharing.

A writer and editor Dr. Michael Heng highlighted the third party engagement from a different angle:

Medium gives social survey researchers a bad name. Why do the survey when you are just looking for specific answers to fit your racist, sexist, anti-oldie and anti-whatever narrative? Medium can just fabricate fake data to support whatever conclusions of “findings” desired. Truly shameful and unbecoming of a publication yearning to be taken seriously.

A writer and now top poet from the US who is also editor of several publications Marcus provided an interesting point of view:

Mehmet and everyone here, the intent behind the survey is clear as is the stupid rejection of those in our age bracket. They are idiots for telegraphing their intent. He’s going to pivot to advertising and thus is running surveys to show the ad market that their key demographics are present and in what numbers.

A prolific writer, poet, and editor Josh Balerite Acol who loves Medium shared her sentiments:

It’s sourly funny but not. The moment I have read every bit of your remarkable assessment, I was doubtful if I would continue being on Medium, or not. It’s funny I have fallen in love with this famous platform, but now I am having second thoughts about it. I hope this survey reflects only the thoughts of those who created it, but not the developer and founder itself, i.e., Ev Williams, otherwise, it’s degrading, really. Thank you so much for this informative piece, Doc Chief.

A senior-aged writer ABINAS JAGERNAUTH shared his findings from other articles and his approach to the survey:

This is exactly what I think happened. Young college graduates think they have all the answers. I am older than you, Dr. Mehmet, so I just trashed Medium’s email after another writer here on Medium wrote about this and said he was cut off after entering his age — 77. The survey is definitely ageist, and probably racist and sexist too.

An experienced writer Steven Anthony made an interesting comment guessing:

“My guess is that paying people the $5 is problematic for them if you are outside the US”.

My response was :

“What is the difference to paying $5 to a participant in the US and another country?”

I couldn’t link to this sub-comment by another comment by Tom McLaughlin who said:

It was just the parameters if the survey. You will find that on any survey site or thos places that pay you for surveys. For that particular survey, you weren’t a fit. I don’t think Medium is ‘excluding you to the extent you think.

Then Anthony made another clarifying comment about the Amazon gift voucher which did not make sense to me with due respect to Anthony because I did not understand why Medium chose Amazon gift card in particular:

“I got the same email, but it clearly stated it was for US-based writers. I’m in Italy, so I didn’t bother with it. Maybe it’s because I’m in the marketing research business, but limiting one’s sample to a particular country is typically done because the issues being dealt with are only relevant to that country. Or, it’s possible that paying the USD 5 is too cumbersome to give out to people outside the US. I did a beta test for Medium and the money was given as an Amazon gift code — but I had to use it on my US account as my Amazon.it account wouldn’t accept it. If, for example, the survey was about the attractiveness of various payment options only available in the US, it would make sense to limit respondents to US-based writers. So, I wouldn’t take it personally.”

Another author from the US Jay Toran commented:

“Your highlighting Ms. Stevens essay reminded me of a couple comments I made to her: “Again, IMHO, it seems what they [the two youngest generations] lack in depth they make up for in volume.” “But I think it’s a pretty strange society where youth, by definition, knows all there is to know.”

A technical writer and editor Zen Chan also had experience with a survey similar to mine:

“I thought there would be more questions but finished with the profiling, like a criminal.”

A writer from Australia The Introverted Vet had the same problem:

This is hilarious. I too got kicked off the survey after I said that I’m from Australia.

An experienced writer KS Copeland did not value the survey at all and commented:

“Trashed it after the first question. Guess they think “flattery will get you everywhere.”

A published author Keri Mangis living in the US showed her sentiment with an interesting word: “Gasp”

A popular writer, poet, and editor Joe Luca provided insights from his experience:

“If you’ve ever watched American TV — they frequently set their lead characters in the favored 18 to 35 demographic. They’ll squeeze a 25 year-old actor into a senior FBI agent role — even though the years would never work in the real world. Someone else mentioned this could be an effort to switch their platform to an advertising base. That’s certainly possible. To many advertisers, the world is composed of 7.4 billion people — age 18–35 and everyone else is — well, just there. Or it could be that they sent an urgent memo to their algorithm and asked it, “what survey questions they should ask?” Since it did such a stellar job in assigning readers to writers and writers to readers — why not give it the seriously important job of figuring out where the platform is heading and with whom.”

An inspiring writer Patricia Rosa highlighted that it is not ageism:

“Dr. Mehmet, I’m over 50 as well, so it’s not ageism, there’s something else. thanks for sharing this. I am wondering what else it could be apart from age and country. Patricia who completed the survey also commented on Linda’s article “I told them to keep their ‘gift’ card. It was an insult after sucking up more than double the time they said it would take. You would think the surveyors would have known how to filter for their target group BEFORE sending out the email. Uh, that should have been an easy one. Thanks for sharing this Linda, great story.”

Another great writer Corina Oana showed disappointment saying:

This is devastating. I received the same email and rejoiced. Then read abt the survey being for USA writers only and decided not to take it. But now, I will. WE LOVE YOU!

Another writer and editor Maria Rattray from Australia showed her disapproval

Take heart, brave one. Time and tide…:) So glad I missed the survey.

Maria also commented on Melinda’s story:

Hi Melinda, I too am one of the older writers. Like you, I had thought that Medium would be free of ageism, but clearly it is not. Thank you for writing on this topic. Seems many people are put out.

A famous writer and published poet Gurpreet Dhariwal shared her strong disapproval of the survey:

I am so sorry to read about this. Thankfully I didn’t take this survey at all. If they are discriminating on these grounds then it’s my piece of cake. You are a brilliant writer and a wonderful human being. Don’t let anything keep you down for long.

Another inspiring and experience author Tom Johnson @rusticdrummer who completed the survey made an interesting comment linking his story about this issue:

“Great post, Dr. Yildiz. I was able to complete the survey, but I don’t have much confidence that the results will improve the my Medium writing experience, the rewards for writing well, or the quality of the stories entering my feed. Here’s my take on the survey and the platform: https://readmedium.com/why-publish-on-medium-abd3fd55b80e.

An inspiring writer and editor Liam Ireland who contributed to Medium a lot pointed out in Linda’s article that:

“Linda, I am a paying subscriber, top writer, senior editor and regularly curated. Like Dr Yildiz I am disqualified on the grounds of my age and location. WHAT!!! So my none American voluntary work as an editor, my free articles, stories, books and poems, my none American money, all is welcome, but my location and age are not. Really? Totally unappreciated is how I feel, of no value at all to Medium.”

Liam also commented on Melinda’s article:

I’ve had that email twice! Like you I got all excited, until I discovered that I am disqualified due to my age and location (Japan). So basically they are happy to take my ageless none American money but not interested in my aged , none American located opinions. So so sad to be treated in this way.

Another experience writer Mukundarajan V N commented on Linda’s article:

“I thought I could add some value to the survey. When I filled up my age and residence, Medium said “thank you, goodbye.” . It was my fault to enter a train carriage where only the chosen few are allowed admission.

A writer Joselromero did not even know about the survey as pointed out in Linda’s story:

Wow! I never even knew there was a survey and I’m turning 50 this year!.

An experienced writer Danell teNyenhuis Black who completed the survey showed her empathy for those who couldn’t in Melinda’s article:

I’m 53 and I was able to complete the survey. Maybe they did reach a quota of older writers. If that is the case, they should have worded the response differently. UPDATE — I didn’t notice that the survey was only for creators from the United States (which is why I was able to complete it). One of the things I love most about Medium is the diversity of the writers and the fact that so many of you are from other countries. I’m sorry that you were excluded.

These were thoughts and comments on my story and other stories. I am yet to see any positive comments about the value of this survey.

Perspectives From Other Articles

Now let me share other articles written about this issue.

Here is a perspective from Melinda Blau who is a published author of many books and a senior writer on ILLUMINATION-Curated. Melinda who is a US-based author provides a useful perspective about age discrimination.

This article from another published author Phil Truman who is over 70 years of age from the US provides an interesting perspective on age discrimination.

Another author from the US Linda Kowalchek who took the survey provided a summary of her experience and reading from other articles. What I liked most about Linda’s article is recommending to donate $5 to charity, which is a noble act.

A writer Tom Johnson @rusticdrummer provided useful perspectives on why he writes on Medium referring to this survey.

A writer and editor Agnes Laurens from the Netherlands showed her disappointment in her article.

Conclusion

I read several articles and many comments from writers in my circles and did not come across a positive thought and sentiment so far. It raised many concerns since this survey excluded a vital section of writers and editors due to country and age.

I acknowledge that Medium is a private company and has the right to choose samples from desired countries and age groups.

However, as we understand the purpose is to set the future of creators, many believe that the survey should have included other geographies and age groups as Medium is a global content platform consisting of many age groups.

I hope Medium considers this constructive feedback and provides a transparent explanation on the purpose of this specific survey, particularly why some age groups and many countries were excluded from this critical initiative reflecting the future of its valuable creators.

The writers whose points of view I included in this story are all MPP members who pay $5 monthly contributing to Medium. They also contribute to the ecosystem substantially as writers and editors. I consider them important stakeholders of the platform.

This interesting thought experiment about the future of Medium gives an important perspective to creators. Please enjoy this highly recommended article by Vishnu*s Virtues posted to SYNERGY.

Thank you for reading my perspectives.

About me

I am the founder and chief editor of ILLUMINATION, ILLUMINATION-Curated, ILLUMINATION’ S MIRROR, ILLUMINATION Book Chapter, Technology Hits, and SYNERGY. I established these significant publications supporting 9,500+ writers and serving 135,000+ readers on Medium. Join my publications requesting access here. You are welcome to subscribe to my 100K+ mailing list, collaborate, enhance your network, and receive technology and leadership newsletters reflecting my industry experience. You can show your interest to support my publications as an editor. My free content strategy and marketing newsletter can be accessed from Substack. I also write for News Break and Vocal Media. My social media posts receive over three million views monthly.