Did Medium Send you this?

A company that bites the hand that feeds them — What a Shame!

Why should it matter how many followers you have? If I’m paying others to read what I write why shouldn’t others pay me to read what they write? Sometimes the smartest and most brilliant person makes the stupidest of mistakes!

Or maybe my membership fee doesn’t fall into Medium’s 20% revenue bucket.

This is what TechCrunch stated about Medium’s culture memo:

However, several current and former employees told TechCrunch that they believe Medium’s mass exodus is tied more to Williams’ manifesto, dubbed “the culture memo,” than a pivot in editorial focus. Since the memo was published, many non-editorial staffers — who would presumably not be impacted by a shift in content priorities — have left the company, including product managers, several designers and dozens of engineers.

If Medium is focused on User Generated Content (UGC), why would it care if some users have less than 100 followers? Does Medium expect users to continue to write as a paying member, yet be removed from the paywall? Most members if not all, write on Medium to earn a return on their investment. It’s a win-win. They love what they do and why not get paid while doing it, even if it’s a negative return. So shafting their piddly, pennies doesn’t bode well for Medium.

Here is the letter I received this morning from Medium. Enjoy and goodbye!

Hi,

A few weeks ago, we sent you a notice that your account might be removed from our Partner Program, because it did not meet our eligibility requirement of having at least 100 followers. We’re sorry to inform you that your account still has not met this requirement, and as a result, it has been removed from our Partner Program.

To be clear, this doesn’t have anything to do with the quality of your writing. It’s part of a larger effort designed to make the Partner Program work better for more creators on Medium.

Removal from the Partner Program only impacts your ability to earn money on Medium, but won’t have any other impact on your stories, or your subscription if you’re a member. It does mean that your existing metered posts will be un-metered and you’ll no longer be eligible to earn on them or to meter new posts; you’ll also no longer earn for any referred memberships. You will be paid out for any earnings on your metered posts and referred memberships up until the time you were removed from the Partner Program.

We strongly encourage you to re-apply to the Partner Program once you have met the requirements as outlined in this post. As a reminder, to be eligible for and remain in the Partner Program, a writer must:

1. Have at least 100 followers 2. Publish at least one story every six months 3. Live in an eligible location

Our 100-follower requirement is one way we’re ensuring that creators in our Partner Program are well-positioned for success. Reaching this audience size means you’ve built a readership that will help you succeed in our Partner Program.

If you’re looking for inspiration on expanding your Medium network, check out the Creators Hub for ways you can grow your audience.

Thank you for being a part of Medium’s Partner Program. We hope to have you back soon.

— Medium Partner Program