Friends of Medium was Well Worth the Investment

Not because of the monetary benefits, but the real friends I’ve made along the way

I joined Medium just as December ended, sharing a few tales of misadventure and some fiction short stories I daydreamed while working, as my moniker suggests, to transmute gold from smoke.

While I’m still a very small fish in a massive pond, I’ve been blown away by the positive reactions to my words, and the growth I’ve experienced in such a short span of time.

I really do appreciate all of you who read my stories so much more than you likely realize. So thank you, it means a lot.

That being said, I’ve watched the rising ascendancy of some kindred spirits like /\/\@X, Danny Wolf and Carl Jeffers this past month, and they’ve inspired me to commit to this community of ours.

So, when Medium offered me a discount to become a “Friend” of Medium, I thought “Why not?” I like the idea of rewarding other writers, and not just chasing earnings. It seemed like a good way to give back to the folks who support my writing with their time, applause and uplifting comments.

I wasn’t aware at the time that many of the big boys on here were promoting this ‘upgrade’ as a way of increasing their own take. But after getting my little golden heart, I started noticing a lot of stories talking about how they “increased their earnings by 2–4x after becoming a FoM.”

It never really occurred to me that this was some sort of trick to get more money until I began reading their stories. I guess I’m just not used to the buzz words of marketing gurus. But then I saw what they were getting at.

Having that gold heart lets other writers know they’ll earn 4 times more from your eyeballs. So a lot of them start following you not because they value your writing, but because they want you to follow them back and read their stories.

There’s nothing wrong with that, really. But it’s not why I opened up my wallet a little wider for the platform. To each their own, of course.

I have seen a considerable boost in followers, reads and earnings since becoming a Friend, although I’m not sure if that’s correlated or simply a side effect of my audience growing at the same time.

I’m happy to be gaining more readers, and, most importantly, actual friends, and I hope that those of you kind enough to follow me are doing it because you like my writing, not the badge attached to my profile picture.

Either way, I’m satisfied with my investment, because making real-life friends on here is the best ROI I could have hoped for.

Until next time,

— S.A.