I Cancelled My Medium Membership…To Become a Friend of Medium!

I couldn’t wait to give more to the writers I love.

Earlier today (January 5, 2024), I canceled my paid Medium membership.

I was happy to cancel Medium. I was eager to do it.

But not because I’m dissatisfied with the Medium platform or its many wonderful writers.

I canceled my Medium membership because it was the only way I could become a Friend of Medium.

Medium Made Me Quit Before I Could Flourish As a Friendly Philanthropist.

I’d decided to become a Friend of Medium over a month ago, after I read the endorsements of Nanie Hurley 🌿(in a post I’ll link to when I manage to find it again), Dr Mehmet Yildiz (here), and Rui Alves (here).

But my attempt to upgrade failed because my current subscription hadn’t yet expired, and, for some reason, Medium’s interface wouldn’t let me upgrade to FOM mid-subscription.

So I decided to just wait it out and upgrade to Friend of Medium status when my current subscription expired.

But with each passing day, as I read the articles of my favorite writers, I became increasingly frustrated that my reads, claps, and comments weren’t rewarding my fav writers with the enhanced, 4X earnings that would have flowed into their accounts had I been a true, yellow-hearted Friend.

So, yeah, I was so eager to join the Friend of Medium program that today, I contacted Medium Support and canceled a perfectly good, paid-up Medium subscription and re-subscribed as a FOM.

I am so happy I did, and I think you can be too if you do the same.

Let me explain.

In 2023 I Learned the Power and Value of Medium Engagement

My journey as a writer took a huge leap forward in 2023 for one reason: 2023 was the year I went “all in” on Medium:

I became a paid member.

I ditched my anonymous profile…and posted my real name and photo instead.

I started publically sharing my Medium lists.

I leveled up from being a “frequent” Medium reader to being a voracious Medium reader.

I began actively engaging with the writers whom I follow and love.

I finally started writing and publishing my work on Medium.

And a few weeks ago, I got my very first Boost.

This has been an amazing experience for me as a writer; it has inspired, challenged, and motivated me.

But the biggest surprise was the deep feeling of love and satisfaction I gained from knowing that, as a paid Medium subscriber, my interactions with writers are rewarding them financially.

This is why the Friends of Medium program is so intriguing to me.

Specifically, these are the four reasons why I am excited to be participating in the Friends of Medium program:

Reason #1: The Friends of Medium Program Promotes the Healing Mindset of Generosity

I write about Wellbeing on Medium. That’s my passion. My mission. My drive.

One of my favorite well-being practices is the Buddhist practice of Dana. “Dana” is a word in Pali that means giving, especially as an inclination to give without any expectation of repayment from the recipient. The spirit of truly selfless giving is a virtuous energy that is said to have healing and purifying effects, and, in my experience, this is definitely true.

I am very excited by the FOM program because, unlike other social media platforms and systems, this program does not promise or encourage a direct financial benefit for users who join FOM. Instead, the structure of the FOM program encourages users and writers to support others.

Unlike other platforms and systems, which incentivize vitriol, sensationalism, and drama, Medium’s FOM system incentivizes the Spirit of Generosity.

To participate in FOM is to participate in the practice of Dana.

It is a thing of beauty. Pure and simple.

Reason #2: Platform Support

Medium is an amazing platform. The experience of immersing myself in its rich, diverse, and fertile content and interacting with its writers is more nurturing, energizing, and inspiring than anything I’ve ever experienced on any other online platform.

I signed up for FOM because Medium is my refuge for creative inspiration and expression, and I feel the need to support its long-term viability. Yes, the monthly $15 is more than the $5 Medium membership. Still, it’s also about the same amount as my monthly Hulu/Disney+ subscription, and I get astronomically more value, benefit, and enrichment from my Medium subscription than I get from subscription with Hulu/Disney+.

Reason #3: 4x Rewards to Writers for My Reads

As I said above, I am an avid Medium reader, and now that I am a Friend of Medium, I love knowing that my engagement with the writing of my favorite writers (i.e., my read time and my claps, comments, and list saves) is providing 4x the rewards to those writers.

Being a paid member of Medium allows me to merge my social media engagement with my Dana practice, and being a Friend of Medium allows me to amplify the impact of my generosity to a higher level.

Reason #4: Rewards to Writers for Shared FOM Friend Links

As a Friend of Medium, I can share the Friend Links of other writers, which allows those writers to be paid for the reads of the non-paying users who follow the links I share.

I love having the power to share and promote the work of writers in ways that can provide a direct financial impact on their Medium account balances.

I’m looking forward to including those links in my articles in the future.

I relish the thought that my writing might not only enrich the lives of my readers, it also can reward other writers whose writing is discovered by my readers through my shared links.

As a Friend of Medium, my shared links of other writers’ articles become seeds of generosity, tiny potentialities of value and goodness.

I may never see the beauty of the sprouts, but I look forward to savoring joy in the planting of those seeds.

So, to sum up, was it worth it to cancel my Medium subscription so I could participate in the Friends of Medium program?

Hell yes!

And if you’re a regular member or still using a free membership, I encourage you to consider joining me.

You just might be as pleasantly surprised as I was!

P.S. and if you do find FOM to be a great experience, please comment and let me know!

P.S. No artificial intelligence was used to create the content in this article. Semper Humano!