avatarBurk

Summary

The author is advocating for a change in Medium's Partner Program to make earnings available exclusively to paying members, a move they believe could increase membership, reduce competition, or increase free content.

Abstract

The author expresses a recurring concern regarding an anticipated change to Medium's Partner Program. They argue that Medium should restrict earning potential within the Partner Program to paying members only. The author outlines three potential outcomes of this change: an increase in $5 monthly memberships, a reduction in writer competition due to some writers ceasing to write or reducing their output, or an increase in free content accessible to all visitors. The author is puzzled by the current policy that allows free account holders to earn from the Partner Program without contributing financially.

Opinions

  • The author believes that an obvious and beneficial change for the Medium community would be to limit Partner Program earnings to paying members.
  • They suggest that the current system, where free account holders can earn without paying, is not logical.
  • The author anticipates that the proposed change could lead to a more sustainable ecosystem on Medium by encouraging writers to invest in the platform financially.
  • There is an expectation that Medium will implement this change imminently, as it aligns with the platform's goals of fostering a quality-driven writing community and business model.

I Don’t Know Why Medium Still Hasn’t Changed This

Background photo created by freepik — www.freepik.com

Sometimes I sound like a broken record. I’ve talked about this multiple times in the past.

An obvious change to the Medium partner program that I feel like Medium will be doing it any minute now.

Adding this simple requirement will lead to either one of the following 3 outcomes, all of which are beneficial to the Medium community:

  1. It will either lead to many more members paying $5 a month.
  2. Or it will lead to less competition because a number of writers will stop writing or reduce their output
  3. Or, lastly, it might lead to much more free content, available without paywall to anyone who visits this site.

What’s this change?

Making the Medium Partner Program earnings only available to paying members.

Right now, free account holders can earn too. They earn but don’t pay. I don’t know why. You?

Medium
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