If I See One More Article Complaining About Medium Stats…
You have a problem with it? Here’s what to do.
“Medium stats are down 50%!”
“Top writers are bailing because they’re not making any more money!”
“There are too many writers and not enough readers!”
“The sky is falling!”
Friends, the sky is almost always falling. I have read articles this week claiming all of the statements above. (Just to clarify — I don’t have any proof that any of these statements are true.) But, do you know what is definitely true? No single writer can magically alter any imaginary or actual platform shift by complaining.
Guess what? My Medium stats are down, too. Contrarily, I don’t happen to consider this to be the end of the world. Unlike other authors, I don’t have grandiose plans to leave this platform to seek greener pastures.
I plan to consider this to be exactly what it should be — a challenge.
This is not out of the ordinary
Nothing in this ever-spinning world stays the same. The only constant things are change and Taylor Swift’s ability to crank out yet another hit song. The most important thing I learned in my MBA program is:
ANY STAGNANT ENTITY IN ANY INDUSTRY WILL EVENTUALLY BECOME A DINOSAUR IF THEY DON’T CHANGE WITH THE TIMES.
Sorry for the shouty capitals, friends, but every successful company since the dawn of time has shifted with the times. McDonald’s started serving oatmeal, Target started curbside pickup, and practically every car company is exploring electric cars. Conversely, Kodak didn’t take the whole new “digital camera” thing seriously when it was first introduced. And now they’re…nowhere.
If you’re inclined to complain about how much less money you’ve made on this platform in the past few months, I encourage you to be a McDonald’s. Not a Kodak.
Again, I’m sure there are a number of changes that have been made on the back end of Medium. Maybe old tactics don’t work anymore. Maybe the “social media site for writers” is having its own metamorphosis. That’s great.
Medium is not my site to manage. It’s also not anyone’s site to manage but Medium itself.
See, things change sometimes even when top players don’t want them to. My guess is that McDonald’s wasn’t too keen on having to add anything but dead cow, deep-fried potatoes, and liquid carbonated sugar to its menu. But, they did. And I’m fairly certain that they’re making a pretty profit off of that $1.99 cardboard cup of oats.
The point is that everything changes. And if you’re willing to change along with everything else, you are likely to end up on top.
What’s a writer to do?
Well, if you’re a writer on this platform, your job is to solve the new puzzle. I love a good puzzle. The Medium algorithm change is nothing but a fun new puzzle challenge for all of us. Maybe there are a lot of new writers. Maybe the way stories are featured has changed. And maybe, just maybe, like any company during this gosh darn pandemicapocalypse, the platform is shifting.
So, what’s a writer to do? I don’t know yet. But I don’t recommend spending your limited time on this earth complaining about things you can’t change. I recommend finding ways to keep doing what you love to do and new ways to make some extra dough while doing it.
My best bet is that there was an influx of writers due to the pandemic and the veritable success of top writers on this platform. If that’s true, then great! One of the variables is stable. Plug that “more writers” variable into your regression analysis and voila! A new way to pivot. Cater your writing to writers. Create more publications to highlight their work. Write FOR writers.
While that may not be a correct assumption of what is going on, you all get my point. Things might be changing. We can’t change the fact that things change. What we can change is our response to new information and the swiftness with which we positively respond to external stimuli.
I encourage you, whatever you do, to keep your eyes and ears open, stay agile, and find a way to keep doing what you were made to do.
The moral of the story
Stop complaining. Start pivoting.