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Abstract

the Matrix and only believed my eyes when I read the official email.<h1 id="41a1">Medium Bonuses Background: June 2021</h1>June was a different story. I still got it, but this time the bonus tumbled even if I worked harder, earned more, and kept my usual relational approach to Medium. Without an official explanation, I couldn’t understand what I had done wrong.On Thursday, June 3, the official email came at precisely 20:29 WEST, that's 12:29 in San Francisco, CA, PDT (UTC -7). Thus, a few days earlier, when compared to what happened in May.The rules changed, accounting for why little Nemo had fewer algae in the pantry for the month. This time around, bonuses were tiered, and 2,000 writers in the Partner Program got rewarded.This seemed like a great change as more algae were being distributed across the ocean, and more of us clownfish-type-writers would receive a little extra. Nothing wrong here; that’s understandable, and in the end, the more, the merrier!However, Medium did some fine-tuning based on “writer’s feedback” that could be understood as controversial (depending on where you stand on the food chain) due to the changes made to the criteria:<blockquote id="5fb9">“When we awarded bonuses in April, we heard from writers that the criteria for qualifying wasn’t clear. We listened, and for May, we simplified how we picked. Now, bonuses are based solely on the top writers in the Partner Program in a specific month.”</blockquote>This was the end of the big prize money for the small Nemo in me. We learned later that where it says “top writers in the Partner Program,” it should clearly say “writers with the highest earnings in the Partner Program.”This explains the update on Medium bonuses I received by email on Wednesday, 23 June and was later published on the <a href="https://readmedium.com/update-on-writer-bonuses-f726c4e2128e">Creators Hub</a>:<blockquote id="9e54">We’re keeping the same tiered structure that we implemented for May. We calculate rankings based on your monthly Partner Program earnings, which is a direct reflection of member reading time, and use the following tiered structure.</blockquote>This was the end of the “relational model” for bonuses where claps, reads, and follows mattered. Now, the top-tier competition was only earnings-based.All we could do was striving to improve the quality of our work and pray for the Medium AI curation blessings to see it distributed more widely across the platform.Aside from quality-based curation,

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bonuses were going to those with the most extensive mailing list on Substack or ConvertKit or the highest publication rate under high-rolling publications.I didn’t receive any survey about the Medium Bonuses topic. Neither did I go wailing to the Medium Staff mailbox about how unfair the new model was. Hence, Medium didn’t hear from me back in May because I didn’t get the chance to voice my opinion on the matter.Notwithstanding, It’s when the going gets tough that the tough get going. Time to grow some backbone, bit the bullet, go back to my keyboard, and do the one thing a clownfish without a voice (or an extensive mailing list) could do: IMPROVE!<h1 id="c6f4">Medium Bonuses: July 2021</h1>Stories were rolling fast while readings were running low in June. Everyone was writing their keyboards out, but no one had eyes on screen for what the other was writing.That’s what you get by sacrificing a relational-based model to the will of the few. My reads were down; my claps were way down; there was a significant cleansing in June regarding the following; hence I can’t bring that data into the equation.Now, in July, once again, many of us are stressing about the Medium Bonuses and asking ourselves if we’re getting some extra “algae” this time around.Just relax; there’s no need for concern because the bonuses announcement is coming. I could even play the seer and predict it will come later today for the lucky 2000. Moreover, I could even dare say it will fall to the same writers like the one in June and more or less within the same tiers.<h1 id="f785">Final Thoughts</h1>What’s my takeaway from Medium Bonuses? We should stop worrying about bonuses and start reading more stories from our fellow creators.We need to stop telling creators to write more if they want to be successful; everybody knows that by now! Medium is a guild of extraordinary writers with outstanding writing muscles.We should be advising our fellow writers to read, socialize and share the love if we want to live up to Ev’s dream of a more relational Medium.Bonuses were fun while they lasted, but I couldn’t foresee any systemic breakthrough coming out of this high earnings-based model.Medium wouldn’t simply be rolling out algae to the same high rollers, who already had their pantry stuffed with zooplankton for the month, while small fish kept striving for the leftovers. We have to look at the bigger picture, and I can foresee Ev Williams having it all figured out by now.</article></body>

Medium Bonuses Running Late in July

The big question on everybody’s mind right now is, ‘will I get the bonus or not?’

Medium Bonuses are on everybody's mind right now, and creators are biting their nails while refreshing their Partner Program payments rollout page, hoping to see their June payout increase by $50, $100, or $500.

Medium Bonuses Background: May 2021

To look into this matter, we need to travel in time to the origin of Medium Bonuses in May. The official email arrived at my virtual doorstep on Thursday, May 6, at precisely 17:42 WEST (UTC +1), that’s 09:42 in San Francisco, CA, PDT (UTC -7).

The data tells us that the email originated within the first hour of a nine-to-five office workday. Hence, as I write this article, we are still within that time frame as it’s 9 AM here in Porto, Portugal.

The original Medium bonuses scheme followed a relational model aligned with what Ev Williams had recently written about what he envisioned for his publishing platform.

The lucky one thousand that received the initial bonus were “the writers who made the most impact on members” with their stories published in April, “received the most member reads, claps, and follows.”

Those who follow my work know about my “Jack of all trades, master of none” writing persona. Hence, I strive to be a positive and profoundly relational creator and editor on Medium while running three publications: Rock n’Heavy, ZENite and BeLoved.

However, I’m just starting my Medium and haven’t still crossed the one-year milestone. I’m just a small clownfish on a vast ocean populated by titans.

Consequently, I was amazed and confused when I looked at my earnings in April and saw the staggering figures. I called it a glitch in the Matrix and only believed my eyes when I read the official email.

Medium Bonuses Background: June 2021

June was a different story. I still got it, but this time the bonus tumbled even if I worked harder, earned more, and kept my usual relational approach to Medium. Without an official explanation, I couldn’t understand what I had done wrong.

On Thursday, June 3, the official email came at precisely 20:29 WEST, that's 12:29 in San Francisco, CA, PDT (UTC -7). Thus, a few days earlier, when compared to what happened in May.

The rules changed, accounting for why little Nemo had fewer algae in the pantry for the month. This time around, bonuses were tiered, and 2,000 writers in the Partner Program got rewarded.

This seemed like a great change as more algae were being distributed across the ocean, and more of us clownfish-type-writers would receive a little extra. Nothing wrong here; that’s understandable, and in the end, the more, the merrier!

However, Medium did some fine-tuning based on “writer’s feedback” that could be understood as controversial (depending on where you stand on the food chain) due to the changes made to the criteria:

“When we awarded bonuses in April, we heard from writers that the criteria for qualifying wasn’t clear. We listened, and for May, we simplified how we picked. Now, bonuses are based solely on the top writers in the Partner Program in a specific month.”

This was the end of the big prize money for the small Nemo in me. We learned later that where it says “top writers in the Partner Program,” it should clearly say “writers with the highest earnings in the Partner Program.”

This explains the update on Medium bonuses I received by email on Wednesday, 23 June and was later published on the Creators Hub:

We’re keeping the same tiered structure that we implemented for May. We calculate rankings based on your monthly Partner Program earnings, which is a direct reflection of member reading time, and use the following tiered structure.

This was the end of the “relational model” for bonuses where claps, reads, and follows mattered. Now, the top-tier competition was only earnings-based.

All we could do was striving to improve the quality of our work and pray for the Medium AI curation blessings to see it distributed more widely across the platform.

Aside from quality-based curation, bonuses were going to those with the most extensive mailing list on Substack or ConvertKit or the highest publication rate under high-rolling publications.

I didn’t receive any survey about the Medium Bonuses topic. Neither did I go wailing to the Medium Staff mailbox about how unfair the new model was. Hence, Medium didn’t hear from me back in May because I didn’t get the chance to voice my opinion on the matter.

Notwithstanding, It’s when the going gets tough that the tough get going. Time to grow some backbone, bit the bullet, go back to my keyboard, and do the one thing a clownfish without a voice (or an extensive mailing list) could do: IMPROVE!

Medium Bonuses: July 2021

Stories were rolling fast while readings were running low in June. Everyone was writing their keyboards out, but no one had eyes on screen for what the other was writing.

That’s what you get by sacrificing a relational-based model to the will of the few. My reads were down; my claps were way down; there was a significant cleansing in June regarding the following; hence I can’t bring that data into the equation.

Now, in July, once again, many of us are stressing about the Medium Bonuses and asking ourselves if we’re getting some extra “algae” this time around.

Just relax; there’s no need for concern because the bonuses announcement is coming. I could even play the seer and predict it will come later today for the lucky 2000. Moreover, I could even dare say it will fall to the same writers like the one in June and more or less within the same tiers.

Final Thoughts

What’s my takeaway from Medium Bonuses? We should stop worrying about bonuses and start reading more stories from our fellow creators.

We need to stop telling creators to write more if they want to be successful; everybody knows that by now! Medium is a guild of extraordinary writers with outstanding writing muscles.

We should be advising our fellow writers to read, socialize and share the love if we want to live up to Ev’s dream of a more relational Medium.

Bonuses were fun while they lasted, but I couldn’t foresee any systemic breakthrough coming out of this high earnings-based model.

Medium wouldn’t simply be rolling out algae to the same high rollers, who already had their pantry stuffed with zooplankton for the month, while small fish kept striving for the leftovers. We have to look at the bigger picture, and I can foresee Ev Williams having it all figured out by now.