Summary

Medium's recent changes have negatively impacted poets by making their work freely accessible without compensation, potentially undermining the platform's value and writer earnings.

Abstract

The article expresses concern over Medium's updated profile pages, which now allow non-members to read entire poems and shorter pieces for free, thus depriving poets of potential earnings. This change is seen as detrimental to writers who rely on readership from signed-in members to be compensated for their work. The author argues that this shift not only devalues the work of poets and short story writers but also discourages new writers from joining Medium, as the incentive to pay for content diminishes when much of it is available without cost. The business model is criticized for potentially harming Medium's long-term viability and the credibility of its writers. The author calls for the reintroduction of a privacy banner on profile pages to limit free access and restore a fair earning potential for writers.

Opinions

The author feels that Medium's changes prioritize user experience at the expense of writer compensation, which is unfair to the content creators who are the backbone of the platform.
It is believed that giving away poetry and shorter works for free devalues the work of writers and could lead to a loss of hope for earning on Medium, especially for new writers.
The author suggests that the new policy might deter potential members from joining Medium, as they can access a significant amount of content without paying.
The article criticizes Medium's business model, viewing the decision to offer so much content for free as a sign of desperation and a lack of confidence in the platform's ability to attract and retain paying members.
There is a perception that once content is perceived as 'free,' it is also perceived as 'not worth anything,' which could diminish the overall value of Medium's content in the eyes of the public.
The author emphasizes that all writers, regardless of the length of their content, should be treated fairly and have equal opportunities to earn from their work on Medium.
A simple solution is proposed: reinstating a privacy banner on profile pages to encourage non-members to sign up, thereby protecting the financial interests of writers.
The author expresses optimism that Medium will recognize the negative impact of the current policy and make the necessary changes to support its writers.

Medium Poetry May Go Unrewarded

Changes on Medium could mean your poetry adds up to nothing.

In the light of recent changes on Medium, I felt compelled to write this short article, as I have noticed one particular unwelcome element to our new profile pages that now leaves Medium poets at a distinct disadvantage with earning potential.

Although Medium assures us that it wants people to have a better user experience, I don’t think this should be at the cost of Medium writers who probably for the most part, receive modest earnings from the site but are the sole reason that Medium can exist in the first place.

A Sad Time for Poets

To clarify: When it comes to poetry, anyone on the internet, who is nothing to do with Medium, can now read entire poems from your profile page and much of your work, for free, including any other shorter pieces you write, without signing in or joining Medium at all.

This equates to you not getting paid for your poetry/shorter pieces as you only get paid for readership from signed in members of Medium.

Since there is no longer any kind of banner to prevent further reading on a profile page, if people know your name, they can simply type it into Google, and in many cases, easily find your name with the Medium link, go straight to your profile page and spend a load of time reading your writing, scrolling down the page until tea-time, for free, completely ignoring the fact they’re viewing Medium website (and you’re not getting paid).

How about that for an efficient way to de-value and discourage writers, especially new ones, and ensure they lose all hope of ever earning anything on this site.

Why would poetry lovers join Medium now?

Why would anyone now want to pay to join Medium as a poetry reader or writer in the light of knowing — the content is mostly free and easy to come by? The only people this can satisfy are writers who have no interest in being paid. Hence, Medium is now a lovely glamorous notepad.

It’s all very well having some ‘free tasters’ to reel in the public, but to blatantly give away most of a poet’s work for free, and they have no say in it, is, in my opinion, downright insulting to hard-working writers on the platform.

I know two people who were going to sign up to Medium but decided there’s no point now, as they can now read most of the poetry for free and save $100 a year between them. Lovely! (Not so smart of Medium).

A ‘No Confidence’ business model

Furthermore, what kind of business model is this? In my opinion, this looks like Medium has given itself a vote of no-confidence, by giving too much away to non-members (out of desperation?) and in the process has de-valued the credibility of its writers and the site in general.

People rarely value content which appears ‘free’

Many people realise that, as soon as something is perceived as ‘free’ in the public domain, this equates to being ‘not worth anything’. To prove this point, you only have to ask people if they ever read the free newspaper that comes through their letterbox.

I personally enjoy this website but I do not think this new ‘style over substance’ business model is fair, especially to poets and people writing shorter length stories. I love all the new colors, but that isn’t what any self-respecting writer cares about most.

Writers are valuable

I believe, all Medium writers should be valued, no matter what they write about or the length of their stories, they should all be treated fairly and given the best chance of improving their earning potential. After all, you would hope Medium intends to be a smart business that wants to keep its writers happy, and benefit all concerned in the long run.

Light at the end of the tunnel

However, there is a really simple solution to this ‘over-share’ problem.

Medium: Please bring back a simple privacy banner to our profile pages soon, so that non-members have a much smaller limited reading space before they are asked to sign-up. That’s it! Let’s hope the powers that be will realize the disservice they are doing to writers.

I hope we don’t hear excuses about why a banner can’t be added; I know this can be done and technology is super smart these days.

Finally - Good luck to all Medium writers. May the power be with you.

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