My Medium Marxism Manifesto

For the advancement of work written by the people, for the people (and to safeguard the work of poets and illustrators)

If you’re unfamiliar with my take on the Medium publications, you might want to go back and read this article. It’ll put some context around what comes next. If you’d like to plough on anyway (and why not!) let me start with a note of hope.

You see… alongside the Medium Publications, there has been a shift in the way that earnings are calculated here. The pay structure now centres around the amount of time spent reading articles and not just whether they’re clapped for.

This change is part of a long complicated series of changes that have happened over the years. If you want a summary, There’s a very good history to be found here. You will see that publications have come and gone, advertising has come and gone, money has flowed in and money has flowed out.

The latest set of changes are going to be good for some people and bad for others. But don’t worry. I’ve got the Medium Marxism Bible to help us through. After all…

The key point when Medium was set up was:

The ethos behind Medium is one of openness and democracy — like the Internet itself. Our goal is to help people pay attention to the most valuable stuff first and to have the best ideas win.

First, the good news.

We should start to see particular styles of writing dropping away from the platform.

Not sure about you, but I’m fed up of reading poorly written articles about Trump being evil, about white men being the scourge of humanity, and that that both racism and sexism are wrong. I know these things. What I want to read is proactive solutions or insights.

I’m not getting it as much as I used to. I’m getting lots of hollow and empty rhetoric that doesn’t further discussion or bring any salient points into the argument. It’s people sounding off.

Those heavily under-read and over-clapped puff pieces will start to fade out as they become less profitable. It will no longer be a massive cash cow to state the obvious as though it was revolutionary and wait for the adulation and financial reward to pour in via claps. If you’ve got nothing to say, people will leave. People like me won’t even open the articles.

You get bonus money for depth and thinking things through and formulating ideas properly rather than half arsing it. That can’t be a bad thing in a world that’s steadily falling into political echo-chambers and idioacy.

And now the bad news.

People who write poetry, short stories and who draw cartoons are going to be hit pretty hard by the changes. That feels massively unfair. I’ve dabbled in poetry and I don’t dabble in cartoons. Both take a huge amount of skill and dedication to craft.

Not all writing is created equal… but the algorithm doesn’t know that. Reading time is not a good measure of how well a piece is crafted. But in the world of populism and demagoguery, I’d argue it’s better than claps.

So here are some things that you can do to ensure that you help keep Medium a balanced place that’s friendly for everyone (the proles) and not just here to line the pockets of elite professional journalists (the bourgeoise).

So in the spirit of Marxist revolution. Here it is…

The Medium Marxism Manifesto

Do not follow Medium publications.

Medium is a platform for new writing, and should not be publishing its own articles. Creative control shouldn’t be handed to a small group of editors and journalists. This will likely lead to Medium becoming a left-leaning online newspaper. These already exist and people have chosen not to subscribe to them.

Check your network first

Don’t be drawn by the featured writing or the heavily curated stuff in the first instance. Instead look to your network. Read sideways and find your own reading path, don’t just go for the one that has been selected for you.

Follow Emerging Writers Not Established Writers

Always try and follow emerging writers, those who have less than 1000 followers. If a Medium author has 225K followers and an established journalistic career, chances are they won’t miss your support. Use your time here to encourage a newer voice onto the platform. There were many welcoming voices and words of encouragement when I arrived in 2018 and that has always stuck with me. Pass positivity down, not up.

Don’t just read the best

Read stories that aren’t well written, and read stories that aren’t well formatted. Admit it, your early ones weren’t well written or well formatted either. I have found that newly birthed writers often ask for feedback in early articles. Sometimes I will give that in a private note (if it has been requested). The few cents/pence a new writer gets from ANYONE reading their work will encourage them to keep writing on the platform. A minor amount of financial gain to someone starting out is worth infinitely more on an emotional level than a small amount to an established writer.

Change your criteria for reading

Judge pieces you read on whether they offer you anything, rather than whether you agree with them. Read what you don’t like as much as what you do. This should help combat that slight echo chamber feel of other social media platforms that Medium is beginning to get. If you disagree and you’re capable of refuting an author’s points, do so politely in the comments. Medium should be a place of discussion and debate. If both parties can maintain politeness. The ensuing discussion will likely be good for you — and it will mean people read their stories (and yours) for longer. Follow people you disagree with. I have my own nemesis and he’s awesome.

Adjust your reading time

Try and read at least two poems and two cartoons a day. And re-read them a few times. Spend time on those pages. Those writers and artists are just as dedicated to their craft as people who write longer articles. Reward them with your attention and therefore your money.

And that’s it. Medium has become a top-heavy hierarchy in the last six months. I think it was a mistake. The six things you can do in the Medium Marxism Bible should help go some way to bringing balance back to the platform.

Feel free to point people towards the direction of this Manifesto.

The chances of this article being curated and given a profile are about as high as GEN editors coming out in favour of Harvey Weinstein running for President.

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