Summary

Toni Greathouse reflects on their evolving relationship with Medium, detailing personal growth goals, the platform's impact, and the balance between writing passion and financial incentives.

Abstract

Toni Greathouse shares a personal journey of growth and change on Medium over five years, initially being deeply engaged with the platform's community and metrics for success, such as claps, connections, and comments. They describe setting various growth goals, including building bridges between diverse writers in 2023 and planning for intentional action in 2024. Despite the challenges and confusion often associated with Medium's changes, Greathouse emphasizes the site's value as a middle ground for validation, influence, and skill development. They note that while Medium is not primarily designed for income generation, the potential for compensation contributes to its addictive nature. Greathouse's experience underscores the importance of clarity and actionable plans in writing, and they express appreciation for Medium's role in their professional writing journey.

Opinions

Medium's growth is subjective and varies for each writer, often linked to personal expectations and goals.
The platform's changes and complexities can be confusing but also present opportunities for reflection and recalibration.
Medium is seen as a space for peer validation, influence expansion, and writing skill improvement.
The author values the sense of community and the potential for financial return on Medium, which is unusual among social media platforms.
Despite Medium's founder emphasizing the platform's focus on quality content over monetization, the allure of earnings can be compelling for writers.
Greathouse acknowledges that while money is not the primary motivator for their continued engagement with Medium, the possibility of financial gain does enhance the experience.
The author appreciates Medium for providing a level playing field for writers, regardless of their following, and for being a launchpad for writers to achieve greater recognition, such as book deals.

TOᑎI TᗩᒪKᔕ | INSIDE L👀KING OUT | VIEWPOINTᔕ

Observations On Medium

Profitable Writing Adventures Await Beyond The Bubble

Image created in Canva Pro by Toni Greathouse

L👀k at the focal image. Note the weird way the word growth is written. It’s hard to read, let alone understand. However, that’s how the people who are closest to us see our addiction to Medium.

The word growth only makes sense when it’s viewed internally. Growth is a term emblematic of the way I saw Medium. I remained entrenched inside the bubble by choice. I saw growth in claps, connections, and comments.

As it pertains to this platform, the word growth means something different to each writer. It’s a word that’s invariably linked to an expectation. Hence, the reason to question, “Have you established a 4th quarter growth goal?”

⅁ɹoʍʇɥ ⅁oɐןs

Over the past 5 years, my undefined growth goals have been on autopilot. 2019-20: Read+Read+Read = Addiction to pubs & peeps (many have left). 2021: First post published in About Me. Updated 2023 Read HERE 2022: Twin Targets = Gaining Traction + Reciprocating Reads. 2023: The Booster Club was introduced to offer writers support. 2024: Intentional Action to Rewrite My Reality.

Building a bridge between diverse writers in 2023 was empowering. Read HERE. Organizing the 6-week-long social experiment was instructive. It catalyzed my actions via reflection, reassessment, and recalibrations.

A growth goal governing why I wrote emerged in 2024. Clarity empowered me to establish an expectation. It led to the development of an actionable professional writing plan.

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Making sense of Medium is mostly about navigating confusion. There are so many moving parts to this site. Most seem to make absolutely no sense. My feeling is, no matter what changes were enacted…

I just couldn’t quit Medium!

Do you feel the same? Does it equate to an unhealthy addiction? Is there something you cannot describe that compels you to return? Please head over to the comments and share your thoughts.

𝗘𝗻𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄

Medium is what its name implies. It’s a middle ground erected amid a vast virtual space. It’s a space to gain validation from peers. It’s a space to grow your influence. It’s a space to learn how to sharpen writing skills.

It’s where quality words are rewarded with a boost in both viewership and income. The boost turns up the volume of your post. It allows the post to rise above the noise on this overly crowded site.

I did a little research to get my story straight on Medium. The most reliable information was sourced directly from Medium’s founder, Ev Williams. He wrote the passage below in 2012.

“We now live in a world of infinite information. Most of our systems weren’t designed for this world. Even if you had the best recommendation system ever, and everyone stopped publishing interesting stuff tomorrow, you’d never get through all the content you’re interested in. You need a place to start. So, our goal is to help people pay attention to the most valuable stuff first and to have the best ideas win.”

Before stepping down to hand the reins over to the new CEO, Williams cobbled together a tiny leadership team. At 80 employees it’s still small. Their purpose remains unchanged. They provide digital tools and space.

M̶a̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ M̶o̶n̶e̶y̶ O̶n̶ M̶e̶d̶i̶u̶m̶

The posts I read from Ev Williams did not mention monetization. In fact, CEO Tony Stubblebine has gone to great lengths to repeatedly articulate that this site is NOT designed to generate income for writers.

Compensation was built into the package, at Medium’s inception, as a perk. A few early adopters made six figures and wrote about income ad nauseam. You can still find plenty of these posts on the platform. Leaving them there just causes confusion for recent arrivals.

From what I’ve read, the Medium team works to ensure the platform’s ethos isn’t lost in a multitude of messages. So, if money is the primary reason you write on Medium your tenure will likely be short-lived.

C̷o̷m̷p̷e̷n̷s̷a̷t̷i̷o̷n̷

Money was NOT what kept me coming back. My first payout in 2021 was a mere .022 cents. It grew from there. From an ROI standpoint. Medium payouts have covered my membership fee for the next 25 years.

Riddle me this, “What other social media platform extends the option to earn back your investment?” It’s one of many reasons that I’ve got nothing but love ❤️ for Medium.

Full disclosure: Watching coins stack up daily does add to the addiction. Cash, no matter how little, sends dopamine-driven hits to the brain. The effect is like sprinkling crack on top of the icing already generously applied to Medium’s cake.

𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆

Medium levels the playing field for writers who lack a large following. Their goal is achieved by anchoring a platform that aids in:

№. 1 Honing and showcasing writing prowess. №. 2 Amplifying the Voices of Subject Matter Experts. №. 3 Helping writers connect with readers in a specific genre or niche.

Medium is a launch pad where writers build, fuel, and hopefully rocket into the stratosphere. At the site’s conference, 3 writers whose posts went viral were featured because each landed book deals.

What each newly published writer accomplished proves that Medium is simply what its name implies.

Me in the Lensa App image in Canva Pro by Toni Greathouse

🔹About Me ➖ Toni Greathouse ➖ Toni The Talker I write to share ideas. I write to impart wisdom from lessons learned in the school of life. I write to reinvent my reality. I write because I’ve chosen to pursue my passion for writing as if it were my profession.