Thought Leadership
Update on New Medium T&Cs
Silver lining to reach consensus for a win-win-win goal
Introduction and Context
I posted an article as a response to inquiries by many writers related to concerns on new Medium Terms and Conditions yesterday.
The article served the purpose as validated by the responses and appreciation messages provided by many writers.
As this issue posed an essential point for our writers, I felt obliged to provide an update on my findings of the progress to inform our valued writers.
Several writers raised their concerns and shared their thoughts on my story and a few others.
However, the critical update came from Medium’s friendly help-desk. I was pleased to receive a clarifying message by Medium on my article.
Let me share!
Medium Update on New Policy
While some of the language in these policies has changed, Medium’s fundamental beliefs (and behaviors) have not. Here’s the deal:
You own all the content you post on Medium, and we make no claims to it, nor will we ever in the future.
We do not, and will not, sell your information. Ever.
Please see the link for details. Highlighted text by Medium.
Based on this useful update, I want to share my views hoping to add value to the discussion and progress.
My views on Medium and interpretation of the situation based on feedback
The feedback left on my article yesterday, offering an update on policy wording by the Medium help-desk, demonstrates that Medium listens to and cares about the concerns of writers.
This clarification is gratefully a positive move.
Several writers have already raised their concerns and elaborated on their thoughts. These discussions were healthy, lively, and informative. The spirit of collaboration was evident in discussions.
One striking point was some writers indicated to leave the platform due to the policy change with the belief that the new policy disadvantages writers.
In this story, I want to focus on this crucial point as it matters the most.
I understand the sentiments of our writers triggered by the change and certainly don’t underestimate the level of anxiety created by ambiguous policy statements.
Many writers perceived the unclear policy statements as adversely affecting their writing practice and considered leaving the platform.
I acknowledge the opinions and want to share my point of view about this platform.
To clarify my position, I have no personal bias for the new policy. Like many of the writers on this platform, I am a member of the MPP (Medium Partner Program) with no particular affiliation with Medium. I am one of the affected writers. However, I choose to stay neutral until the situation gets cleared.
I prefer straight talk and transparency when dealing with people and organizations. In my view, Medium is an exceptional platform bringing writers all over the world, enabling them to collaborate and share.
The unique value proposition of Medium for writers must be factored in discussions and decisions. There are many content platforms, but it is not easy to find an environment with members with common goals as is on Medium.
I am relatively new on Medium; less than a year to be precise. In this short time frame, I gained over 3,000 followers and hundreds of fans, who regularly consume my content, whom I didn’t even know a year ago.
This realization is a precious value proposition for me.
I experienced many more benefits of Medium to my content distribution and marketing goals.
This post is not enough to cover the pros of Medium as the list can go gigantic and it is not the scope of this article.
In short, this unique environment enables us to find and raise our voice for issues that matter to society cost-effectively.
Of course, the platform itself does not guarantee success, and we need to make an effort to raise our voice, but the fundamental infrastructure and reader base is at our disposal.
Yes, writers have concerns about the payment system and their content rights; however, these points, as being undeniably significant for many writers, they play a secondary role in my humble opinion.
You may disagree with my views and sentiments about Medium. I respect your thoughts on this and never take your valuable views for granted.
My critical message is that writers shouldn’t make a rash decision based on emotions triggered by a proposed change without trying all avenues.
We need to focus on understanding the implications, seeking clarification for changing items, and sharing our position transparently in open dialogue.
Medium does not censor our thoughts. This is a platform that allows us to speak up. As far as I know, the writers’ accounts are not suspended due to sharing their opinions.
There is no perfect content platform. All are evolving.
Like any other platform, Medium also has its weaknesses that require improvement. For example, the curation process is one of the most painful aspects of Medium, which hurts many writers and demotivates them. This turned out to be the truth and is evident in thousands of articles on the platform. This pain point must be addressed soon.
All content platforms evolve with iterative progress. As writers, we are key stakeholders. We are the building blocks of this platform and play a vital role in the transformation of this ecosystem.
We have the power to transform the platform to serve our needs and desires. It will not happen overnight, but our words have the power to make the change happen. Our leadership is essential.
All services and products have a legal component. It is reality and inevitable. From my experience, I know that legal terms are challenging to understand for most of us. Legal materials are written in broad terms to protect products and services from commercial manipulation. How many of us really read legal documents for many products and services we consume in our daily life? We assume they are written in goodwill.
My point is, even though I had difficulty in interpreting and understanding the new policy, the update provided by Medium sounds reasonable and promising to me.
I repeat the updated terms for awareness.
Medium asserts that:
- You own all the content you post on Medium, and we make no claims to it, nor will we ever in the future.
2. We do not, and will not, sell your information. Ever.
These two statements make perfect sense to me.
Proposed Solution
Now that we understand and accept there is a problem, we need to focus on collectively and collaboratively how to resolve the issue optimally.
In my opinion, the critical requirement from Medium’s end is to integrate these updated terms to the actual policy statements which caused the concerns.
The low hanging fruit is to reword the policy statement to a digestible and understandable format.
If Medium can achieve this progress promptly, before the first of September, it can create a win-win-win position for writers, readers, and Medium as an organization.
Currently, the perception is a lose-lose-win position. Therefore, sentiments from many writers reflect substantial concerns and urge to make poor decisions posing harsh consequences.
Supplementary Views
Since yesterday, I came across a few new articles submitted to my publication about the concerns. These articles can open dialogue and add new perspectives to the situation.
This is a story by Linda Caroll, who is an accomplished writer of Medium and an editor on ILLUMINATION.
This is a story by one of our new writers, Maïa Belart, who is learning quickly and contributing to the vitality of Medium writers as a fresh voice.
Here is another interesting story from one of our popular writers in humor and satire, Charles Roast.
Conclusion
I am optimistic that we can reach a consensus with open dialogue and transparency. It is time to unite to transform this platform.
My suggestion to fellow writers is to reassess the situation based on the update provided by Medium yesterday.
Leveraging this update from Medium, I encourage writers to provide their opinions on how we can collectively add further clarity to the current situation and how we can transform this incredibly unique platform together.
It is not too late. Hope is in the offing.
Thank you for reading my perspectives.
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