Where is Medium’s authentic voice?
Who needs another DIY-blog?
Wow, I just noticed that I haven’t checked in for a while. And there is a good reason for it, but I will tell you about that later. What struck me: The tone of voice in Medium “stories” has changed dramatically, and I am not entirely sure I like it.
My love affair with Medium started about three years ago. I guess I was somewhat late to catch on, torn between writing for my WordPress blog and Medium like many others. Medium fascinated me, though. The content was different, and it probably still is.
I loved the fact that one could get paid, appreciated for the quality of their work.
It didn’t have to be perfect, but enticing enough to keep the readers interested. Yet, like many others before me, my writing started to change dramatically after I made my first >100 USD with an article.
I started to think about my writing. My text became technical, at least in my perception. And it became a chore to write
Don’t get me wrong; it was still the most enjoyable platform to write on. I love the simplicity of the page design, the bright white background, and crisp fonts. But as with many things in life, I lost interest as soon as it started to feel like work.
It took me a while to circle back to Medium, to check out the new features and the new royalty method.
Curious to find new and exciting articles, hungry for something to read, I launched my (personal-)guest home page. I was positively surprised that the platform is very much alive and kicking.
However, I felt as though I had landed on a “how-to” tutorial website. 9 out of 10 articles tried to teach me something or give me advice on how to improve (something in) my life.
Has content technical content creation gotten the best (of all) of us?
I love Medium for what it is, but not how it’s being used. I would really love to read more personal stories, follow-ups, and new adventures. Most writers do not share real-time insights or events; well except for a number of self-proclaimed tech-reporters who love to write about their latest iPhone or Android device (that btw millions of people own and can play around with themselves for 4–8 hours per day, too).
All of that content is so unbelievably technical and lacks authenticity, a personal voice.
I will be back, to contribute to Medium. With my own stories, some personal, some professional, some deeper than others. Quite possibly with a couple of rants like this one. To me, that is what creative writing is all about, expressing your emotions and sharing your point of view.
I will not be back on Medium to write that near-perfect article, because it is not what I would enjoy reading myself; not here, not on Medium. But I will be back to share my thoughts, ideas and maybe even one or two stories I deem worth sharing.
If you have found some great writers I should have a look at (here on Medium), please do leave me a comment, of course!
Have a great day everyone and read you later.