Why I Became a Friend of Medium

Here are my three reasons.

The first thing I did this year was join the Friends of Medium for three reasons: to support writers who inform and delight me.

1 — Financial support

If I read your post, clap for it, respond to it, and if Medium’s algorithm gods pick up on that, you’ll get four times the money rewards that you’d get if I were a mere five-dollar-a-month partner.

Now, think about what that does to the newbie writer. The one that you were or still are. If you are a serious science writer, you spend hours (often days) drafting the storyline, articulating it, fact-checking the evidence, editing your post, re-editing it, formatting it into the Medium template (the easiest part, actually), grammar-checking it, producing the images that raise readers’ understanding, and then you get what?

10 views, five reads, and maybe seven cents.

If I read your post, you get 4x7 cents. OK, that’s nothing to scream about. But it can add up.

Money, after all, is a powerful motivator. And giving you a bit more motivation by channeling a bit more appreciation your way helps all of us avid readers to enjoy more of your insights.

There is one more thing: the Medium algorithms seem to shine a little more light on what the FoMs do. So, maybe your post will attract more of the attention that it and your labor deserve when a FoM reads and interacts with it.

Now, don’t get me wrong. If you are on Medium for the money only, you are on the wrong platform. I have reasoned that in the recent interview that Dr. Mehmet Yildiz graciously conducted with me.

2 — Vanity

I had this image in my mind: me sitting at the dinner table surrounded by my friends, clinking my empty wine glass for their attention (only in Hollywood do they clink when they are full), and proudly announcing, “I have become a Friend of Medium. And I have a badge”.

Ooh, the adoration, the envy on their faces—priceless.

The real-life reaction was, “Who is Medium? What is he talking about?” “Did he have too much to drink? His glass is empty already.” “Didn’t I tell you NOT to join a motorcycle gang?”

So, that vanity thing didn’t work out so well. But I’m not losing sight of it. After all, vanity is the devil’s favorite sin. If you don’t believe me, watch the closing scene of “Devil’s Advocate."

3 — Payback

There is this guy on Medium, his name is Dr. Mehmet Yildiz, and I tell you, he had it coming.

He had somehow tracked me down, liked my writing (for some unfathomable reason), and invited me to join the ILLUMINATION gang—sorry, I meant publication—as a writer. He even interviewed me:

He has been teaching me the ropes of Medium, its etiquette, and how to connect with its enviably excellent writers and brilliant thinkers. I consider him my mentor but haven’t told him so.

All that deserves payback, doesn’t it?

Conclusions

So, I became a FoM, partly because, with this tiny measure, I wanted to express my appreciation. And my adoration for a man who doesn’t seem to sleep. He is running more than a handful of successful publications, takes literally hundreds of writers under his wing, and still finds the time to churn out top-notch science posts almost daily.

Dr Yildiz, of course, has his own reasons for becoming a FoM.

Getting to know him has been a humbling experience.

Now you know why I became a FoM.

How about you?

What will your reasons be?

I’m curious to read about them. Maybe we’ll have a hall of fame for FoMs and their reasons.

You see? I don’t give up on that vanity thing.

Thank you for reading my story.