Summary

The author is critical of Medium's new payment system, suggesting it favors certain types of content and writers, and is not transparent about how much money writers actually receive from subscriptions.

Abstract

The article, presented as a 500-word rant, expresses frustration with Medium's new payment system, which the author believes disadvantages poets, comic artists, and short story writers. The author points out that the system seems to benefit those who write about making money or those who repackage content for repeated consumption, rather than rewarding quality or originality. The author also notes a lack of transparency in how Medium calculates writers' earnings, suggesting that the platform takes a significant cut from the $5 subscription fee, which was not previously disclosed. An experiment is proposed to illustrate how writers' earnings are reduced under the new system.

Opinions

The author is skeptical about the fairness of Medium's new payment system, particularly for writers of poetry, comics, and short stories.
There is a perception that the new system benefits content marketers and those who write about financial success, rather than those focused on quality writing.
The author is critical of writers who boast about their income without providing transparency or substance to back up their claims.
The article implies that Medium's payment model is designed to benefit the platform financially at the expense of its writers.
There is a sense of frustration with the lack of transparency regarding the percentage of the subscription fee that actually goes to the writers.
The author suggests that Medium's communication about the payment changes is misleading, potentially obscuring the true impact on writers' earnings.
The author uses sarcasm to emphasize the absurdity of the situation, where writers are expected to celebrate earning less money under the new system.

500-WORD RANT #13

You Realize Your Phone Has a Calculator, Don’t You?

Something smells fishy with the new payment system.

Digital illustration by Author, using photo by Anita Nararidh on Unsplash

Consider this post a rant about our educational system.

When Medium announced its new payment system, I pointed out that poets, comic artists, and short story writers would get the shaft.

And they have.

Improving How We Calculate Writer Earnings to Increase Your Addiction.

In Medium’s Partner Program, writers earn daily through a new model to reward corporate pocketbooks

medium.com

Guess who is making more money?

If you search for “making more money,” or “making more Medium,” or “new MPP,” you’ll find only a few articles by happy content marketers.

Here’s a humble brag from a person whose only credibility as a writer is the claim to be rich — even though we’ll never see MPP earnings or tax returns:

“Before you put me in the asshole rich category…”

(Okay, just the asshole category — talk about money while serving us Mississippi milkshakes* and calling it good writing.)

A social media guru who makes 15% of his income as a writer — tells us that the new system is great for him and all the people who have a “bomb-ass writing style.”

And here I thought it was because his viral article promised to teach people how to make $10,000 a month through different income sources.

Silly me.

Or how about this preening peacock of social media magnificence:

I really pushed myself to turn out the best I possibly could.

(As if there was a difference between the Medium-featured self-help gruel, and the self-published gruel.)

Another joker just republished the same article written four months ago, with the brilliant insight, “while you shouldn’t just duplicate those [past] stories this week, write stories that are similar.”

He changed one paragraph from the original article and is laughing all the way to the bank.

At least, I now understand the meaning of the word similar.

For anyone who can use a calculator, the changes in Medium’s payment system are clear.

Here’s a quote from the new MPP announcement:

…if last month a member spent 10% of their monthly reading time on your story, you will receive 10% of their share (a portion of their subscription fee).

When Medium says, “you will receive 10% of their share,” instead of “10% of their subscription fee,” it means that only a percentage of our $5 per month is going to writers.

Until the announcement, I had never seen a reference to Medium taking a piece of our subscriptions.

Okay, here’s a little experiment: let’s call it arithmetic.

Open your calculator.
Take your monthly earnings on Medium, and multiply it by .75, .80, or .90. These represent varying percentages that Medium might take off the top.
This sounds crazy, but each result will be less than the original number.

See? It’s magic — Medium’s misdirection made some of your money disappear!

If Medium had maintained the old system, even non-math people like writers would think something is fishy.

Here’s to better writing.

*I found this term in a sex confessional and can’t unremember it. Don’t look it up.