Is Medium and Blogging Worth it Now in 2023?
Short answer: No
It's no secret that the elite of Medium aren't too keen on where things are heading. They’re fucking pissed.
After interviewing CEO Tony Stubblebine, I chatted with three top bloggers who have their ears to the ground – collectively boasting over half a million followers between them.
Their responses were...illuminating, as they all shared one thing in common: revulsion with what is unfolding at Medium HQ.
One writer (you’d be surprised who) was bemused by the CEO’s preference for “experts” and said we’d all fair better with a decentralized blogging platform.
Another faced an enormous 90% earnings drop and the third believed established writers are being treated like “shit.”
Can you feel it? The energy?
I’ve been through several updates on Medium, but nothing has felt like this.
Should you move on too?
Bloggers Vs. the Algorithm
Gone are the days when I naively believed Medium would reign as “the YouTube of blogging.”
Here’s the best advice you’ll get for writing in 2023: it's all about platform power - Substack, Patreon, Kindle? Get on them. ASAP. You might even need your own website if you want to stand out! The idea of a “YouTube of Blogging” has been laid to rest…death always gets its due eventually!
2 reasons why:
Medium’s algorithm
Blogger competition
When an algorithm is your boss and you put all of your eggs in that one basket you might as well just start punching yourself in the balls.
It happened to me.
I got censored on Medium.
Now I’m extra careful about what I post. I won’t self-censor. I still say “Shitfuck” and “Poop Nose” but I also know what stories work better for Medium and which controversial ones are suited for Substack.
As Sun Tzu said of competition and war, “the only constant is change.”
I enjoyed my interview with Coach Tony, but let me be candid like a molting nudist — I should have been more assertive and got to the bottom of his vision. Ultimately, it’s clear that Medium is in for its greatest challenge yet - an “adapocalypse” of sorts!
All we can do now is prepare for an onslaught of new writers as many old ones depart.
I Know What Works on Medium
Despite all the changes, I’m publishing my best work on Medium.
It’s a 3 step process I dubbed “How I don’t end up living homeless giving handjobs to crackheads in an alley:”
I only submit to big publications because I can work with editors and ensure I’m writing quality content, not schizo garbage.
I’m writing from a position of power and expertise—as Nietzche would say, “Write with blood.”
And I keep in mind the average reader only spends 37 seconds reading a blogpost, so edit to the fucking bone.
The nature of the game is to roll with the punches. Embrace change. This is entertainment in the end and we are all at the mercy of the algorithm and millionaires that back the company.
In an ideal world, I wish things were different—I wish we had decentralized systems, had free healthcare, didn’t assassinate democratically elected leaders in our own country and others, and didn’t send paramilitary death squads to South America to make way for corporations—but it is what it is!
Wait, what was the question?
I don’t see Medium going anywhere, so either: 1) The new rules stay and adaptive writers thrive 2) Tony tweaks the rules (but according to him views are up) 3) A new CEO comes in BUT EVEN THEN YOU’LL HAVE NEW RULES.
Is Blogging on Medium Worth it in 2023?
Much like what happened to the journalism industry in the 70s, content creators are becoming “content hustlers.”
We’re expected to be efficient and coldly calculate how to deliver profitable content or retread old ideas.
As author William Deresiewicz said we’re “marinating ourselves in the conventional wisdom.”
Marinating is a good metaphor for it.
I can see why it’s led to burnout among many of my favorite bloggers.
, who left Medium this year, said there’s a difference between a blogger and a writer and that she was a writer. I agree with her on both points.Medium is for blogging, not so much writing, and content, in general, has become like streaming: You have a place for long-form content, one for shorter stories, and one that pays the bills. I use Substack for my longer essays, Medium for my shorter opinion pieces, and Freelancing to pay the bills.
That isn’t to undermine Medium because high-quality long-form content still gets published here. Exhibit A, B, and C.
But the platform is changing, unlike anything I’ve seen before.
That’s why it is best to focus on improving your craft and experiment with multiple platforms and formats. I never thought I’d be writing for more than coffee money. But I’m still here, doing my best and writing what comes to mind.
Find a way to do the same.
You’re dope!