ldstephens

I've been cross-posting from here and writing on Medium since 2015. My articles have racked up over 100,000 views. Over this time, Medium has gone through its fair share of changes, including some recent ones.

Here's the thing – it feels like Medium has forgotten about us writers who've been here for years. Now it's like they're chasing profits so hard that they've left behind those of us who've been posting our stuff for free and sticking around for ages. Now, it's all about the writers in the Partner Program. The rest of us? We're more like background noise now.

Medium's latest tweaks to the Partner Program have made life trickier for writers who aren't part of it. They're now requiring partner writers to become Medium Members (which costs $5 per month) and gather up a bunch of followers before they can even join the program.

Additionally, non-partner writers are no longer included in the algorithms that elevate posts. This means non-partner writers are getting the short end of the stick, with hardly any chance of growing their audience.

Because of these changes, loads of writers who chose not to jump into the Partner Program are seeing fewer people checking out their stuff. It's fucking frustrating, especially for those of us who've poured our energy into Medium for years.

So, let's cut to the chase. Medium's current trajectory? It’s not for me. So, no biggie – I pulled the trigger and deactivated my account yesterday. So now those 3000 monthly readers of my Medium pieces will get a 404 error smack in the face.

Later, Medium!

Published first to ldstephens.net – August 14, 2023