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Medium has a core challenge ahead, and IMHO the opportunity is more akin to Patreon donations and less akin to Facebook likes. I read many long blog posts espe

by jph 9y ago

Medium has a core challenge ahead, and IMHO the opportunity is more akin to Patreon donations and less akin to Facebook likes. I read many long blog posts especially about tech. I donate money to many authors and creators. I've learned the hard way that paywalls interfere with my ability to share links with more people, and undermine open source discussions. And voting systems tend to be gamed. Medium's price point is a risk. Flat monthly fees of $5 is too low for what I spend on quality writing, but also too high for many people in less-wealthy areas. I advocate a tip jar. It's the worst form of payment, except for all the others. I also advocate a sponsorship button to encourage future writing and projects. I believe success looks a lot like what creators such as Amanda Palmer are doing with fundraising. If you're interested, watch her TED talk or her Patreon page. I don't know if her way would work for part-time writers, or ad-hoc bloggers. I do believe it's a worthwhile experiment.

subpixel 9y ago
What works for creators (something like Patreon) won't work for Medium in this case. Medium needs to profit in a substantial way, and billing millions of credit cards every month seems the only way to get there. The clap-funding thing is just an attempt at including creators so they don't stop using Medium. But, as a product, Medium is only a nice-to-have. My willingness to support my favorite writers is wholly disconnected from an interest in paying Medium for access. If they hadn't taken so much money, Medium could be funded like Wikipedia. My $5/mo would feel better spent if it were helping fund the operation as opposed to propping up a billionaire's latest experiment. That said, maybe we should all just be thankful Medium isn't trying to solve their problem with an ICO.
snarf21 9y ago
I agree with you and there is no best method. I think the sponsorship kind of approach is generally best. I posted previously that I think some kind pay per read (micro-payment) might work if done right. Something like this: Any writer can submit an article with a micro-payment pay wall but first they must have previously done the following: They must have submitted a free article (500+ words?) within the last 12 months (and maybe requires some number of likes on your free articles) and the first 100 words are available as a snippet. Then if you like the author and the idea of the article you pay ($1? or ??) out of your Medium balance. Authors are required to invest and develop a following but then it is easy for them to monetize their supporters. I also removes any kind of fraud since it is direct payment. I think the other thing that Medium needs to improve on is helping to expose new authors with something interesting to say. Just emailing me all new articles every day is annoying. I'd rather get a list of three once a week that have been vetted and I'm likely to enjoy.

by jph 9y ago

subpixel 9y ago

What works for creators (something like Patreon) won't work for Medium in this case. Medium needs to profit in a substantial way, and billing millions of credit cards every month seems the only way to get there. The clap-funding thing is just an attempt at including creators so they don't stop using Medium. But, as a product, Medium is only a nice-to-have. My willingness to support my favorite writers is wholly disconnected from an interest in paying Medium for access. If they hadn't taken so much money, Medium could be funded like Wikipedia. My $5/mo would feel better spent if it were helping fund the operation as opposed to propping up a billionaire's latest experiment. That said, maybe we should all just be thankful Medium isn't trying to solve their problem with an ICO.

snarf21 9y ago

I agree with you and there is no best method. I think the sponsorship kind of approach is generally best. I posted previously that I think some kind pay per read (micro-payment) might work if done right. Something like this: Any writer can submit an article with a micro-payment pay wall but first they must have previously done the following: They must have submitted a free article (500+ words?) within the last 12 months (and maybe requires some number of likes on your free articles) and the first 100 words are available as a snippet. Then if you like the author and the idea of the article you pay ($1? or ??) out of your Medium balance. Authors are required to invest and develop a following but then it is easy for them to monetize their supporters. I also removes any kind of fraud since it is direct payment. I think the other thing that Medium needs to improve on is helping to expose new authors with something interesting to say. Just emailing me all new articles every day is annoying. I'd rather get a list of three once a week that have been vetted and I'm likely to enjoy.