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Would you prefer ads or paying writers through Medium?
by dhimes 6y ago
Would you prefer ads or paying writers through Medium?
- jiofih 6y agoNone. People are unwittingly sharing free content on the platform because they are not aware of the paywall.
- dhimes 6y agoMy understanding is that authors can get paid.
- stronglikedan 6y agoI prefer ads, but I'm one of those weirdos that doesn't see a problem with ads, and actually prefers targeted ads.
- durovo 6y agoSame here. Would love to see a targeted ad that makes me buy something new.
- criddell 6y agoIf it's a programming tutorial, it seems like the ad doesn't need to be targeted to you specifically, but to programmers in general. I really don't want to see another Zappos ad for some shoes I bought a month ago when reading a React tutorial.
- stanulilic 6y agoI thought I was the only one.
- kgwxd 6y agoI prefer ads because, if they're a typical tracker disguised as an ad, I can block them without feeling even a tinge of guilt. A few weeks ago I saw an ad on a blog post. I think it's the only one I've seen all year. I was so surprised, I looked at the source. It was just an image, hosted on the same domain, wrapped in standard anchor tag. It was even something I might consider using, a server monitoring service. I had never been so happy to see an ad.
- dhimes 6y agoThis is the way all ads should be.
- bonestamp2 6y agoI don't have a problem with ads in general. But, I prefer not to have targeted ads -- I prefer ads that shoot from the hip and know as little about me as possible. I know that's not as compelling for advertisers, but they did ok with that model for a century. I mean, if it were just as simple as, he likes gadgets and cycling: let's show him an ad for a new bike accessory -- that isn't so bad. But when they know what your mood is, what your insecurities are, what your financial situation is, past purchases at one retailer linked with your phone number to purchases at another retailer, how likely you are to buy at a certain time of day, etc and then they show you the right ad, in the right place at the right time to exploit all of those things... that is too manipulative for my taste.
- Kaos-Industries 6y agoI'm very curious whether you have a citation RE mood and insecurities. I don't disbelieve you but they are pretty extraordinary claims.
- CarelessExpert 6y ago> I prefer ads, but I'm one of those weirdos that doesn't see a problem with ads, and actually prefers targeted ads. The ads are fine. Surveillance capitalism is the problem. Don't mistake the symptom for the disease.
- dhimes 6y agoI agree completely. And I'm also fine with people who want to be paid to teach.
- wpietri 6y agoCould you walk me through your market value estimate for a quick writeup of an obscure Rails feature?
- vorpalhex 6y agoIf you want to sell your tutorial for a few dollars, actually sell it for a few dollars and don't force me to play subscription games with Medium.
- dhimes 6y agoHow do you get the reach? Reach is worth something.
- CarelessExpert 6y agoTwitter? Reddit? Hacker News? Are you really trying to make the case that Medium is the only way people find and read content?
- dhimes 6y agoNope. I'm just wondering what the sentiment is. I've obviously struck a nerve. "Oh no paywall!" for a site that pays its authors. Now, if it ripped the authors off or engaged in other shitty tactics, then that's one thing. But nobody is responding with that kind of information. It's all a response against the paywalls, and I'm trying to figure out if it's knee-jerk or not. I mean, aren't people allowed to make a living by teaching others?
- CarelessExpert 6y ago> I mean, aren't people allowed to make a living by teaching others? Absolutely good point! I think if I were to rephrase the submitter's comment in a way that aligned with my own views and concerns, it would be: If your intent is to put information into the world for others to share purely out of charity/a desire to help others, or to get your name out, please consider options other than Medium, as Medium is ultimately in control if whether anyone can actually gain access to the content you've produced. If, however, as you say, one's goal is to produce and monetize content as part of a personal revenue stream, then Medium seems like as good an option as any (though, personally, I'm not a huge fan of contributing content into walled garden ecosystems where the publisher can unilaterally change the rules on a whim), and folks here complaining that stuff is behind a paywall should go find free content elsewhere.
- notankies 6y agoMost programming tutorials are effectively ads for the author. "Want to get hired? Write a programming blog" is advice I've received many times.
- SilasX 6y agoOkay, but I have no problem with people sharing useful knowledge as personal advertising, so long as it's actually useful and not otherwise scummy (e.g. the Medium UX).
- jwlake 6y agoMedium doesn't actually pay writers does it?
- criddell 6y agoYes, it does.
- gremlinsinc 6y agoMedium pays based on users subscribed who 'clap' on your articles, the more claps/views the more you make per article. It's literally $5 a month to subscribe to all medium articles, I don't get the problem. That's less than a starbucks latte.
- dingaling 6y agoIt's not just $5 per month, it's $5 on top of all the other subscription services with their low, low monthly costs. Death of 1000 cuts. A service must be really compelling and unique to persuade people to commit to an open-ended subscription on top of everything else crying for their dollars. That's why the likes of Apple are racing to bundle their services for a single monthly family fee, they're getting ahead of 'subscription fatigue' where the mental and financial burden of managing a plethora of small monthly charges becomes overwhelming. > That's less than a starbucks latte. That's a perfect analogy. The majority of people in any population don't buy a Starbucks latté because the cost-value assessment indicates it's not worth it on top of more essential daily living costs.