Confessions of a (former) Medium Freeloader
I read all of your stories, for free!
I have a confession.
I was a Medium freeloader.
By freeloader, I mean that I read your stories for free.
I clapped,
I responded,
I followed,
But I did not pay.
I wanted to see what Medium could do for me, before offering up cash.
Selfish? Maybe so but like you, I work hard for my money.
Cynical? Definitely! I did not want to be part of some Ponzi scheme.
The relationship was not entirely one-sided.
I gave Medium my writing, my energy, my content, all invaluable things.
Unfortunately, energy and time do not pay the bills.
I was accepted into the Medium Partner Program, which allowed me to earn money from my stories.
So, I made a vow that once I earned five dollars writing articles with the Medium Partner Program, I would pay the monthly fee. Until that point, I was a writer and reader, perusing Medium freely.
After explaining the concept to a friend, she responded matter-of-factly, “So you let other people pay to read your stories, but you do not pay to read theirs?” Good point.
As of today, I am officially a paying member of Medium. With five dollars of earnings and five dollars given to Medium, I have officially even. It is not all about monetary gain, if it were, there would be far fewer writers.
Since becoming a paid member 15 minutes ago, I do not notice many changes, except my picture is now surrounded by a fancy green circle. However, I admit that I feel better to be contributing more than just my writing to this site.
I am not sure how the algorithm works, but I take solace in the knowledge that I am giving back something, if only pennies, to my fellow writers.
Times are tough, and there should be neither shame nor coercion to pay for a service you do not like.
Will I pay for Medium in three months? I am not sure, that is the beauty of the marketplace.
