Erin KissaneJan 12, 2023

Plenty of great people have cycled through #Medium at various points, but I would love to see a little bit of memory retention about their organizational history:

"Medium abruptly cancels the membership programs of its 21 remaining subscription publishers" https://www.niemanlab.org/2018/05/medium-abruptly-cancels-the-membership-programs-of-its-21-remaining-publisher-partners/

"‘We had no idea that it was coming’: Medium pulls the rug from under publications" https://www.cjr.org/business_of_news/medium-publication.php

"The long, complicated, and extremely frustrating history of Medium, 2012–present" https://www.niemanlab.org/2019/03/the-long-complicated-and-extremely-frustrating-history-of-medium-2012-present/

Medium abruptly cancels the membership programs of its 21 remaining subscription publisher partners

"Could we have a better metaphor for the way Silicon Valley considers local journalism?” fumed the owner of one of these remaining publications.

Nieman Lab
Show threadErin KissaneJan 12, 2023

"Medium has pivoted so many times it has now come full circle" https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/medium-has-pivoted-so-many-times-it-has-now-come-full-circle.php

"Medium Pivots Again, Offers Voluntary Buyouts to Editorial Staff" https://www.thewrap.com/medium-pivots-again-offers-voluntary-buyouts-to-editorial-staff/

So I mean feel free to hop on that scorpion's back! You might have an awesome trip across the river and everyone will be super chill and friendly forever. But maybe check out the history before you hype up their new Mastodon experiment and keep your eye on the exits.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Show threadErin KissaneJan 12, 2023
As with Substack, there are always going to be a ton of people who very understandably feel like they have to keep quiet about the bad stuff because most writers live in various states of perpetual precarity—which is exactly why this clownshow history drives me up the wall. Tech companies buy new toys and throw away the old ones and real people get hurt.
Show threadErin KissaneJan 12, 2023

LAST ONE but I know for a fact that criticizing this stuff is professionally damaging, bc a tech company exec in NYC literally called me in on the pretense of offering editorial work, only to turn his computer around to point out a (mild) critical tweet I once sent, and demand that I explain myself before sending me home.

So keep that in mind when people stay quiet.

Show threadPax Ahimsa Gethen 🏳️‍⚧️Jan 12, 2023

@kissane

FWIW as a long-time subscriber and partner program member, there are many things I like about @medium, particularly the ad-free reading experience. But I also recognize and understand the criticism, considering the company's history of pivots. With the current CEO, I remain cautiously optimistic about the site's future.

Show threadErin Kissane
@funcrunch @medium I genuinely hope it works out, and that it helps a lot of writers.
Jan 12, 2023 at 8:04pmWeb
Show threadPax Ahimsa Gethen 🏳️‍⚧️Jan 12, 2023

@kissane @medium

Thanks, me too (and not just for my own sake). I'm concerned about some people already talking about defederating Medium's instance before they even open it up to their own writers. Though of course that is their right, there may be unintended collateral damage.

Show threadErin KissaneJan 12, 2023
@funcrunch @medium lol yes defederating in advance seems deeply silly to me, but fedis gonna defed