Is Medium Becoming a Race to the Bottom?

I hope not, but it feels like it at times

Photo by Robert Murray on Unsplash

First and foremost, I enjoy Medium. An open canvas with diverse voices, backgrounds, and life experiences. A variety of pubs and people looking to express themselves and make the world a better place. Great stuff.

I enjoy the confessionals — driven by emotion and empathy. I admire those writers and their strength to show vulnerability. To share their most intimate stories and episodes. Many aren’t their greatest moments.

Kudos to courage! It’s full of heart, soul, and spirit. Pain, longing, and learning. They’re human. Many are both tragic and uplifting. They share, teach, and offer hope.

There are times the spirit of the platform has been carjacked and overcome by the FOMO brigades, steering the bus somewhere distant and off-course.

Over the last few months, I’ve seen the most bizarre entries. Many around the Medium Partner Program and the current bonus system — as if the $500.00 monthly add-on is the Holy Grail. After all, who am I? It’s a free country — go for the gusto.

I get it to a point. Despite this, it feels as if the popular trend is to be preoccupied with this bonus, devolved into a search for fools’ gold. I’m not against earnings, the quest for them, and the rest.