Medium Money

Before I begin, I would like to note that this piece has absolutely nothing to do with metrics, traffic, views, reads, likes, and or comments. There is nothing pivotal in the way of learning a new skill here that will help you on your journey to make more money online.

Yes, the title does have the word money in it. I will get to that. There is a method to this madness. Sit back and enjoy. Not all reading has to have important information for you to follow to succeed.

Just read to enjoy. Read to contemplate. And furthermore, just read without the pressure of feeling that for you to succeed, a monetary value has to be attached.

Yes, your time is valuable.

Believe it or not, there was a time when reading and writing were more of a craft, than a vehicle to make money online. Though money does play an important role, let’s shelf that thought process for a moment.

Let’s talk about why we are all here. I am assuming it is to write. To create. To share with the world something inside of you that needs to get out.

I have been a fan of Medium since 2017. Long before the inception of monetizing the practice of writing, or when it was still only a glean in the eye of its publisher. I posted a few stories back in the day. Some of my earliest successes.

It was the Wild West of online writing. A new platform designated to the craft. I was ecstatic.

In 2020 I became a member, and in 2023 I decided to jump back into the fold to see what I can do with a couple of word documents and some wit. Needless to say, it’s been an uphill battle ever since.

I have been very fortunate to come across some phenomenal writers. I mean some makers and shakers. People I would love to sit down and have a cup of coffee with. Individuals, from my limited experience, are without a doubt some of the most creative people I have read.

Gems. Diamonds. Geniuses to say the least.

Arborists, Anarchists, and modern-day Abolitionists contribute to the online writing community. The only problem is, that no one is writing anything of value except to write about money.

I get it. Tree huggers need to eat. Rebel Rousers and nonconformists need to fund their ideals. I get it 100%. Except most of them are more interested in hacking the system to make money online than anything else. And writing about it to boot.

Traffic, views, and reads are about the only things that are being published these days.

The tree instead of the forest. The beauty of knowing, sharing and writing has been clouded by the one thing that Anarchists despise the most. Money. This isn’t just indicative of those folks, but what feels like the entirety of writing online in the medium of Medium.

Don’t get me wrong. I played to the audience too. Daddy needs to pay the electric bill. What I learned, and rather quickly, was that I was out of my element. I can write about money just like the next person, but as someone who loves writing and storytelling, I realized that I was out of my depth.

It stopped being about writing for me. It became something that quite frankly, I was embarrassed about. Writing to write about money, for the simple fact that I needed more money.

I want your views, reads, comments, and likes. I want those things because what I wrote was not only creative but because damn it I can write. Not because my niche of writing about online writing for money is all there is to write about. (Say that 10x fast.)

Forgetting why we are all online to write in the first place is taking a backseat to the ever-increasing need to make more money. And the result is writing about more money.

It makes me think of an old Dean Martin song.

For the few of you who do not know who Dean Martin was, he was a crooner from the 50’s and 60’s who sang with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr, Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop. One of the original Rat Pack.

One of the lyrics that seems to stick out most in my head when it comes to writing online for money is this;

“If you got it, you don’t need it. If you need it, you don’t got it. You don’t get it, shame on you. Funny, Funny, Funny, what money can do?”

It’s that last bit.

It’s funny because some of the most prolific writers online are writing about making money online, and nothing else. Or some variation. Funny what money can do to a writer.

Fine. Is this a thinly veiled rant about writing online and not making money, or making money? Sure. Whatever. What I am saying is this. Share something else.

I have already ordered that entree off of the menu. And I am still hungry.

Give me marital discourse. Show me the cracks in your armor. Explain to me why we need to revolutionize capitalism. For fuck sake write about the damn dog and cat. Just don’t write about money all the time.

You are an arborist for a reason. Plant a tree in my mind so that it can grow. Anarchists, and abolitionists, show me a better way yea commie.

I can promise you this. When you write, and Medium Money is not a factor, you will make some real money. Because at the end of the day, your hack isn’t that you know how the metrics work, but because your writing inspired me to follow you on your journey.

To date, I have written about God, Eggs, Letter writing, Silence, Emotions, Mental Health, a few satire pieces about Social Media and Niche Marketing, Alcoholism, and Bed-wetting.

That last one I made up on the fly, but you get the point.

I am not writing for the simple fact of trying to capture your attention with the obvious. Money.

I write because I want you to enjoy my lyrical prose about stacking sentences in a way that makes sense to you, and me.

And I suggest you do the same. Your writing journey will be all the better for it.

More importantly, so will my reading list. I am selfish. What can I say?