Medium is the Wikipedia of Ideas
Period. Except it needs to charge us, and not ask us for donations.
Let me catch you up, in case you’re wondering what the hell I am talking about. Medium.com announced earlier today, that it’s laying off a third of its staff. Apparently, Ev Williams is admitting that the company simply cannot sustain itself off of ad revenue. You can read more about it here, on a site that makes it’s living off of ad revenue (i.e. page views, still one of the almighty ways to cash in on the godforsaken interwebs).
I’m here to tell you what Medium could be. What it should be. But who the hell am I? I’ve hardly contributed to Medium (mainly in responses). Well, I’ve been here long enough to know what works. And where the focus should be. Medium should be the Wikipedia of Ideas.
What the hell is the Wikipedia of Ideas you ask? Well, that’s not really the question is it? The real question is, how the hell does a company such as Medium make money off of other people’s (in this form, Medium author’s) ideas? The simplest answer is usually the right one, the first answer that’ll pop into most heads is to sell them, dammit. To whom? Well, that’s the thing. You sell them to anyone willing to pay, and you give the contributor/author a cut. This lead’s to subscription fees for consumers, right? Sort of.
Medium needs to charge for premium content, in the same way Cable TV companies charge you more for premium channels. But the Cable companies are dying, right? Yes, they are. To subscription based services like Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Video. All of which have content that would be on par with Showtime, HBO, Cinemax… also known as premium channels.
Aggregate the top contributors, force them to only publish amazing ideas, and sign me up. I’m ready to start paying for ideas and inspiration that will enrich my life.
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Steve Tate is an entrepreneur and writer. He's also an award-wining screenwriter that you've never heard of (writes under Steven Thadeus); he's hoping to change that last part. Steve's working on his first book. He lives in Downtown L.A. with his wife, and their dog, Tabitha.