Is Medium a Writers’ Platform or a Social Experiment?

When writers are rewarded for socializing, where does our writing fit in?

Photo by Dean Machala on Unsplash

One of the things I’ve liked most about Medium is that the website has spawned a thriving community of writers. We writers, most of us, have a need to be in touch with other writers. It’s almost impossible to write in a vacuum, and I’ve gained so much from so many of the other writers here. Would we have known one another if we hadn’t, at some point, engaged in the social aspects of Medium? Probably not, and I’m happy to be a part of a group that is so open and caring and helpful. I consider many of them friends now.

But we may part company on this:

I like that we have several private Medium groups on Facebook where we can gripe and rejoice and share ideas. That’s the real community for me — away from the published page. We have a presence on Twitter, and many of us have joined chatrooms and are on Instagram and elsewhere. But I’m uncomfortable with how cliquish Medium has become in public, on the pages where readers come from all over to find good stories.

When the talk turns to ‘members’, it suggests there are insiders and then there are outsiders. The problem with that is many of the ‘outsiders’ are writers here. There are inclusions and there are…