100 followers now needed to earn at Medium

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   PaulGoodman67posted 3 years ago

   It's not great for individual writers, as 100 followers is a reasonably high bar for beginners, but I guess they felt the need to improve the overall quality over there. I'm not totally surprised, to be honest.
   
   However, the new follower rule is a blunt instrument, it will put off some good writers, not just impair the half-assed or bad ones. It could take many months before some people can begin to earn.
   
   I know that HP has toyed with the idea of some sort of probationary period for new writers in the past, but they've never done it. It would stop many of the spammers and chancers at the first hurdle, but I guess the downside is that it diminishes the "open" nature of a site.
   
   That said, sites generally seem to be moving towards being more "professional", some of the egalitarian ideals of the early world wide web are dying, for better or for worse.

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      jansharesposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      As I said in another forum, I'm going to hang in there with Medium for now. But I agree with you that it's off-putting to new writers. I do see that if the overall goal is to raise the professionalism of the site, that would be a way to do it. Committed writers are more likely to stay to build authority and social media presence. It depends on one's goal.
      Regarding HP, I've never understood why they haven't done anything probationary as a writing site. It would really help to upgrade the site. It has gotten better, though, since I first joined in 2012.

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         PaulGoodman67posted 3 years agoin reply to this

         Sorry, I didn't realize that you were caught up in this new rule. I saw you comment about followers on the other thread, but I assumed you'd sneaked in before the change came.
         
         I believe that even existing members will be kicked off the payment program if they don't have 100 followers at the end of the year.
         
         I am following you on Medium. You just need some more like me! I did what Old Roses advised you to do when I started and interacted with others who shared interests a lot. Once you start getting regular traffic, followers seem to increase organically without much effort, in my experience.

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            jansharesposted 3 years agoin reply to this

            I followed you, too. Appreciate all the advice.

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      NateB11posted 3 years agoin reply to this

      Yeah, I heard about that and it almost made me forgo Medium altogether. I might still spend some time there but I can't imagine devoting a lot of time to that site.

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         PaulGoodman67posted 3 years agoin reply to this

         It's possible to earn there quickly and in reasonable amounts (by gig economy standards), but it's more like "real" work than HP. The way the algo works is that you have to keep pumping out the articles or you lose momentum.
         
         I do work hard on HP for periods, but then at other times I like to do other stuff. I'm typically a few months on, a few months off. That doesn't seem possible on Medium without losing any gains you've built up.
         
         HP has had its changes over time, but the rules, algorithm, management structure, funding seem to change with an almost alarming regularity at Medium.

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            NateB11posted 3 years agoin reply to this

            If I didn't have a girlfriend and a job I might consider spending more time there but they'd have to compensate me at least as much as my job. Although, I might consider spending an hour or two on the site on the weekend. But that would probably be in the morning before my day begins. Long-winded way of me saying I'd only spend a limited amount of time on Medium at best.

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            1. 97

               PaulGoodman67posted 3 years agoin reply to this

               The great thing about HP is that you can build up an income incrementally. An article here, an article there. Medium is barely worth it from an earning perspective unless you're prepared to churn out at least three lengthy, well-argued articles each week. And woe betide, if you step off the Medium treadmill. Your income will dry up very quickly.

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   Rupert Taylorposted 3 years ago

   I am clueless about Medium, but any attempt to foster professionalism is welcome - there and here.
   
   HubPages has Boot Camp, but it would be wonderful to have something pre-Boot Camp. A basic English proficiency test would be a start, and some serious work on the algorithm, or whatever it is, that sorts through the dreck and puts it on Discover.
   
   In the last couple of weeks, I've reported blatant spam, hideous formatting, and atrocious English that have made it past the digital gatekeeper that guards "promotion" to Discover.
   
   Grrrr. Ah. It's wine time.

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   1. 97

      PaulGoodman67posted 3 years agoin reply to this

      If new members weren't able to earn as soon as they joined, it might diminish the numbers of people joining who believe HP is a get-rich-quick-scheme (as well as spammers etc.). There's a lot of joiners who have no real interest in writing.
      
      In the old days, HP had a system called "hub-hoppping", it may have been shelved before you joined. Anyway, you clicked a button and it threw up a random new hub which you could report. 90% were just crap. It made me realize how much dross the site gets bombarded with.

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   divacratusposted 3 years ago

   Interesting comments. The one thing I love about HP is that I continue to receive passive income even when I am on a break from online writing (which I am quite a lot). Looks like that isn't possible with Medium. Sorted out my confusion whether to join the platform. Thanks!

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      NateB11posted 3 years agoin reply to this

      Exactly!

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      viryaboposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      +1

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4. 74

   YouEffectposted 3 years ago

   Yeah, I'd seen those requirements before on Medium. I am also not eligible to join the Medium partner program since Stripe isn't available in my country.

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