Medium’s next

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   PaulGoodman67posted 2 weeks ago

   Hate to say it but I think it’s only a matter of time before Medium either folds or undergoes a change into something radically different.
   
   The site has been declining for ages and it’s barely worth the monthly membership fee nowadays, earnings are so low.
   
   The internet generally has become over corporatized. There’s little room for small to medium-sized, income-sharing companies.

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      Gregory DeVictorposted 2 weeks agoin reply to this

      Paul, Nicholas Cole does an awesome video about publishing articles at X (Twitter). You might want to listen to his video because he also speaks in detail about his time as a writer at Medium. Quite frankly, he does not have much, if any, good to say about the state of affairs today at Medium. He no longer writes at Medium for the reasons he reveals in the video.
      
      You might want to check out the video. It is titled:
      
      "If I started writing on X in 2026, here’s what I would do"
      
      This is off topic, but you probably have heard that Substack is now moving in the direction of another full-blown social media site.

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         WryLiltposted 2 weeks agoin reply to this

         I reached the minimum view count on X to get monetisation awhile back (5,000,000 impressions over 3 months), but the pay rate is dismal for that. You'd be getting around $8–$15 USD per 1,000,000 impressions compared to the same pay rate for 1,000 views on Hubpages.
         
         Unless there's a magic formula to get 10 million+ views per month, it doesn't even cover the cost of membership.

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            Gregory DeVictorposted 2 weeks agoin reply to this

            Just to be clear, I mentioned Nicholas Cole's video to Paul because of the disparaging comments he made about Medium in the course of the video. In the video, he mentions that he used to earn thousands of dollars every month writing for Medium. According Nicholas, his monthly earnings have gone from thousands of dollars to circa $100.00.
            
            Did you listen to his video to find out what he had to say about Medium?
            
            Case closed.

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            PaulGoodman67posted 2 weeks agoin reply to this

            I think the "magic formula" for X is that you have to be ultra commercial, which is a nice way of saying clickbait/spammy. Like you say, your chances of success with writing regular material is limited.
            
            The sad thing is that, generally speaking, the more informative material is being usurped by AI while the clickbait/spammy material seems less affected. The writing world is in a bad place.

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         Ken Burgessposted 2 weeks agoin reply to this

         I agree with that, I haven't been on it lately but that will become my default to replace HubPages...
         
         They have been developing the ability to create your own publishing/brand on X... its been going slow but has potential... I think some of the people who found success here could eventually develop an even bigger following on X with time and effort.

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      OldRosesposted 2 weeks agoin reply to this

      I've been saying that about Medium for years.  And every time they announce a new "enhancement" that promises to make everyone more money, our earnings go lower.  When we complain, we are told that it's our fault, that we need to write better. 
      
      When I first started back in 2020, I made thousands of dollars on Medium every month.  It was mindboggling.  But like all good things, it has come to an end.  Now a good month is $150.
      
      I keep writing there because it's where I rant about politics.  I do it to get stuff off my chest.  For my hub articles, I have started my own website.

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         Solarasposted 2 weeks agoin reply to this

         How is your own website going?

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            OldRosesposted 2 weeks agoin reply to this

            It's difficult to get a new website off the ground with the AI summaries that Google provides.  I write gardening articles and it's frustrating because a lot of the gardening info provided by AI is incorrect.
            
            Right now I am concentrating on getting all of my hubs onto my site.  As I post each one, I'm updating my Pinterest page.  Pinterest always brought in steady traffic.  With the growing season getting underway, it's time to reactivate the FB page I had created for my hubs with the new links to my website.
            
            I'm hoping that Pinterest and FB will provide enough traffic to gain authority on Google and get better placement in the search results.

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               Solarasposted 2 weeks agoin reply to this

               I find Google is grudging in giving referrals to potential readers.  For every referral Google gives, Bing, Duck Duck Go, and Yahoo combined send 10, which is upside down from how it should be.
               
               Good luck out there!

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                  OldRosesposted 2 weeks agoin reply to this

                  I always got good traffic from Google and Pinterest, much less from Yahoo, Bing and Duck Duck Go.  Perhaps it depends on the topic of the hubs.

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                     Solarasposted 13 days agoin reply to this

                     I am talking about how it's going with your own site.  Not how it was on HP with many articles surrounding your own on like topics on niche sites.
                     
                     I find Google is very rejecting of new sites with old info, even if it has been revamped.  Perhaps they are guarding their baby AI.

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   PaulGoodman67posted 2 weeks ago

   My two issues with X are:
   
   1. I don't care for Elon Musk and his racial politics, that's reason enough for me not to write at X.
   
   2. Although, I've been successful with money from my writing, I've never wanted to go down the clickbait/spammy route. Nicholas Cole is in that category for me.
   
   While I'm adaptable, I still want to hold on to my soul.

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   Ken Burgessposted 2 weeks ago

   Thanks for that insight, I did go to it one night and fish around, months ago, set up an account (free)... in general I did not find it user friendly enough, and more particularly, saw it more as a money sink... for my interests.
   
   I would say I am going to miss HubPages... but I have missed it for years... ever sense they shut down the comments section on articles and Maven stepped in to drain the earnings and fill the screen up with Ads.

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      Kenna McHughposted 2 weeks agoin reply to this

      Ken, I totally agree. The original goal of HP worked, then it got destroyed.

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   PaulGoodman67posted 2 weeks ago

   There used to be lots of the NIcholas Cole influencer types at Medium (e.g. "If you want to make $100,000+ per year, read this:") but they were either kicked off when Coach Tony took over or they left because they weren't making as much money.
   
   I actually see that as a positive, even if I'm down on Medium generally.

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   abwilliamsposted 2 weeks ago

   I, too, have recently joined Medium; Angie (AB) Williams.
   You will find me in Politics and History.
   It is a simple cancel, if it isn't for me.
   Best wishes everyone. Stay safe, be well!

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      PaulGoodman67posted 2 weeks agoin reply to this

      I've been at Medium for years. I opened a second account for my HP material. I don't expect it to do well, Medium requires a different approach, but I wasn't going to surrender ownership of my articles to HP.

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         abwilliamsposted 2 weeks agoin reply to this

         Nor I. I have a pdf file for all of my articles, and, with the exception of a few, have deleted them from this site.
         I am not sure what to expect from Medium, but going to give it a try.

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   jansharesposted 2 weeks ago

   Sad to hear this, Paul. I like Medium for the community and the ease of publishing. I especially love The Writer's Circle webinars where we receive writing prompts followed by breakout groups for discussion. I don't expect much money. I've been on since 2021 and have yet to receive a payout because I don't write enough. But that's okay for now. I look forward to the webinars.

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