I’m back on Medium after having been gone

What I noticed during my time “away.”

Photo by Platforma za Društveni centar Čakovec on Unsplash

Note: Artificial Intelligence was not used in the creation, editing, or manufacturing of this story.

Hello, and thank you for reading my piece. If you’re a fan of my writings, you know that I write quite frequently. However, in order to finish my Master’s Degree I needed to take some time off and focus on my academic writing. So now that that (← the AI NEVER likes double word use) is all wrapped up, in kind of an anti-climactic way, I might mention, I thought I should get back on Medium and start “publishing” again.

​I haven’t written or put anything on medium since the spring, and honestly, it’s crazy to see how much has changed. It’s also great to see that the $5 balance keeps rolling over month to month. HA!

​Here are the “big” things, “listicle-style”, that I’ve noticed that have changed over the past 6 months, and why it might impact you and your writing.

​Publications don’t seem to be the way to go

​Unless your article is really specific and you plan on having people be able to want to revisit it years and years down the road, writing for a publication doesn’t seem to be a great way to get people to engage in your work. Instead, it seems to be all about the socials.

The only exception I can truly find to this is the “exercise” world and “fantasy sports” world. But you’ll never see Obama have the need to join a “pub”.

​Now, in the lower left, I see BOTH the publications I follow and the authors are there. Interesting.

​When I first started sharing things on here, it seemed like publications were the only way to get in touch with an audience. Now, using the outside “socials” and your network is back to mattering more.

Photo by Mukund Shyam on Unsplash

Staff Picks seems “new”

Is this just a way to have sponsored articles on the site without us really knowing? Of course, Medium needs to generate ad revenue, and it does look like many of the articles are still user-generated, but this seems like the new “ Boost”. (Is boosting gone?)

​My most successful piece of writing (I made $92 from it) was “boosted”. “Staff picks” feels like a way to get out in front of more people for free. I hope it works.

[embed]Chronic Absenteeism: Straining to Show Up at All “The Will to Student” is starting to disappear in Americacreativetech.consulting

The new sidebar seems helpful

Everything looks so new! (And a lot like a trendy ‘Facebook’) Seems like a great place to be able to stash writers that you follow. That seems like a cool adjustment.

​The stats have moved. That’s fine. I’m still always amused at how many $.07 articles I’ve managed to publish.

The same ole’ same ole’

You still don’t make any money here, so don’t try too hard.

​Write when you want to write; do what you want to do. As someone who now has 50 “subs” via email, maybe 5–10 of them will read my new short, short story. That’s fine. It is 5–10 more than I would have read it otherwise.

​Don’t write here for the money. Write because it is something you enjoy doing, and you have a story to tell.

​Check out my new short story. Proud of this one.

​https://medium.com/@thewriterrudylb/the-howie-reed-show-ec4dd237febd?sk=e53024e9e7747fb25ea980d534c3515d

Happy Holidays!

Follow me on Twitter at @authorrudylb and check out my other writings at www.rudylb.com. You can also follow my sports writing on Behind the Buck Pass and WiSportsHeroics where I have been a contributor. “Be good, do good things!”

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