7 Reasons Why I Quit Writing On Medium.

There are many reasons which led to this decision. As a writer, you want to have control over your work. You want to be able to share your voice without limitations. That's why I quit writing on Medium. Medium is a great platform, but it's not the right place for me. Here are seven reasons why I made the switch to DEV.

1. Their Editor Is Too Basic.

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Their editor is too basic and lacks features like code highlighting and table support, which is essential for my workflow. I needed something more powerful and robust to handle my writing needs, so I turned to a different platform, like DEV.

Additionally, the Medium team was unresponsive to my suggestions for improvements. I think DEV is a better platform that offers a better experience for both writers and readers.

2. The Quality Of Article Has Decreased.

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Many people realize that the quality of articles on Medium has decreased significantly over the past few years. The platform has become more saturated with low-quality content, making it harder for readers to find good content to read.

Few factors have contributed to this decline in quality. For instance, the number of people writing on Medium has increased dramatically. This is great for the platform as it means more people are using it, but it also means there is more bad content to sift through.

In addition, the ease of publishing on Medium has also increased. There are a few publications on Medium, like TowardsDataScience, where you need to be invited by an editor to post on their platform. However, there are loads of publications where anyone can create an account and start publishing articles. This has led to a lot of people posting content that is not well thought out or well written.

3. Prioritizing Money Over People.

Image by Augusto Ordez from Pixabay

I was not happy with the way Medium is dealing with the pandemic. The company furloughed many employees and made it clear that it prioritized profits over people. It is not their first time doing so. This did not sit well with me, so I stopped writing for the platform.

I understand that businesses have to prioritize their bottom line, but I was not too fond of how Medium handled the situation. It felt cold and heartless. I'm sure there are loads of platforms that care more about their employees in the first place, their writers and readers.

4. The Lack Of Interaction With Other Writers.

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Many users are only interested in consuming content, not engaging with it. I put a lot of time and effort into my writing, but I was not getting a lot of comments. This was frustrating, and I decided to focus my energy on other projects.

I understand that not everyone is interested in engaging with content, but for me, it was an essential part of the writing process. I want to thank those who took the time to comment on my work. I genuinely appreciate it.

5. The Feeling That One Is Writing Into Abyss.

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I used to write on Medium. I enjoyed it at first. But eventually, I started to feel like I was writing into a void. It felt like my words were falling on deaf ears. You pour your heart into a piece, hit publish, and then...crickets. It can be incredibly discouraging, especially when starting on a platform like Medium.

Back in the day, I remember when I first started writing on Medium. I published a few pieces, and they got virtually no traction. I felt like I was wasting my time and eventually quit writing altogether.

It's a shame. Medium is a great platform with a lot of potentials. But for me, it just didn't feel worth it anymore. If I put my time and energy into writing, I want to know that someone will read and appreciate it. Otherwise, what's the point?

6. It Feels Like Tiktok.

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I came to Medium to write. To share my stories and insights with the world. But it feels like all anyone cares about here is building their brands. It's all about finding new ways to game the system, to get more eyeballs on your work.

I'm not going to play that game anymore. I'm not going to promote myself, so I can stand out in a sea of noise. I'm done with this.

I'm done with the self-promotion, the incessant navel-gazing, the posturing. I'm done with the platform encouraging people to write for the algorithm instead of their audience.

I'm done with a platform that puts more value on content designed to go viral than on thoughtful and well-crafted content. I'm done with a platform more interested in pageviews than quality.

7. The Algorithm Changes Are Frustrating.

Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

The algorithm that Medium uses to curate content has changed. In the past, Medium would surface the best articles from across the platform regardless of who published them. Now, the algorithm seems to prioritize articles from users with a large following or from publications with a lot of engagement. This has led to a decline in the quality of articles being surfaced, as many good articles are buried beneath a sea of low-quality content.

It was frustrating to put so much effort into writing only to have my work constantly devalued by the algorithm. Ultimately, I decided it was no longer worth my time and energy to keep writing on Medium.

Conclusion

Image by Augusto Ordez from Pixabay

So, after careful consideration, I have decided to quit Medium. This was not an easy decision, but these reasons are, I believe, enough to leave the platform.

I'm sorry that I won't be writing on Medium anymore. I hope you understand my decision and will continue to follow my work here on DEV with the awesome people. I appreciate your support!

Cover Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay.