I’ve saved up a lot of memes so I was going to go with a meme post today, but I’m calling an audible because my mind is on Medium.
Medium is an interesting service. It’s basically a WordPress clone (like most blogging communities are these days) but one that has managed to monetize in a way WordPress never has. Writers who get the most hits can make a very decent living from the service.
I’ve never written for the New Yorker, but I have friends who do, and I know it pays over $10k for good stories (though the average is a more modest $7500). While you aren’t going to make that much from a single Medium post, people do make that per month from multiple posts. That’s the top tier, of course, but even mid-tier writers can make a couple hundred bucks a month.
While my heart is with Hive and I’m not going anywhere, I have been toying with the idea of reprinting some of my older haiku and Japanese culture posts there. I’ve been blogging here for nearly eight years now, and daily for the past four. I have hundreds of posts that are basically invisible here because they are over seven days old. …over seven days… hell, I’d lay money most people don’t scroll past one or two days on the main screen. Many of these posts I think are pretty damn good, offering expert level annotations on haiku or other explanations and they deserve a second life.
A year or so ago I did sign up for Medium. It was kind of on a whim. I posted there a few times, but with little time available in my life to try to gain an audience there, my posting fizzled out. But for the past few weeks I have gone back to it and am making more of an effort.
Right now, I haven’t turned on the paywall, so everything I post there is free to read. If I can build an audience, I’ll eventually flip the switch and see what comes in.
Again, don’t worry about me leaving Hive. I’ve been here through thick and thin and have no intention of going anywhere. If I do start making a lot of money at Medium, at least some of it will come right have here and be used to buy HIVE.
But I am going to be reposting stuff there. So if you have a medium account, please follow me there. Please give me a wave (their version of upvotes). Medium’s algorithm rewards posts with early engagement, so every bit helps.
I’m also happy to follow other Hivers on Medium. I already follow @ericvancewalton and would love to connect with more of you. Drop your link in the comments.
Here’s mine → Medium.
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David is an American teacher and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. He blogs here and at laspina.org. Write him on Bluesky. |