I Upgraded to “Friend of Medium”: Should You Too?
The Impact of Giving Back to the Medium Community by Paying Writers 4x More Per Read
My finger hovered over the mouse button, but I couldn’t click. Ten minutes, and I still hadn’t looked away from the screen. This writer… damn, they could turn a phrase! The kind of writing that leaves a mark, gets me thinking. The kind I know takes heart and sweat to make happen.
It reminded me of that muggy summer in college. Cramming for finals, sleep-deprived, when I stumbled on a tattered old short story collection in the dusty back corner of the library.
One story, with writing so sharp it cut through my caffeine haze, made me set the textbook aside. I was a goner, hooked on that kind of feeling that only great writing gives you.
Maybe I was extra susceptible now. Lately, Medium had become my go-to. A morning ritual — strong coffee, the flicker of my laptop screen, and words pouring out of talented strangers from all over the world. Articles about things I didn’t even know I cared about: the strange physics of black holes, heartbreaking first-person accounts of refugee life, the hilarious absurdity of owning an overly…
