My 5 Pet Hates of Medium Writing — Yes, I’m Talking to You
I’m sure many of you hate these
I‘m obviously not talking to all of you, as over 95% of writers here don’t do any of my pet hates. But there are a small percentage that commit these sins over and over again.
I know there are some sensitive souls on here, so don’t take this too seriously. They are my pet hates. I’m sure you have yours as well. You are free to keep doing what you’re doing. It’s easy enough for me to skip over these stories. But that means you’ll get few reads and fewer comments. You have been warned.
So, without further ado, here are my top 5 pet hates on Medium.
Pet Hate #1 — Writers that tell others what they should and shouldn’t be writing about
I don’t even know why they do this. Maybe they think they’re part of some Medium Enforcement Agency. They don’t like certain topics, such as writing about Medium or making money online, so they think others should be banned from writing about them.
Believe it or not, there are also topics that I don’t enjoy reading. But guess what, I don’t think those writers should be banned from writing them. Each writer needs to be free to write about whatever they want.
There are also the readers to consider. A few writers seem to forget that it’s reader subscriptions that pay us. If we ban what they want to read, they may go elsewhere.
What these writers also don’t seem to realize is that no one is forcing them to read stories that don’t interest them. But, for some reason, they do still read them. It takes no longer than a split second to skip a story you’re not interested in.
Pet Hate #2— Writers that think their professional experience makes them better than other writers
I don’t come across this very often, but when I do, it’s very annoying.
In many ways, this is related to point 1 above. These “oh-so-professional” writers like to tell others how they should write. They also like to allude to the fact that they’re better than most writers on here.
Some even have to point out that they’re a professional writer because we’d never be able to guess otherwise. They obviously don’t think their work is professional enough to speak for itself.
The harsh truth is that many of them write boring articles. They seem to be jealous because non-professional writers do better than them on this platform. Maybe they were top dog in their previous job. On here it’s a more even playing field. They don’t like being knocked off their perch.
Pet Hate #3— Blaming the algorithm for everything — and I mean EVERYTHING
I’m sure you’ve come across this, as the algorithm is, apparently, to blame for everything.
Your views are down? Blame the algorithm.
Your earnings are down? Blame the algorithm.
It’s too hot/cold today? Blame the algorithm.
Let’s get one thing clear. The algorithm exists to help deliver the most appropriate stories to the readers here. Those people that pay our wages. The algorithm wasn’t built to pander to the whims of individual writers.
If the algorithm causes some writers to have fewer views, it stands to reason that other writers will get more views. Many don’t seem to understand the basics of this.
Pet Hate #4— Writers that say they’re leaving because Medium is dead, yet continue to write here
This seems to crop up fairly often. A writer will publish a story about how Medium is dead, their views are down, and so they’re leaving. Nothing at all wrong with that.
But a few days later they’re back writing again. This time to tell us that Medium really is dead and they really are leaving. You’d better believe it.
Great, so they’ve actually left?
Hang on, they’re back again to tell us what a waste of time Medium is. It’s so bad here that they can’t resist writing. And so it goes on.
Pet Hate #5 — Articles that over-promise but don’t deliver
I don’t see too many of these but they pop u at least once a week. The headline might be something along the lines of “5 Easy Ways to Make $500 a Month”.
It sounds very promising. After all, who doesn’t want to earn an extra $500 a month? But then I read the article and it’s just a list of side hustles that have no real hope of earning money. Also, the writer hasn’t even tried any of them. So how do they come up with the $500 figure? They just made it up. I usually mute these writers there and then.
What are your pet hates about Medium?
This article was inspired by Dr. Tracy Davis who wrote about Medium Writing Pet Peeves. I agreed with them all and had a few extra ones of my own.
