So what you’re saying is that I should pay for writing that I don’t read?
I buy books. I find books to have higher-quality information, and I prefer the reading experience of Kindle.
But there are readers on Medium, and Medium provides a nice writing experience. They even do so for free, which is their choice. So, I write on Medium.
I put every fiber of my existence into my career as a writer. I’ve spent ten years building this career, and even moved to a different country for a low cost-of-living so I can get my footing as a writer.
So no, I’m not going to pony up extra money each month for writing I don’t read based purely on principle. It doesn’t matter to me that there is what some people consider good writing on Medium. Little of it appeals to me. However, I spend much more on books.
And I don’t see an incompatibility between sharing my experience deciding to pay for what I read, and then not paying for writing that I don’t read within that same platform.
Publishing a book and not buying your own book does not make it a Big Mac. Publishing a book and not then buying every book in the world on principle does not make your writing a Big Mac. Publishing writing on Medium and not paying for the writing you don’t read on Medium does not make it a Big Mac. I assume that you’re being hyperbolic with that comparison. I’m sure you know that it’s illogical.
I don’t expect anyone to behave like an economically irrational being, much less will I behave like an economically irrational being. If we behave like economically irrational beings, eventually our virtue-driven buying decisions collapse, the businesses collapse, and we never find something that works.
My aim in sharing thoughts like this is to get people to think about whether the information they get is healthy for them or not. For them to add another to perspective to their own calculations of being economically rational actors.
If they decide Medium is where they can get healthy information, that’s fine. Medium is not where I get my healthy information, and thus I do not pay for it.
