medium (website)

Evan Williams, Twitter co-founder and former CEO, created Medium to encourage users to create posts longer than the then 140-character limit of Twitter. When it launched in 2012, Williams stated, "There's been less progress toward raising the quality of what's produced."{{cite news|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2012/08/15/twitter-founders-unveil-new-publishing-medium/|title=Twitter Founders Unveil New Publishing 'Medium'|first=John|last=Letzing|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=August 15, 2012|access-date=September 13, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513123246/http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2012/08/15/twitter-founders-unveil-new-publishing-medium/|archive-date=May 13, 2013|url-status=live}}

By April 2013, Williams reported there were 30 full-time staff working on the platform, including a vacancy for a "Storyteller" role,{{cite web

|url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/11/15/ev-williams-takes-to-medium-to-discuss-the-true-purpose-of-his-new-publishing-tool

|title=Ev Williams Takes To Medium To Discuss The True Purpose Of His New Publishing Tool

|last=Olanoff |first=Drew |date=November 15, 2012 |publisher=TechCrunch |access-date=September 13, 2013

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130824162808/http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/15/ev-williams-takes-to-medium-to-discuss-the-true-purpose-of-his-new-publishing-tool

|archive-date=August 24, 2013 |url-status=live}} and that it was taking "98 percent" of his time.{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/04/05/the-obvious-corp-takes-backseat-as-ev-williams-biz-stone-and-jason-goldman-shift-focus-to-individual-startups

|title=Williams, Biz Stone, And Jason Goldman Shift Focus To Individual Startups

|first=Colleen |last=Taylor |publisher=TechCrunch |date=April 5, 2013 |access-date=September 13, 2013

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130919141208/http://techcrunch.com/2013/04/05/the-obvious-corp-takes-backseat-as-ev-williams-biz-stone-and-jason-goldman-shift-focus-to-individual-startups

|archive-date=September 19, 2013 |url-status=live}} By August, Williams reported that the site was still small, although he was still optimistic about it, saying "We are trying to make it as easy as possible for people who have thoughtful things to say".{{cite news

|url=http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-08-22/twitter-co-creator-ev-williams-stretches-the-medium|title=Twitter Co-Creator Ev Williams Stretches the Medium

|first=Brad |last=Stone |date=August 22, 2013 |access-date=September 13, 2013

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130914151613/http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-08-22/twitter-co-creator-ev-williams-stretches-the-medium|archive-date=September 14, 2013

|url-status=dead}}

Medium aims to optimize the time visitors spend reading the site (1.5 million hours in March 2015), as opposed to maximizing the size of its audience.{{Cite web|url=https://medium.com/data-lab/mediums-metric-that-matters-total-time-reading-86c4970837d5|title=Medium's metric that matters: Total Time Reading|date=November 21, 2013|website=Data Lab|access-date=March 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170302022643/https://medium.com/data-lab/mediums-metric-that-matters-total-time-reading-86c4970837d5|archive-date=March 2, 2017|url-status=live}}{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2015/04/ev-williams-rules-quality-content-clickbait-age/|title=Ev Williams' Rules for Quality Content in the Clickbait Age|last=Hempel|first=Jessi|magazine=Wired|date=April 14, 2015|access-date=March 10, 2017|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312045804/https://www.wired.com/2015/04/ev-williams-rules-quality-content-clickbait-age/|archive-date=March 12, 2017|url-status=live}} In 2015, Williams criticized the standard web traffic metric of unique visitors as "a highly volatile and meaningless number for what we're trying to do". According to the company, as of May 2017, Medium.com had 60 million unique monthly readers.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/20/technology/evan-williams-medium-twitter-internet.html

|title='The Internet Is Broken': @ev Is Trying to Salvage It|last=Streitfeld|first=David|date=May 20, 2017|work=The New York Times|access-date=May 22, 2017|issn=0362-4331|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170521230401/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/20/technology/evan-williams-medium-twitter-internet.html|archive-date=May 21, 2017|url-status=live}}

Medium maintained an editorial department staffed by full-time editors and writers, had several others signed on as contractors, and served as a publisher for several publications. Matter operated from Medium Headquarters in San Francisco and was nominated for a 2015 National Magazine Award.{{cite web|url=http://www.magazine.org/industry-news/press-releases/asme-press-releases/asme/national-magazine-awards-2015-winners|title=National Magazine Awards 2015 Winners Announced | ASME|website=magazine.org|access-date=September 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917032444/http://www.magazine.org/industry-news/press-releases/asme-press-releases/asme/national-magazine-awards-2015-winners|archive-date=September 17, 2017|url-status=dead}} In May 2015, Medium made deep cuts to its editorial budget forcing layoffs at dozens of publications hosted on the platform.{{cite magazine |last=Weissman |first=Cale Guthrie |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/medium-budget-cuts-and-restructuring-2015-6 |title=Medium budget cuts and restructuring |magazine=Business Insider |access-date=September 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170920052620/http://www.businessinsider.com/medium-budget-cuts-and-restructuring-2015-6 |archive-date=September 20, 2017 |url-status=live }} Several publications left the platform.

In 2017, Medium introduced paywalled content accessible only to subscribers.{{cite magazine |last=LeFebvre |first=Rob |date=October 10, 2017 |url=https://www.engadget.com/2017/10/10/medium-expands-reading-subscription-any-author-publisher/ |title=Medium expands its reading subscription to any author or publisher |magazine=Engadget |access-date= March 10, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190309071514/https://www.engadget.com/2017/10/10/medium-expands-reading-subscription-any-author-publisher/ |archive-date= March 9, 2019 |url-status=live }} In 2017, Medium began paying authors based on how much users expressed their appreciation for it through a like button which each user could activate multiple times.{{cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/22/16180150/medium-paywall-articles-claps-author-payments|title=Medium will now pay writers based on how many claps they get|first=Jacob|last=Kastrenakes|date=August 22, 2017|website=The Verge|access-date=March 10, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181021112022/https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/22/16180150/medium-paywall-articles-claps-author-payments|archive-date=October 21, 2018|url-status=live}} The formula for compensation was soon adapted to also include the amount of time readers spent reading, in addition to the use of the like button.{{cite news |last=Ha |first=Anthony |date=October 10, 2017 |url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/10/medium-opens-up-its-partner-program-allowing-anyone-to-publish-behind-its-paywall/ |title=Medium now lets anyone publish behind its paywall |work=TechCrunch |access-date=March 10, 2019 |archive-date=April 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425100854/https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/10/medium-opens-up-its-partner-program-allowing-anyone-to-publish-behind-its-paywall/ |url-status=live }}

Medium has brought in revenue through native advertising and sponsorship of some article series.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/06/ev-williams-is-the-forrest-gump-of-the-internet/486899/|title=The Forrest Gump of the Internet|first=Robinson|last=Meyer|date=June 16, 2016|access-date= March 10, 2019|magazine=The Atlantic|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190317073150/https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/06/ev-williams-is-the-forrest-gump-of-the-internet/486899/|archive-date= March 17, 2019|url-status=live}}

Medium gained several new publishers to host their content on the platform.{{Cite news |last=Bort |first=Julie |date=2017 |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-the-meltdown-of-evan-williams-startup-medium-2017-2 |title=Inside Medium's meltdown: How an idealistic Silicon Valley founder raised $134 million to change journalism, then crashed into reality |work=Business Insider |access-date=10 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403150722/https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-the-meltdown-of-evan-williams-startup-medium-2017-2 |archive-date= April 3, 2019 |url-status=live }}

There was an aborted attempt to introduce advertising to the site, leading to Medium cutting its staff by 50 employees in January 2017 and closing offices in New York and Washington, D.C.{{Cite news|url=https://blog.medium.com/renewing-mediums-focus-98f374a960be|title=Renewing Medium's focus|last=Williams |first=Evan|date=January 4, 2017 |work=Medium|access-date=March 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170104233109/https://blog.medium.com/renewing-mediums-focus-98f374a960be|archive-date=January 4, 2017|url-status=dead}}{{r|:1}} Williams explained that "we had started scaling up the teams to sell and support products that were, at best, incremental improvements on the ad-driven publishing model", but that, instead, Medium was aiming for a "new [business] model for writers and creators to be rewarded, based on the value they're creating for people". At that time, the company had raised $134 million in investment from venture capital firms and Williams himself.

In 2016, Medium acquired the rich media embedding platform Embedly, a provider of content integration services for numerous websites, including Medium itself.{{Cite web|url=https://venturebeat.com/2016/08/02/medium-acquires-rich-media-embedding-api-platform-embedly/|title=Medium acquires rich media embedding API platform Embedly|last=Yeung|first=Ken|date=August 2, 2016|publisher=VentureBeat|access-date=March 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170209095555/http://venturebeat.com/2016/08/02/medium-acquires-rich-media-embedding-api-platform-embedly/|archive-date=February 9, 2017|url-status=live}} That same year there were 7.5 million posts published on the platform, and 60 million readers used medium.com.

In March 2017, Medium announced a membership program for $5 per month, offering access to "well-researched explainers, insightful perspectives, and useful knowledge with a longer shelf life", with authors being paid a flat amount per article.{{Cite news|url=http://www.niemanlab.org/2017/03/media-is-broken-so-mediums-launching-a-5month-member-program-that-offers-small-upgrades/|title='Media is broken', so Medium's launching a $5/month member program that offers small upgrades|last=Owen|first=Laura Hazard|date=March 22, 2017|work=Nieman Lab|access-date=March 25, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170324180159/http://www.niemanlab.org/2017/03/media-is-broken-so-mediums-launching-a-5month-member-program-that-offers-small-upgrades|archive-date=March 24, 2017|url-status=live}} Subsequently, the sports and pop culture website The Ringer and the technology blog Backchannel, a Condé Nast publication, left Medium. Backchannel, which left Medium for Wired in June, said Medium was "no longer as focused on helping publications like ours profit."{{cite news|last1=Grinapol|first1=Corinne|title=Like The Ringer Before It, Backchannel Is Leaving Medium

|url=http://www.adweek.com/digital/like-the-ringer-before-it-backchannel-is-leaving-medium/|access-date=June 25, 2017|work=AdWeek |date=June 12, 2017

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170617041940/http://www.adweek.com/digital/like-the-ringer-before-it-backchannel-is-leaving-medium|archive-date= June 17, 2017|url-status=live}}

In October 2017, Williams reaffirmed Medium was not planning to pursue banner advertising as part of their revenue model and was instead exploring micropayments, gratuities and patronage.{{r|Ha 2017}}

In January 2021, Medium announced that it had acquired the social-based ebook company Glose.{{Cite web |last=Clark |first=Mitchell |date=January 15, 2021 |title=Medium acquires ebook company Glose |url=https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/15/22233983/medium-acquires-ebook-company-glose |access-date=January 18, 2021 |website=The Verge |language=en |archive-date=January 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117230735/https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/15/22233983/medium-acquires-ebook-company-glose |url-status=live }}{{Cite web

|last=Roston |first=Sandee |date=January 15, 2021

|title=Medium acquires social ebook platform Glose

|url=https://blog.medium.com/medium-acquires-social-ebook-platform-glose-cf2e94485d8

|access-date=January 18, 2021 |website=Medium |language=en}}{{Cite web |first=Kerry |last=Flynn |title=Before Substack, there was Medium — and its network is about to get bigger |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/14/media/medium-acquires-glose/index.html |date=January 14, 2021 |access-date=January 18, 2021 |website=CNN |archive-date=January 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115214032/https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/14/media/medium-acquires-glose/index.html |url-status=live }} In November 2021, Medium acquired browser-based graphic design tool Projector. Projector's team joined Medium and Projector was shut down in 2022. Projector co-founder and CEO Trevor O'Brien became Medium's chief product officer.{{Cite web |last=Dillet |first=Romain |date=2021-11-09 |title=Medium snatches up Projector and beefs up management team |url=https://techcrunch.com/2021/11/09/medium-snatches-up-projector-and-beefs-up-management-team/ |access-date=2022-09-23 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US |archive-date=September 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220923034216/https://techcrunch.com/2021/11/09/medium-snatches-up-projector-and-beefs-up-management-team/ |url-status=live }} In November 2021, Medium also acquired audio-based learning platform Knowable.{{Cite web |last=Silberling |first=Amanda |date=2021-11-16 |title=Medium acquires Knowable to bring audio to the platform |url=https://techcrunch.com/2021/11/16/medium-acquires-knowable-to-bring-audio/ |access-date=2022-09-23 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US}}

Medium employees announced their intent to form a trade union with CODE-CWA in February 2021.{{Cite web|first=Kerry|last= Flynn|title=Unions are becoming ubiquitous in digital media. Medium is the latest|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/11/media/medium-union/index.html|date= February 11, 2021|access-date=February 21, 2021|website=CNN}} According to the Medium Workers Union, 70% of eligible employees have signed union cards, representing workers in editorial, engineering, design and product departments. On February 11, they asked management for voluntary recognition of their union.{{Cite web|title=Medium Workers Board the Union Train|url=https://gizmodo.com/medium-workers-board-the-union-train-1846254145|first=Whitney |last=Kimball|date=November 2, 2021|access-date=February 21, 2021|website=Gizmodo|language=en-us}} On March 1, the company announced that the Medium Workers Union had fallen one vote short of the number needed for union recognition. During the leadup to the unionization campaign, Medium hired the union-busting firm Kauff McGuire & Margolis and the CEO Evan Williams led small discussion groups in which he urged employees not to join the union.{{cite news |last1=Ongweso |first1=Edward Jr. |title=Medium Tells Journalists to Feel Free to Quit After Busting Union Drive |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/medium-tells-journalists-to-feel-free-to-quit-after-busting-union-drive/ |access-date= May 12, 2021 |work=Vice News |date= March 23, 2021 |language=en}}

On July 12, 2022, the company announced that Ev Williams would be stepping down as CEO and transitioning to chairman of the board.{{cite news

|newspaper=The New York Times

|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/12/business/media/evan-williams-leaving-medium.html

|title=Evan Williams Is Stepping Down as C.E.O. of Medium

|author=Benjamin Mullin

|date=July 12, 2022

|access-date=December 6, 2022

|archive-date=December 7, 2022

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207030449/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/12/business/media/evan-williams-leaving-medium.html

|url-status=live

}} Tony Stubblebine, chief executive of Coach.me, took over as CEO of Medium on July 20, 2022.{{cite news |last1=Loizos |first1=Connie |title=Ev Williams calls it quits as CEO of Medium |url=https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/12/ev-williams-is-stepping-down-as-ceo-of-medium-after-more-than-11-years-at-the-helm |access-date=July 12, 2022 |work=TechCrunch |date=July 12, 2022 |archive-date=July 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220712202906/https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/12/ev-williams-is-stepping-down-as-ceo-of-medium-after-more-than-11-years-at-the-helm/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Roston |first1=Sandee |title=Medium names technology and digital media veteran Tony Stubblebine CEO; founder Ev Williams transitions to Chairman of the Board |url=https://medium.com/blog/medium-names-technology-and-digital-media-veteran-tony-stubblebine-ceo-founder-ev-williams-7ff0a859f133 |website=Medium |date=July 12, 2022|access-date=July 12, 2022}}

Medium does not publish official user stats on its website. According to US blogs, the platform had about 60 million monthly visitors in 2016.{{Cite web|url=https://venturebeat.com/2016/12/14/medium-grows-140-to-60-million-monthly-visitors/|title=Medium grows 140% to 60 million monthly visitors|website=venturebeat.com|date= December 14, 2016|access-date=July 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190718162720/https://venturebeat.com/2016/12/14/medium-grows-140-to-60-million-monthly-visitors/|archive-date=July 18, 2019|url-status=live}} In 2015, the total numbers of users was about 25 million.

The platform software provides a full WYSIWYG user interface when editing online, with various options for formatting provided as the user edits over rich text format.

Once an entry is posted, it can be recommended and shared by other people, in a similar manner to Twitter. Posts can be upvoted in a similar manner to Reddit, and content can be assigned a specific theme, in the same way as Tumblr.

In August 2017, Medium replaced their Recommend button with a "clap" feature, which readers can click multiple times (up to 50 per story){{cite web |title=About claps |url=https://help.medium.com/hc/en-us/articles/115011350967-About-claps |website=Medium Help Center |publisher=Medium |access-date=April 5, 2025}} to signify how much they enjoyed the article. Medium announced that payment to authors will be weighted based on how many "claps" they receive.{{cite web|last1=Kastrenakes|first1=Jacob|title=Medium will now pay writers based on how many claps they get|url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/22/16180150/medium-paywall-articles-claps-author-payments|website=The Verge|access-date=August 30, 2017|date=August 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829142346/https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/22/16180150/medium-paywall-articles-claps-author-payments|archive-date=August 29, 2017|url-status=live}}

Users can create a new account using a Facebook or Google account. Users may also sign up using an e-mail address, when they are signing up using the mobile app of Medium.com.{{Cite web|url=https://medium.com/@Medium/login-faq-27a103f5b914|title=Medium Login FAQ|website=medium.com|access-date=October 25, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025170356/https://medium.com/@Medium/login-faq-27a103f5b914|archive-date=October 25, 2014|url-status=live}}

Medium offers users subscriptions to become a member for a $5 monthly or $50 yearly fee. With a Medium membership, access to "exclusive content, audio narrations of popular stories, and an improved bookmark section" is enabled.{{cite web|url=https://medium.com/blogging-guide/how-much-money-can-you-make-writing-for-medium-a3cf0c9c7533|title=How Much Money Can You Make Writing for Medium?|website=Medium Support|access-date=June 28, 2020|archive-date=June 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630203126/https://medium.com/blogging-guide/how-much-money-can-you-make-writing-for-medium-a3cf0c9c7533|url-status=live}}

The Medium Partner Program is Medium's compensation program for its writers. Partner Program writers are paid based on how deeply Medium members read their work. As members read longer, writers earn more. Medium distributes a portion of each member's subscription fee to the writers they read most each month.

Starting from 1 May 2024, Medium banned AI-generated content from enacting paywalls and receiving payouts via Partner Program.{{Cite web |last=Parmar |first=Mayank |date=2024-04-14 |title=Medium bans AI-generated content from its paid Partner Program |url=https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/technology/medium-bans-ai-generated-content-from-its-paid-partner-program/ |access-date=2024-04-15 |website=BleepingComputer |language=en-us |archive-date=April 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240415102446/https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/technology/medium-bans-ai-generated-content-from-its-paid-partner-program/ |url-status=live }}

Posts on Medium are sorted by topic rather than by writer, unlike most blogging platforms, including Williams' earlier Blogger.{{cite news|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/biz-stone-evan-williams-and-jason-goldman-launch-medium-2012-8|title=The Cofounders Of Twitter Launch A New Blog Platform, Medium|last=Shontell|first=Alyson|date=August 15, 2012|work=Business Insider|access-date=September 13, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130902193055/http://www.businessinsider.com/biz-stone-evan-williams-and-jason-goldman-launch-medium-2012-8|archive-date=September 2, 2013|url-status=live}} The platform uses a system of "claps" (formerly "recommendations"), similar to "likes" on Facebook, to upvote the best articles and stories, called the Tag system, and divides the stories into different categories to let the audiences choose.{{Cite news |last=Arthur |first=Heather |date=2021-02-10 |title=Mapping Medium's Tags |language=en |work=Medium |url=https://medium.engineering/mapping-mediums-tags-1b9a78d77cf0 |access-date=2023-02-03 |archive-date=January 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180124030210/https://medium.engineering/mapping-mediums-tags-1b9a78d77cf0 |url-status=live }}

{{Redirect|Cuepoint|audio engineering term|Cue (audio)}}

"Publications" on Medium are shared spaces with a homepage on Medium's website that carry articles and blog posts, like a newspaper or magazine.{{Cite web |title=Getting started with a Medium publication |url=https://help.medium.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004681607-Getting-started-with-a-Medium-publication |access-date=December 7, 2022 |website=Medium |archive-date=August 3, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240803065408/https://help.medium.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004681607-Getting-started-with-a-Medium-publication |url-status=live }} The articles published or saved on it can be assigned editors, and can be saved as drafts.

• Medium acquired science and technology website Matter in 2013.{{Cite web| title=Medium Acquires Matter As Long-Form Journalism Site Joins Evan Williams Startup| work=TechCrunch| first=Mike| last=Butcher| date=April 17, 2013| access-date=July 19, 2020| url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/04/17/medium-acquires-matter-as-long-form-journalism-site-joins-evan-williams-startup/| archive-date=August 9, 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809044527/https://techcrunch.com/2013/04/17/medium-acquires-matter-as-long-form-journalism-site-joins-evan-williams-startup/| url-status=live}}
• Cuepoint, Medium's music publication, is edited by Jonathan Shecter, a music industry entrepreneur and co-founder of The Source magazine.{{cite news

|newspaper=The Los Angeles Times

|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-friday-coda-grandpa-grandmaster-flash-u2-neils-new-mermaid-more-20140912-column.html

|title=Column: Friday Coda: Grampa and Grandmaster Flash, U2, Neil Young's mermaid

|quote=new online publication Cuepoint .. edited by Jonathan Shecter

|author=Randall Roberts

|date=September 12, 2014

|access-date=November 30, 2022

|archive-date=December 1, 2022

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221201070018/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-friday-coda-grandpa-grandmaster-flash-u2-neils-new-mermaid-more-20140912-column.html

|url-status=live

}} It publishes essays on artists, trends, and releases, written by Medium community contributors, major record executives, and music journalists,{{cite web

|url=http://ofa.fas.harvard.edu/event/music-producer-jonathan-shecter-and-musicianproducer-dan-freemanentrepreneurship-digital

|title=music producer JONATHAN SHECTER and musician/producer DAN FREEMAN: Entrepreneurship in the Digital Music Industry

|publisher=The Office for the Arts at Harvard |access-date=October 2, 2015

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151003214141/http://ofa.fas.harvard.edu/event/music-producer-jonathan-shecter-and-musicianproducer-dan-freemanentrepreneurship-digital |archive-date=October 3, 2015 |url-status=live }} including Robert Christgau, who contributed his Expert Witness capsule review column.{{cite web

|last=Christgau |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Christgau |date=August 14, 2015

|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/expert-witness-with-robert-christgau-1/

|title=Welcome to Expert Witness, a New Weekly Column by the Dean of American Rock Critics

|work=Vice |access-date=August 14, 2015

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150815065907/http://noisey.vice.com/blog/expert-witness-with-robert-christgau-1|archive-date=August 15, 2015

|url-status=live}} Cuepoint was started in 2014.{{Cite web| last=Shecter| first=Jonathan| title=We're All DJs Now| work=Medium| access-date=July 19, 2020| date=April 10, 2016| url=https://medium.com/cuepoint/were-all-djs-now-8d94ee912c6d| archive-date=July 19, 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719102431/https://medium.com/cuepoint/were-all-djs-now-8d94ee912c6d| url-status=live}}

• Medium also published a technology publication called Backchannel, edited by Steven Levy.{{cite web|url=https://medium.com/backchannel/why-i-started-backchannel-2e1a14f689d1|title=Why I Started Backchannel|first=Steven|last=Levy|work=Medium|date=October 7, 2014|access-date=July 3, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150704135916/https://medium.com/backchannel/why-i-started-backchannel-2e1a14f689d1|archive-date=July 4, 2015|url-status=live}} In 2016, Backchannel was purchased by Condé Nast.{{Cite magazine |url=https://backchannel.com/there-is-one-story-were-still-on-it-d24c90a35d3d#.hy538gaf6 |title=There is One Story. We're Still On It. |magazine=Wired |last1=Levy |first1=Steven |access-date=July 19, 2020 |archive-date=May 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230525222838/https://www.wired.com/2016/06/there-is-one-story-were-still-on-it/#.hy538gaf6 |url-status=dead }}

In 2016, Medium hired the founder of the publication Human Parts, which focused on personal stories.{{Cite web| author=Medium Staff| title=Meet the Medium "Elevators"| work=Medium| access-date=2020-07-19| date=2020-04-20| url=https://blog.medium.com/meet-the-medium-elevators-92ab3c47abc8| archive-date=July 19, 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719080825/https://blog.medium.com/meet-the-medium-elevators-92ab3c47abc8| url-status=live}}

On February 23, 2016, it was announced that Medium had reached a deal to host the new Bill Simmons website, The Ringer.{{Cite web|title=Medium: Home of The Ringer|url=https://medium.com/@el/medium-home-of-the-ringer-829dd263f955#.ngt4txhz0|website=Medium|date=February 23, 2016|access-date=February 23, 2016

|first=Edward |last=Lichty |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160223224641/https://medium.com/@el/medium-home-of-the-ringer-829dd263f955#.ngt4txhz0|archive-date=February 23, 2016

|url-status=live}} In August 2017 it left Medium for Vox Media.{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/2017/digital/news/bill-simmons-vox-media-advertising-technology-1202447469/|title=Bill Simmons' The Ringer Inks Advertising, Tech Pact With Vox Media|last=Spangler|first=Todd|date=May 30, 2017|work=Variety|access-date=July 28, 2017|language=en-US

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170530122454/http://variety.com/2017/digital/news/bill-simmons-vox-media-advertising-technology-1202447469/|archive-date=May 30, 2017

|url-status=live}}

In 2019, Medium acquired Bay Area website The Bold Italic.{{Cite web |title=Medium buys Bay Area mag The Bold Italic to add to its paywall |work=TechCrunch |first=Josh |last=Constine |date=February 12, 2019 |access-date=July 19, 2020 |url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/12/medium-acquires-bold-italic/ |archive-date=August 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808143058/https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/12/medium-acquires-bold-italic/ |url-status=live }} Also in 2019, Medium launched seven new publications: GEN (politics, power, and culture), OneZero (tech and science), Marker (business), Elemental (health and wellness), Focus (productivity), Zora (women of color) and Level (men of color).{{Cite web |last=Vaughan |first=Brendan |title=Introducing GEN |work=Medium |date=June 12, 2019 |url=https://gen.medium.com/introducing-gen-6ad430ed227b |access-date=July 19, 2020 |archive-date=August 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200817110331/https://gen.medium.com/introducing-gen-6ad430ed227b |url-status=live }}{{Cite web

|title=OneZero Debuts As Medium's New Tech And Science Publication

|work=State of Digital Publishing

|access-date=July 19, 2020

|date=March 1, 2019

|url=https://www.stateofdigitalpublishing.com/monetization/onezero-new-tech-and-science-publication/

|archive-date=July 19, 2020

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719070729/https://www.stateofdigitalpublishing.com/monetization/onezero-new-tech-and-science-publication/

|url-status=live

}}{{Cite news |url=https://talkingbiznews.com/they-talk-biz-news/medium-launches-biz-magazine-marker/ |title=Medium launches biz magazine Marker |last=Roush |first=Chris |authorlink=Chris Roush |work=Talking Biz News |date=September 10, 2019 |archive-date=July 19, 2020 |access-date=July 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719070727/https://talkingbiznews.com/they-talk-biz-news/medium-launches-biz-magazine-marker/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web| last=O'Connor| first=Siobhan| title=Your Health and Wellness Are Elemental| work=Medium| access-date=July 19, 2020| date=April 10, 2019| url=https://elemental.medium.com/your-health-and-wellness-are-elemental-5c2fc50c8c9| archive-date=July 19, 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719070112/https://elemental.medium.com/your-health-and-wellness-are-elemental-5c2fc50c8c9| url-status=live}}{{Cite web| last=Sen| first=Indrani| title=Welcome to Forge| work=Medium| access-date=July 19, 2020| date=June 19, 2019| url=https://forge.medium.com/welcome-to-forge-aa94df18eb06}}{{Cite web| last=Luca| first=Vanessa K. De| title=Welcome to ZORA| work=Medium| access-date=July 19, 2020| date=June 10, 2019| url=https://zora.medium.com/welcome-to-zora-25edae1beb6c| archive-date=July 19, 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719205445/https://zora.medium.com/welcome-to-zora-25edae1beb6c| url-status=live}}{{Cite web| title=Ex-Vibe Editor Jermaine Hall Launches Level, a New Culture Publication| work=Variety| access-date=July 19, 2020| date=December 3, 2019| url=https://variety.com/2019/music/news/ex-vibe-editor-jermaine-hall-launches-level-a-new-culture-publication-1203421967/| archive-date=April 8, 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408035523/https://variety.com/2019/music/news/ex-vibe-editor-jermaine-hall-launches-level-a-new-culture-publication-1203421967/| url-status=live}}

In 2020, Medium launched Momentum, whose subjects are anti-racism and civil rights.{{Cite web| title=Colin Kaepernick joins Medium board of directors and inks partnership publishing deal| first=Jonathan| last=Shieber| work=TechCrunch| date=June 18, 2020| access-date=July 19, 2020| url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/18/colin-kaepernick-joins-medium-board-of-directors-and-inks-partnership-publishing-deal/| archive-date=July 25, 2024| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240725122639/https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/18/colin-kaepernick-joins-medium-board-of-directors-and-inks-partnership-publishing-deal/| url-status=live}}

As of June 2020, Medium's board members were:{{cite news |last1=Spangler |first1=Todd |date=June 18, 2020 |title=Colin Kaepernick Elected to Board of Medium as Blogging Platform's First Director Who Is a Person of Color |work=Variety |url=https://variety.com/2020/digital/news/colin-kaepernick-medium-board-anti-racist-content-1234641439/ |access-date=March 24, 2021 |archive-date=December 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231231044634/https://variety.com/2020/digital/news/colin-kaepernick-medium-board-anti-racist-content-1234641439/ |url-status=live }}

• Evan Williams
• Biz Stone
• Josh Elman of Greylock Partners
• Ben Horowitz
• Colin Kaepernick{{cite news |last1=Schieber |first1=Jonathan |date=June 18, 2020 |title=Colin Kaepernick Joins Medium Board of Directors |publisher=TechCrunch |url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/18/colin-kaepernick-joins-medium-board-of-directors-and-inks-partnership-publishing-deal/ |access-date=March 24, 2021 |archive-date=July 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240725122639/https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/18/colin-kaepernick-joins-medium-board-of-directors-and-inks-partnership-publishing-deal/ |url-status=live }}

Medium initially used holacracy as its structure of corporate governance.{{cite web |last=Stirman |first=Jason |title=How Medium Is Building a New Kind of Company with No Managers |url=https://firstround.com/review/How-Medium-is-building-a-new-kind-of-company-with-no-managers/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423043113/https://firstround.com/review/How-Medium-is-building-a-new-kind-of-company-with-no-managers/ |archive-date=April 23, 2019 |access-date=March 10, 2019 |work=First Round Review|date=February 5, 2015 }}{{cite web |last=Boyd |first=Stowe |date=August 7, 2013 |title=Medium has no "people managers" and operates as a "holacracy" |url=https://gigaom.com/2013/08/07/medium-has-no-people-managers-and-operates-as-a-holacracy/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723125939/https://gigaom.com/2013/08/07/medium-has-no-people-managers-and-operates-as-a-holacracy/ |archive-date=July 23, 2019 |access-date=March 10, 2019 |website=GigaOm}} In 2016, they moved away from holacracy because they reported difficulty coordinating large-scale projects, dissatisfaction with the required record-keeping, and poor public perception of holacracy.{{cite web |last=Doyle |first=Andy |date=March 4, 2016 |title=Management and Organization at Medium |url=https://blog.medium.com/management-and-organization-at-medium-2228cc9d93e9 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181112101424/https://blog.medium.com/management-and-organization-at-medium-2228cc9d93e9 |archive-date=November 12, 2018 |access-date=March 10, 2019 |website=Medium Blog}}{{efn|For difficulties in coordination between departments in the corporate structure, see {{harvtxt|Bort|2017}}.}}

Reviewing the service at its launch in 2012, The Guardian enjoyed some of the collections that had been created, particularly a collection of nostalgic photographs created by Williams.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2012/aug/15/twitter-founders-new-branch-medium|title=Twitter founders launch two new websites, Medium and Branch|work=The Guardian|first=Josh|last=Halliday|date=August 15, 2012|access-date=September 13, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929032653/http://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2012/aug/15/twitter-founders-new-branch-medium|archive-date=September 29, 2015|url-status=live}} TechCrunch's Drew Olanoff suggested the platform might have taken its name from being a "medium"-sized platform in between Twitter and full-scale blogging platforms such as Blogger.

Lawrence Lessig welcomed the platform's affordance of Creative Commons licensing for user content,{{cite web|last1=Lessig |first1=Lawrence |author-link1=Lawrence Lessig |title=Why I'm Excited for Medium's Partnership with Creative Commons |url=https://medium.com/@lessig/why-i-m-excited-for-medium-s-partnership-with-creative-commons-127b0ef02b03 |publisher=Medium |access-date=September 15, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911161848/https://medium.com/%40lessig/why-i-m-excited-for-medium-s-partnership-with-creative-commons-127b0ef02b03 |archive-date=September 11, 2015 |date=May 6, 2015 |url-status=dead }} a feature demonstrated in a Medium project with The Public Domain Review—an interactive online edition of Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, annotated by a dozen Carroll scholars, allowing free remixes of the public domain and Creative Commons licensed text and art resources, with reader-supplied commentaries and artwork.{{cite web|last1=Park|first1=Jane|title=Happy 150th, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland!|url=https://creativecommons.org/tag/alice-in-wonderland|publisher=Creative Commons|access-date=September 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905185023/http://creativecommons.org/tag/alice-in-wonderland |archive-date=September 5, 2015|date=July 28, 2015}}{{cite web |title=About 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'|url=https://medium.com/alice-s-adventures-in-wonderland/about|publisher=Medium.com|access-date=September 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001114159/https://medium.com/alice-s-adventures-in-wonderland/about|archive-date=October 1, 2015|url-status=live}}

However, in 2013 the service suffered criticism from writers, with some confused about exactly what it is expected to provide.{{cite web|url=http://upstart.bizjournals.com/companies/media/2013/08/23/questions-about-medium-and-content.html?page=all|title=Mysterious Medium has writers moderately freaked out|first=Alex|last=Dalenberg|work=Upstart Business Journal|date=August 23, 2013|access-date=December 11, 2017|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130830121457/http://upstart.bizjournals.com/companies/media/2013/08/23/questions-about-medium-and-content.html?page=all|archive-date= August 30, 2013}}

A 2019 Nieman Lab article chronicling Medium's first seven years described the site as having "undergone countless pivots", becoming "an endless thought experiment into what publishing on the internet could look like".{{Cite web|url=http://www.niemanlab.org/2019/03/the-long-complicated-and-extremely-frustrating-history-of-medium-2012-present/|title=The long, complicated, and extremely frustrating history of Medium, 2012–present|last=Hazard Owen|first=Laura|date=March 25, 2019|website=Nieman Lab|access-date=March 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328011938/http://www.niemanlab.org/2019/03/the-long-complicated-and-extremely-frustrating-history-of-medium-2012-present/|archive-date=March 28, 2019|url-status=live}}

In January 2016, Medium received a take-down notice from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) for one of the articles published by the Sarawak Report. The Sarawak Report had been hosting its articles on Medium since July 2015, when its own website was blocked by the Malaysian government. It had reported allegations that money linked to a state investment fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), ended up in Prime Minister Najib Razak's bank accounts.{{Cite news|title=Sarawak Report whistle blowing website blocked by Malaysia after PM allegations|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/20/sarawak-report-whistleblowing-website-blocked-by-malaysia-over-pm-allegations|newspaper=The Guardian|date=July 20, 2015|access-date=January 27, 2016|issn=0261-3077|language=en-GB|first=Beh Lih|last=Yi|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216050035/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/20/sarawak-report-whistleblowing-website-blocked-by-malaysia-over-pm-allegations|archive-date=February 16, 2016|url-status=live}}

Medium's legal team responded to the commission with a request for a copy of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's official statement that the post was untrue, for information on which parts of the article were found false, and for information on whether the dispute has been raised in court. The site declined to take the content down until directed to do so by an order from a court of competent jurisdiction.{{Cite web|title=The Post Stays Up|url=https://medium.com/medium-legal/the-post-stays-up-d222e34cb7e7#.ktxnppicb|publisher=Medium|date=January 26, 2016|access-date=January 27, 2016|first=Medium|last=Legal|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160130151329/https://medium.com/medium-legal/the-post-stays-up-d222e34cb7e7#.ktxnppicb|archive-date=January 30, 2016|url-status=live}} In response, on January 27, 2016, all content on Medium was made unavailable for Internet users in Malaysia.

The ban has been lifted as of 18 May 2018, with the MCMC stating the ban lift was because "there was no reason (to block the website)" as the 1MDB report has been made public by the government.

As of June 2017, Medium has been blocked in Egypt along with more than 60 media websites in a crackdown by the Egyptian government.{{Cite web |url= http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/06/egypt-bans-62-news-websites-latest-media-crackdown-170612164646323.html |title= Egypt bans Medium as media crackdown widens |publisher= Al Jazeera |access-date= June 17, 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170614004030/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/06/egypt-bans-62-news-websites-latest-media-crackdown-170612164646323.html |archive-date= June 14, 2017 |url-status= live }} The list of blocked sites also includes Al Jazeera, The Huffington Post{{'}}s Arabic website and Mada Masr. Medium was made available again in late 2022 as of November 2022.

In April 2016, Medium was blocked in mainland China after information from the leaked Panama Papers was published on the site.{{Cite web |last=Millward |first=Steven |date=April 15, 2016 |title=Medium is now blocked in China |url=https://www.techinasia.com/medium-blocked-china-bcuz-of-course |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180424071336/https://www.techinasia.com/medium-blocked-china-bcuz-of-course |archive-date=April 24, 2018 |access-date=April 23, 2018 |website=Tech In Asia}}

The Albanian Audiovisual Media Authority blocked Medium in Albania from April 19 to 21, 2020.{{cite news |title=Popular Blogging Site 'Medium' Blocked in Albania |url=https://exit.al/en/2020/04/20/popular-blogging-site-medium-blocked-in-albania/ |first=Alice Elizabeth |last=Taylor |date=April 20, 2020 |access-date=April 20, 2020 |publisher=Exit-al |archive-date=April 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200420223529/https://exit.al/en/2020/04/20/popular-blogging-site-medium-blocked-in-albania/ |url-status=dead }}

By the end of 2020, Medium was reported to have been blocked by some ISPs in Vietnam.{{Cite web|last=tế|first=Tinh|title=Website Medium không truy cập được là do website chết hay chặn ip Việt Nam nhỉ? {{!}} Tinh tế|url=https://tinhte.vn/thread/website-medium-khong-truy-cap-duoc-la-do-website-chet-hay-chan-ip-viet-nam-nhi.3231608/|access-date=January 23, 2022|website=Tinhte.vn|language=vi|archive-date=October 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211022001812/https://tinhte.vn/thread/website-medium-khong-truy-cap-duoc-la-do-website-chet-hay-chan-ip-viet-nam-nhi.3231608/|url-status=live}}

Roskomnadzor blocked Medium website and all its subdomains in the Russian Federation on May 31, 2023.{{Cite web|title=The registry of blocked websites in Russia|url=https://reestr.rublacklist.net/en/record/5763543/|language=en|date=May 31, 2023}}{{Cite web|title=Medium platform blocked in Russia|url=https://interfax.com/newsroom/top-stories/91087/|language=en|date=June 1, 2023}}

Medium's initial technology stack relied on a variety of AWS services including EC2, S3, and CloudFront. Originally, it was written in Node.js and the text editor that Medium users wrote blog posts with was based on TinyMCE.{{Cite news|url=https://stackshare.io/medium/the-stack-that-helped-medium-scale-to-2-6-millennia-of-reading-time|title=The Stack That Helped Medium Scale To 2.6 Millennia Of Reading Time - Medium {{!}} StackShare|work=StackShare|access-date=May 31, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818220810/https://stackshare.io/medium/the-stack-that-helped-medium-scale-to-2-6-millennia-of-reading-time|archive-date=August 18, 2017|url-status=live}} As of 2017, the blogging platform's technology stack included AWS services, including EBS, RDS for Aurora, and Route 53; its image server was written in Go, and the main app servers were still written in Node.{{Cite news|url=https://stackshare.io/medium/medium-com|title=Medium.com tech stack|work=StackShare|access-date=May 31, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170422104102/https://stackshare.io/medium/medium-com|archive-date=April 22, 2017|url-status=live}}

• Substack

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