CINXE.COM

<!doctype html><html lang="en"><head><title data-rh="true">Medium is not a publishing tool. Twelve years ago, I was heading Blogger… | by Ev Williams | The Medium Blog</title><meta data-rh="true" charset="utf-8"/><meta data-rh="true" name="viewport" content="width=device-width,minimum-scale=1,initial-scale=1,maximum-scale=1"/><meta data-rh="true" name="theme-color" content="#000000"/><meta data-rh="true" name="twitter:app:name:iphone" content="Medium"/><meta data-rh="true" name="twitter:app:id:iphone" content="828256236"/><meta data-rh="true" property="al:ios:app_name" content="Medium"/><meta data-rh="true" property="al:ios:app_store_id" content="828256236"/><meta data-rh="true" property="al:android:package" content="com.medium.reader"/><meta data-rh="true" property="fb:app_id" content="542599432471018"/><meta data-rh="true" property="og:site_name" content="Medium"/><meta data-rh="true" property="og:type" content="article"/><meta data-rh="true" property="article:published_time" content="2015-09-30T19:16:40.058Z"/><meta data-rh="true" name="title" content="Medium is not a publishing tool. Twelve years ago, I was heading Blogger… | by Ev Williams | The Medium Blog"/><meta data-rh="true" property="og:title" content="Medium is not a publishing tool"/><meta data-rh="true" property="al:android:url" content="medium://p/4c3c63fa41d2"/><meta data-rh="true" property="al:ios:url" content="medium://p/4c3c63fa41d2"/><meta data-rh="true" property="al:android:app_name" content="Medium"/><meta data-rh="true" name="description" content="Twelve years ago, I was heading Blogger at Google and frustrated we kept losing users to our competitors, like Movable Type from Six Apart. A common phenomenon at the time was that people would start…"/><meta data-rh="true" property="og:description" content="Twelve years ago, I was heading Blogger at Google and frustrated we kept losing users to our competitors, like Movable Type from Six Apart…"/><meta data-rh="true" property="og:url" content="https://blog.medium.com/medium-is-not-a-publishing-tool-4c3c63fa41d2"/><meta data-rh="true" property="al:web:url" content="https://blog.medium.com/medium-is-not-a-publishing-tool-4c3c63fa41d2"/><meta data-rh="true" property="article:author" content="https://ev.medium.com"/><meta data-rh="true" name="author" content="Ev Williams"/><meta data-rh="true" name="robots" content="index,noarchive,follow,max-image-preview:large"/><meta data-rh="true" name="referrer" content="unsafe-url"/><meta data-rh="true" property="twitter:title" content="Medium is not a publishing tool"/><meta data-rh="true" name="twitter:site" content="@Medium"/><meta data-rh="true" name="twitter:app:url:iphone" content="medium://p/4c3c63fa41d2"/><meta data-rh="true" property="twitter:description" content="Twelve years ago, I was heading Blogger at Google and frustrated we kept losing users to our competitors, like Movable Type from Six Apart…"/><meta data-rh="true" name="twitter:card" content="summary"/><meta data-rh="true" name="twitter:creator" content="@ev"/><meta data-rh="true" name="twitter:label1" content="Reading time"/><meta data-rh="true" name="twitter:data1" content="5 min read"/><link data-rh="true" rel="icon" href="https://miro.medium.com/v2/5d8de952517e8160e40ef9841c781cdc14a5db313057fa3c3de41c6f5b494b19"/><link data-rh="true" rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" title="Medium" href="/osd.xml"/><link data-rh="true" rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="152x152" href="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fill:304:304/10fd5c419ac61637245384e7099e131627900034828f4f386bdaa47a74eae156"/><link data-rh="true" rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="120x120" href="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fill:240:240/10fd5c419ac61637245384e7099e131627900034828f4f386bdaa47a74eae156"/><link data-rh="true" rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="76x76" href="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fill:152:152/10fd5c419ac61637245384e7099e131627900034828f4f386bdaa47a74eae156"/><link data-rh="true" rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="60x60" href="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fill:120:120/10fd5c419ac61637245384e7099e131627900034828f4f386bdaa47a74eae156"/><link data-rh="true" rel="mask-icon" href="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fill:1000:1000/7*GAOKVe--MXbEJmV9230oOQ.png" color="#171717"/><link data-rh="true" rel="preconnect" href="https://glyph.medium.com" crossOrigin=""/><link data-rh="true" id="glyph_preload_link" rel="preload" as="style" type="text/css" href="https://glyph.medium.com/css/unbound.css"/><link data-rh="true" id="glyph_link" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://glyph.medium.com/css/unbound.css"/><link data-rh="true" rel="author" href="https://ev.medium.com"/><link data-rh="true" rel="canonical" href="https://blog.medium.com/medium-is-not-a-publishing-tool-4c3c63fa41d2"/><link data-rh="true" rel="alternate" href="android-app://com.medium.reader/https/medium.com/p/4c3c63fa41d2"/><script data-rh="true" type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"http:\u002F\u002Fschema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\u002F\u002Fmiro.medium.com\u002Fv2\u002Fda:true\u002Fbd978bb536350a710e8efb012513429cabdc4c28700604261aeda246d0f980b7","height":810,"width":1440},"url":"https:\u002F\u002Fblog.medium.com\u002Fmedium-is-not-a-publishing-tool-4c3c63fa41d2","dateCreated":"2015-05-21T02:29:18.382Z","datePublished":"2015-05-21T02:29:18.382Z","dateModified":"2018-06-20T08:51:12.682Z","headline":"Medium is not a publishing tool - The Medium Blog","name":"Medium is not a publishing tool - The Medium Blog","description":"Twelve years ago, I was heading Blogger at Google and frustrated we kept losing users to our competitors, like Movable Type from Six Apart. A common phenomenon at the time was that people would start…","identifier":"4c3c63fa41d2","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Ev Williams","url":"https:\u002F\u002Fev.medium.com"},"creator":["Ev Williams"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Medium Blog","url":"blog.medium.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","width":272,"height":60,"url":"https:\u002F\u002Fmiro.medium.com\u002Fv2\u002Fresize:fit:544\u002F7*V1_7XP4snlmqrc_0Njontw.png"}},"mainEntityOfPage":"https:\u002F\u002Fblog.medium.com\u002Fmedium-is-not-a-publishing-tool-4c3c63fa41d2"}</script><style type="text/css" data-fela-rehydration="532" data-fela-type="STATIC">html{box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-text-size-adjust:100%}*, *:before, *:after{box-sizing:inherit}body{margin:0;padding:0;text-rendering:optimizeLegibility;-webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased;color:rgba(0,0,0,0.8);position:relative;min-height:100vh}h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, dl, dd, ol, ul, menu, figure, blockquote, p, pre, form{margin:0}menu, ol, ul{padding:0;list-style:none;list-style-image:none}main{display:block}a{color:inherit;text-decoration:none}a, button, input{-webkit-tap-highlight-color:transparent}img, svg{vertical-align:middle}button{background:transparent;overflow:visible}button, input, optgroup, select, textarea{margin:0}:root{--reach-tabs:1;--reach-menu-button:1}#speechify-root{font-family:Sohne, sans-serif}div[data-popper-reference-hidden="true"]{visibility:hidden;pointer-events:none}.grecaptcha-badge{visibility:hidden} /*XCode style (c) Angel Garcia <angelgarcia.mail@gmail.com>*/.hljs {background: #fff;color: black; }/* Gray DOCTYPE selectors like WebKit */ .xml .hljs-meta {color: #c0c0c0; }.hljs-comment, .hljs-quote {color: #007400; }.hljs-tag, .hljs-attribute, .hljs-keyword, .hljs-selector-tag, .hljs-literal, .hljs-name {color: #aa0d91; }.hljs-variable, .hljs-template-variable {color: #3F6E74; }.hljs-code, .hljs-string, .hljs-meta .hljs-string {color: #c41a16; }.hljs-regexp, .hljs-link {color: #0E0EFF; }.hljs-title, .hljs-symbol, .hljs-bullet, .hljs-number {color: #1c00cf; }.hljs-section, .hljs-meta {color: #643820; }.hljs-title.class_, .hljs-class .hljs-title, .hljs-type, .hljs-built_in, .hljs-params {color: #5c2699; }.hljs-attr {color: #836C28; }.hljs-subst {color: #000; }.hljs-formula {background-color: #eee;font-style: italic; }.hljs-addition {background-color: #baeeba; }.hljs-deletion {background-color: #ffc8bd; }.hljs-selector-id, .hljs-selector-class {color: #9b703f; }.hljs-doctag, .hljs-strong {font-weight: bold; }.hljs-emphasis {font-style: italic; } </style><style type="text/css" data-fela-rehydration="532" data-fela-type="KEYFRAME">@-webkit-keyframes k1{0%{opacity:0.8}50%{opacity:0.5}100%{opacity:0.8}}@-moz-keyframes k1{0%{opacity:0.8}50%{opacity:0.5}100%{opacity:0.8}}@keyframes k1{0%{opacity:0.8}50%{opacity:0.5}100%{opacity:0.8}}</style><style type="text/css" data-fela-rehydration="532" data-fela-type="RULE">.a{font-family:medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif}.b{font-weight:400}.c{background-color:rgba(255, 255, 255, 1)}.l{display:block}.m{position:sticky}.n{top:0}.o{z-index:500}.p{padding:0 24px}.q{align-items:center}.r{border-bottom:solid 1px #F2F2F2}.y{height:41px}.z{line-height:20px}.ab{display:flex}.ac{height:57px}.ae{flex:1 0 auto}.af{color:inherit}.ag{fill:inherit}.ah{font-size:inherit}.ai{border:inherit}.aj{font-family:inherit}.ak{letter-spacing:inherit}.al{font-weight:inherit}.am{padding:0}.an{margin:0}.ao{cursor:pointer}.ap:disabled{cursor:not-allowed}.aq:disabled{color:#6B6B6B}.ar:disabled{fill:#6B6B6B}.au{width:auto}.av path{fill:#242424}.aw{height:25px}.ax{margin-left:16px}.ay{border:none}.az{border-radius:20px}.ba{width:240px}.bb{background:#F9F9F9}.bc path{fill:#6B6B6B}.be{outline:none}.bf{font-family:sohne, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif}.bg{font-size:14px}.bh{width:100%}.bi{padding:10px 20px 10px 0}.bj{background-color:transparent}.bk{color:#242424}.bl::placeholder{color:#6B6B6B}.bm{display:inline-block}.bn{margin-left:12px}.bo{margin-right:12px}.bp{border-radius:4px}.bq{margin-left:24px}.br{height:24px}.bx{background-color:#F9F9F9}.by{border-radius:50%}.bz{height:32px}.ca{width:32px}.cb{justify-content:center}.ch{max-width:680px}.ci{min-width:0}.cj{animation:k1 1.2s ease-in-out infinite}.ck{height:100vh}.cl{margin-bottom:16px}.cm{margin-top:48px}.cn{align-items:flex-start}.co{flex-direction:column}.cp{justify-content:space-between}.cq{margin-bottom:24px}.cw{width:80%}.cx{background-color:#F2F2F2}.dd{height:44px}.de{width:44px}.df{margin:auto 0}.dg{margin-bottom:4px}.dh{height:16px}.di{width:120px}.dj{width:80px}.dp{margin-bottom:8px}.dq{width:96%}.dr{width:98%}.ds{width:81%}.dt{margin-left:8px}.du{color:#6B6B6B}.dv{font-size:13px}.dw{height:100%}.ep{color:#FFFFFF}.eq{fill:#FFFFFF}.er{background:rgba(26, 137, 23, 1)}.es{border-color:rgba(26, 137, 23, 1)}.ew:disabled{cursor:inherit !important}.ex:disabled{opacity:0.3}.ey:disabled:hover{background:rgba(26, 137, 23, 1)}.ez:disabled:hover{border-color:rgba(26, 137, 23, 1)}.fa{border-radius:99em}.fb{border-width:1px}.fc{border-style:solid}.fd{box-sizing:border-box}.fe{text-decoration:none}.ff{text-align:center}.fi{margin-right:32px}.fj{position:relative}.fk{fill:#6B6B6B}.fn{background:transparent}.fo svg{margin-left:4px}.fp svg{fill:#6B6B6B}.fr{box-shadow:inset 0 0 0 1px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.05)}.fs{position:absolute}.fu{display:none}.ga{margin:0 24px}.ge{background:rgba(255, 255, 255, 1)}.gf{border:1px solid #F2F2F2}.gg{box-shadow:0 1px 4px #F2F2F2}.gh{max-height:100vh}.gi{overflow-y:auto}.gj{left:0}.gk{top:calc(100vh + 100px)}.gl{bottom:calc(100vh + 100px)}.gm{width:10px}.gn{pointer-events:none}.go{word-break:break-word}.gp{word-wrap:break-word}.gq:after{display:block}.gr:after{content:""}.gs:after{clear:both}.gt{line-height:1.23}.gu{letter-spacing:0}.gv{font-style:normal}.gw{font-weight:700}.ib{align-items:baseline}.ic{width:48px}.id{height:48px}.ie{border:2px solid rgba(255, 255, 255, 1)}.if{z-index:0}.ig{box-shadow:none}.ih{border:1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.05)}.ii{margin-left:-12px}.ij{width:28px}.ik{height:28px}.il{z-index:1}.im{width:24px}.in{margin-bottom:2px}.io{flex-wrap:nowrap}.ip{font-size:16px}.iq{line-height:24px}.is{margin:0 8px}.it{display:inline}.iu{color:rgba(26, 137, 23, 1)}.iv{fill:rgba(26, 137, 23, 1)}.iy{flex:0 0 auto}.jb{flex-wrap:wrap}.je{white-space:pre-wrap}.jf{margin-right:4px}.jg{overflow:hidden}.jh{max-height:20px}.ji{text-overflow:ellipsis}.jj{display:-webkit-box}.jk{-webkit-line-clamp:1}.jl{-webkit-box-orient:vertical}.jm{word-break:break-all}.jo{padding-left:8px}.jp{padding-right:8px}.kq> *{flex-shrink:0}.kr{overflow-x:scroll}.ks::-webkit-scrollbar{display:none}.kt{scrollbar-width:none}.ku{-ms-overflow-style:none}.kv{width:74px}.kw{flex-direction:row}.kx{z-index:2}.la{-webkit-user-select:none}.lb{border:0}.lc{fill:rgba(117, 117, 117, 1)}.lf{outline:0}.lg{user-select:none}.lh> svg{pointer-events:none}.lq{cursor:progress}.lr{margin-left:4px}.ls{margin-top:0px}.lt{opacity:1}.lu{padding:4px 0}.lx{width:16px}.lz{display:inline-flex}.mf{max-width:100%}.mg{padding:8px 2px}.mh svg{color:#6B6B6B}.my{line-height:1.58}.mz{letter-spacing:-0.004em}.na{font-family:source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif}.nv{margin-bottom:-0.46em}.nw{text-decoration:underline}.nx{font-style:italic}.ny{margin-top:32px}.nz{margin-bottom:14px}.oa{padding-top:24px}.ob{padding-bottom:10px}.oc{background-color:#000000}.od{height:3px}.oe{width:3px}.of{margin-right:20px}.ol{clear:both}.om{margin:auto}.on{padding-bottom:100%}.oo{height:0}.op{margin-left:auto}.oq{margin-right:auto}.or{max-width:2488px}.os{height:auto}.ot{margin-bottom:26px}.ou{margin-top:6px}.ov{margin-top:8px}.ow{margin-right:8px}.ox{padding:8px 16px}.oy{border-radius:100px}.oz{transition:background 300ms ease}.pb{white-space:nowrap}.pc{border-top:none}.pd{height:52px}.pe{max-height:52px}.pf{box-sizing:content-box}.pg{position:static}.pi{max-width:155px}.pt{height:0px}.pu{margin-bottom:40px}.pv{margin-bottom:48px}.qj{border-radius:2px}.ql{height:64px}.qm{width:64px}.qn{align-self:flex-end}.qo{flex:1 1 auto}.qu{padding-right:4px}.qv{font-weight:500}.ri{margin-top:16px}.rj{color:rgba(255, 255, 255, 1)}.rk{fill:rgba(255, 255, 255, 1)}.rl{background:rgba(25, 25, 25, 1)}.rm{border-color:rgba(25, 25, 25, 1)}.rp:disabled{opacity:0.1}.rq:disabled:hover{background:rgba(25, 25, 25, 1)}.rr:disabled:hover{border-color:rgba(25, 25, 25, 1)}.sp{gap:18px}.sq{fill:rgba(61, 61, 61, 1)}.ss{fill:#242424}.st{background:0}.su{border-color:#242424}.sv:disabled:hover{color:#242424}.sw:disabled:hover{fill:#242424}.sx:disabled:hover{border-color:#242424}.ti{border-bottom:solid 1px #E5E5E5}.tj{margin-top:72px}.tk{padding:24px 0}.tl{margin-bottom:0px}.tm{margin-right:16px}.as:hover:not(:disabled){color:rgba(25, 25, 25, 1)}.at:hover:not(:disabled){fill:rgba(25, 25, 25, 1)}.et:hover{background:rgba(15, 115, 12, 1)}.eu:hover{border-color:rgba(15, 115, 12, 1)}.ev:hover{cursor:pointer}.fl:hover{color:#242424}.fm:hover{fill:#242424}.fq:hover svg{fill:#242424}.ft:hover{background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1)}.ir:hover{text-decoration:underline}.iw:hover:not(:disabled){color:rgba(15, 115, 12, 1)}.ix:hover:not(:disabled){fill:rgba(15, 115, 12, 1)}.le:hover{fill:rgba(8, 8, 8, 1)}.lv:hover{fill:#000000}.lw:hover p{color:#000000}.ly:hover{color:#000000}.mi:hover svg{color:#000000}.pa:hover{background-color:#F2F2F2}.qk:hover{background-color:none}.rn:hover{background:#000000}.ro:hover{border-color:#242424}.sr:hover{fill:rgba(25, 25, 25, 1)}.bd:focus-within path{fill:#242424}.ld:focus{fill:rgba(8, 8, 8, 1)}.mj:focus svg{color:#000000}.li:active{border-style:none}</style><style type="text/css" data-fela-rehydration="532" data-fela-type="RULE" media="all and (min-width: 1080px)">.d{display:none}.bw{width:64px}.cg{margin:0 64px}.cv{height:48px}.dc{margin-bottom:52px}.do{margin-bottom:48px}.ef{font-size:14px}.eg{line-height:20px}.em{font-size:13px}.eo{padding:5px 12px}.fh{display:flex}.fz{margin-bottom:68px}.gd{max-width:680px}.hr{font-size:42px}.hs{margin-top:1.19em}.ht{margin-bottom:32px}.hu{line-height:52px}.hv{letter-spacing:-0.011em}.ia{align-items:center}.kc{border-top:solid 1px #F2F2F2}.kd{border-bottom:solid 1px #F2F2F2}.ke{margin:32px 0 0}.kf{padding:3px 8px}.ko> *{margin-right:24px}.kp> :last-child{margin-right:0}.lp{margin-top:0px}.me{margin:0}.nr{font-size:20px}.ns{margin-top:2.14em}.nt{line-height:32px}.nu{letter-spacing:-0.003em}.ok{margin-top:56px}.pn{display:inline-block}.ps{margin-bottom:104px}.pw{flex-direction:row}.pz{margin-bottom:0}.qa{margin-right:20px}.qp{max-width:500px}.rg{line-height:24px}.rh{letter-spacing:0}.rw{margin-bottom:88px}.rz{margin-bottom:72px}.sm{font-size:24px}.sn{line-height:30px}.so{letter-spacing:-0.016em}.tc{width:min-width}.th{padding-top:72px}</style><style type="text/css" data-fela-rehydration="532" data-fela-type="RULE" media="all and (max-width: 1079.98px)">.e{display:none}.lo{margin-top:0px}.pm{display:inline-block}</style><style type="text/css" data-fela-rehydration="532" data-fela-type="RULE" media="all and (max-width: 903.98px)">.f{display:none}.ln{margin-top:0px}.pl{display:inline-block}</style><style type="text/css" data-fela-rehydration="532" data-fela-type="RULE" media="all and (max-width: 727.98px)">.g{display:none}.ll{margin-top:0px}.lm{margin-right:0px}.pk{display:inline-block}</style><style type="text/css" data-fela-rehydration="532" data-fela-type="RULE" media="all and (max-width: 551.98px)">.h{display:none}.s{display:flex}.t{justify-content:space-between}.bs{width:24px}.cc{margin:0 24px}.cr{height:40px}.cy{margin-bottom:44px}.dk{margin-bottom:32px}.dx{font-size:13px}.dy{line-height:20px}.eh{padding:0px 8px 1px}.fv{margin-bottom:4px}.gx{font-size:32px}.gy{margin-top:1.01em}.gz{margin-bottom:24px}.ha{line-height:38px}.hb{letter-spacing:-0.014em}.hw{align-items:flex-start}.iz{flex-direction:column}.jc{margin-bottom:2px}.jq{margin:24px -24px 0}.jr{padding:0}.kg> *{margin-right:8px}.kh> :last-child{margin-right:24px}.ky{margin-left:0px}.lj{margin-top:0px}.lk{margin-right:0px}.ma{margin:0}.mk{border:1px solid #F2F2F2}.ml{border-radius:99em}.mm{padding:0px 16px 0px 12px}.mn{height:38px}.mo{align-items:center}.mq svg{margin-right:8px}.nb{font-size:18px}.nc{margin-top:1.56em}.nd{line-height:28px}.ne{letter-spacing:-0.003em}.og{margin-top:40px}.pj{display:inline-block}.po{margin-bottom:96px}.qh{margin-bottom:20px}.qi{margin-right:0}.qt{max-width:100%}.qw{font-size:24px}.qx{line-height:30px}.qy{letter-spacing:-0.016em}.rs{margin-bottom:64px}.sa{font-size:20px}.sb{line-height:24px}.sc{letter-spacing:0}.sy{width:100%}.td{padding-top:48px}.mp:hover{border-color:#E5E5E5}</style><style type="text/css" data-fela-rehydration="532" data-fela-type="RULE" media="all and (min-width: 904px) and (max-width: 1079.98px)">.i{display:none}.bv{width:64px}.cf{margin:0 64px}.cu{height:48px}.db{margin-bottom:52px}.dn{margin-bottom:48px}.ed{font-size:14px}.ee{line-height:20px}.ek{font-size:13px}.el{padding:5px 12px}.fg{display:flex}.fy{margin-bottom:68px}.gc{max-width:680px}.hm{font-size:42px}.hn{margin-top:1.19em}.ho{margin-bottom:32px}.hp{line-height:52px}.hq{letter-spacing:-0.011em}.hz{align-items:center}.jy{border-top:solid 1px #F2F2F2}.jz{border-bottom:solid 1px #F2F2F2}.ka{margin:32px 0 0}.kb{padding:3px 8px}.km> *{margin-right:24px}.kn> :last-child{margin-right:0}.md{margin:0}.nn{font-size:20px}.no{margin-top:2.14em}.np{line-height:32px}.nq{letter-spacing:-0.003em}.oj{margin-top:56px}.pr{margin-bottom:104px}.px{flex-direction:row}.qb{margin-bottom:0}.qc{margin-right:20px}.qq{max-width:500px}.re{line-height:24px}.rf{letter-spacing:0}.rv{margin-bottom:88px}.ry{margin-bottom:72px}.sj{font-size:24px}.sk{line-height:30px}.sl{letter-spacing:-0.016em}.tb{width:min-width}.tg{padding-top:72px}</style><style type="text/css" data-fela-rehydration="532" data-fela-type="RULE" media="all and (min-width: 728px) and (max-width: 903.98px)">.j{display:none}.w{display:flex}.x{justify-content:space-between}.bu{width:64px}.ce{margin:0 48px}.ct{height:48px}.da{margin-bottom:52px}.dm{margin-bottom:48px}.eb{font-size:13px}.ec{line-height:20px}.ej{padding:0px 8px 1px}.fx{margin-bottom:68px}.gb{max-width:680px}.hh{font-size:42px}.hi{margin-top:1.19em}.hj{margin-bottom:32px}.hk{line-height:52px}.hl{letter-spacing:-0.011em}.hy{align-items:center}.ju{border-top:solid 1px #F2F2F2}.jv{border-bottom:solid 1px #F2F2F2}.jw{margin:32px 0 0}.jx{padding:3px 8px}.kk> *{margin-right:24px}.kl> :last-child{margin-right:0}.mc{margin:0}.nj{font-size:20px}.nk{margin-top:2.14em}.nl{line-height:32px}.nm{letter-spacing:-0.003em}.oi{margin-top:56px}.pq{margin-bottom:104px}.py{flex-direction:row}.qd{margin-bottom:0}.qe{margin-right:20px}.qr{max-width:500px}.rc{line-height:24px}.rd{letter-spacing:0}.ru{margin-bottom:88px}.rx{margin-bottom:72px}.sg{font-size:24px}.sh{line-height:30px}.si{letter-spacing:-0.016em}.ta{width:min-width}.tf{padding-top:72px}</style><style type="text/css" data-fela-rehydration="532" data-fela-type="RULE" media="all and (min-width: 552px) and (max-width: 727.98px)">.k{display:none}.u{display:flex}.v{justify-content:space-between}.bt{width:24px}.cd{margin:0 24px}.cs{height:40px}.cz{margin-bottom:44px}.dl{margin-bottom:32px}.dz{font-size:13px}.ea{line-height:20px}.ei{padding:0px 8px 1px}.fw{margin-bottom:4px}.hc{font-size:32px}.hd{margin-top:1.01em}.he{margin-bottom:24px}.hf{line-height:38px}.hg{letter-spacing:-0.014em}.hx{align-items:flex-start}.ja{flex-direction:column}.jd{margin-bottom:2px}.js{margin:24px 0 0}.jt{padding:0}.ki> *{margin-right:8px}.kj> :last-child{margin-right:8px}.kz{margin-left:0px}.mb{margin:0}.mr{border:1px solid #F2F2F2}.ms{border-radius:99em}.mt{padding:0px 16px 0px 12px}.mu{height:38px}.mv{align-items:center}.mx svg{margin-right:8px}.nf{font-size:18px}.ng{margin-top:1.56em}.nh{line-height:28px}.ni{letter-spacing:-0.003em}.oh{margin-top:40px}.pp{margin-bottom:96px}.qf{margin-bottom:20px}.qg{margin-right:0}.qs{max-width:100%}.qz{font-size:24px}.ra{line-height:30px}.rb{letter-spacing:-0.016em}.rt{margin-bottom:64px}.sd{font-size:20px}.se{line-height:24px}.sf{letter-spacing:0}.sz{width:100%}.te{padding-top:48px}.mw:hover{border-color:#E5E5E5}</style><style type="text/css" data-fela-rehydration="532" data-fela-type="RULE" media="print">.ph{display:none}</style><style type="text/css" data-fela-rehydration="532" data-fela-type="RULE" media="(orientation: landscape) and (max-width: 903.98px)">.jn{max-height:none}</style></head><body><div id="root"><div class="a b c"><div class="d e f g h i j k"></div><script>document.domain = document.domain;</script><div class="l c"><div class="l m n o c"><div class="p q r s t u v w x i d y z"><a class="du ag dv bf ak b am an ao ap aq ar as at s u w i d q dw z" href="https://rsci.app.link/?%24canonical_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedium.com%2Fp%2F4c3c63fa41d2&%7Efeature=LoOpenInAppButton&%7Echannel=ShowPostUnderCollection&source=---top_nav_layout_nav----------------------------------" rel="noopener follow">Open in app<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="10" height="10" fill="none" viewBox="0 0 10 10" class="dt"><path fill="currentColor" d="M.985 8.485a.375.375 0 1 0 .53.53zM8.75 1.25h.375A.375.375 0 0 0 8.75.875zM8.375 6.5a.375.375 0 1 0 .75 0zM3.5.875a.375.375 0 1 0 0 .75zm-1.985 8.14 7.5-7.5-.53-.53-7.5 7.5zm6.86-7.765V6.5h.75V1.25zM3.5 1.625h5.25v-.75H3.5z"></path></svg></a><div class="ab q"><p class="bf b dx dy dz ea eb ec ed ee ef eg du"><span><button class="bf b dx dy eh dz ea ei eb ec ej ek ee el em eg eo ep eq er es et eu ev ew ex ey ez fa fb fc fd bm fe ff" data-testid="headerSignUpButton">Sign up</button></span></p><div class="ax l"><p class="bf b dx dy dz ea eb ec ed ee ef eg du"><span><a class="af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at" data-testid="headerSignInButton" href="https://medium.com/m/signin?operation=login&redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.medium.com%2Fmedium-is-not-a-publishing-tool-4c3c63fa41d2&source=post_page---top_nav_layout_nav-----------------------global_nav-----------" rel="noopener follow">Sign in</a></span></p></div></div></div><div class="p q r ab ac"><div class="ab q ae"><a class="af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at ab" aria-label="Homepage" data-testid="headerMediumLogo" href="https://medium.com/?source=---top_nav_layout_nav----------------------------------" rel="noopener follow"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="719" height="160" fill="none" viewBox="0 0 719 160" class="au av aw"><path fill="#242424" d="m174.104 9.734.215-.047V8.02H130.39L89.6 103.89 48.81 8.021H1.472v1.666l.212.047c8.018 1.81 12.09 4.509 12.09 14.242V137.93c0 9.734-4.087 12.433-12.106 14.243l-.212.047v1.671h32.118v-1.665l-.213-.048c-8.018-1.809-12.089-4.509-12.089-14.242V30.586l52.399 123.305h2.972l53.925-126.743V140.75c-.687 7.688-4.721 10.062-11.982 11.701l-.215.05v1.652h55.948v-1.652l-.215-.05c-7.269-1.639-11.4-4.013-12.087-11.701l-.037-116.774h.037c0-9.733 4.071-12.432 12.087-14.242m25.555 75.488c.915-20.474 8.268-35.252 20.606-35.507 3.806.063 6.998 1.312 9.479 3.714 5.272 5.118 7.751 15.812 7.368 31.793zm-.553 5.77h65.573v-.275c-.186-15.656-4.721-27.834-13.466-36.196-7.559-7.227-18.751-11.203-30.507-11.203h-.263c-6.101 0-13.584 1.48-18.909 4.16-6.061 2.807-11.407 7.003-15.855 12.511-7.161 8.874-11.499 20.866-12.554 34.343q-.05.606-.092 1.212a50 50 0 0 0-.065 1.151 85.807 85.807 0 0 0-.094 5.689c.71 30.524 17.198 54.917 46.483 54.917 25.705 0 40.675-18.791 44.407-44.013l-1.886-.664c-6.557 13.556-18.334 21.771-31.738 20.769-18.297-1.369-32.314-19.922-31.042-42.395m139.722 41.359c-2.151 5.101-6.639 7.908-12.653 7.908s-11.513-4.129-15.418-11.63c-4.197-8.053-6.405-19.436-6.405-32.92 0-28.067 8.729-46.22 22.24-46.22 5.657 0 10.111 2.807 12.236 7.704zm43.499 20.008c-8.019-1.897-12.089-4.722-12.089-14.951V1.309l-48.716 14.353v1.757l.299-.024c6.72-.543 11.278.386 13.925 2.83 2.072 1.915 3.082 4.853 3.082 8.987v18.66c-4.803-3.067-10.516-4.56-17.448-4.56-14.059 0-26.909 5.92-36.176 16.672-9.66 11.205-14.767 26.518-14.767 44.278-.003 31.72 15.612 53.039 38.851 53.039 13.595 0 24.533-7.449 29.54-20.013v16.865h43.711v-1.746zM424.1 19.819c0-9.904-7.468-17.374-17.375-17.374-9.859 0-17.573 7.632-17.573 17.374s7.721 17.374 17.573 17.374c9.907 0 17.375-7.47 17.375-17.374m11.499 132.546c-8.019-1.897-12.089-4.722-12.089-14.951h-.035V43.635l-43.714 12.551v1.705l.263.024c9.458.842 12.047 4.1 12.047 15.152v81.086h43.751v-1.746zm112.013 0c-8.018-1.897-12.089-4.722-12.089-14.951V43.635l-41.621 12.137v1.71l.246.026c7.733.813 9.967 4.257 9.967 15.36v59.279c-2.578 5.102-7.415 8.131-13.274 8.336-9.503 0-14.736-6.419-14.736-18.073V43.638l-43.714 12.55v1.703l.262.024c9.459.84 12.05 4.097 12.05 15.152v50.17a56.3 56.3 0 0 0 .91 10.444l.787 3.423c3.701 13.262 13.398 20.197 28.59 20.197 12.868 0 24.147-7.966 29.115-20.43v17.311h43.714v-1.747zm169.818 1.788v-1.749l-.213-.05c-8.7-2.006-12.089-5.789-12.089-13.49v-63.79c0-19.89-11.171-31.761-29.883-31.761-13.64 0-25.141 7.882-29.569 20.16-3.517-13.01-13.639-20.16-28.606-20.16-13.146 0-23.449 6.938-27.869 18.657V43.643L545.487 55.68v1.715l.263.024c9.345.829 12.047 4.181 12.047 14.95v81.784h40.787v-1.746l-.215-.053c-6.941-1.631-9.181-4.606-9.181-12.239V66.998c1.836-4.289 5.537-9.37 12.853-9.37 9.086 0 13.692 6.296 13.692 18.697v77.828h40.797v-1.746l-.215-.053c-6.94-1.631-9.18-4.606-9.18-12.239V75.066a42 42 0 0 0-.578-7.26c1.947-4.661 5.86-10.177 13.475-10.177 9.214 0 13.691 6.114 13.691 18.696v77.828z"></path></svg></a><div class="ax h"><div class="ab ay az ba bb q bc bd"><div class="bm" aria-hidden="false" aria-describedby="searchResults" aria-labelledby="searchResults"></div><div class="bn bo ab"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" fill="none" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path fill="currentColor" fill-rule="evenodd" d="M4.092 11.06a6.95 6.95 0 1 1 13.9 0 6.95 6.95 0 0 1-13.9 0m6.95-8.05a8.05 8.05 0 1 0 5.13 14.26l3.75 3.75a.56.56 0 1 0 .79-.79l-3.73-3.73A8.05 8.05 0 0 0 11.042 3z" clip-rule="evenodd"></path></svg></div><input role="combobox" aria-controls="searchResults" aria-expanded="false" aria-label="search" data-testid="headerSearchInput" tabindex="0" class="ay be bf bg z bh bi bj bk bl" placeholder="Search" value=""/></div></div></div><div class="h k w fg fh"><div class="fi ab"><span><a class="af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at" data-testid="headerWriteButton" href="https://medium.com/m/signin?operation=register&redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fmedium.com%2Fnew-story&source=---top_nav_layout_nav-----------------------new_post_topnav-----------" rel="noopener follow"><div class="bf b bg z du fj fk ab q fl fm"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" fill="none" viewBox="0 0 24 24" aria-label="Write"><path fill="currentColor" d="M14 4a.5.5 0 0 0 0-1zm7 6a.5.5 0 0 0-1 0zm-7-7H4v1h10zM3 4v16h1V4zm1 17h16v-1H4zm17-1V10h-1v10zm-1 1a1 1 0 0 0 1-1h-1zM3 20a1 1 0 0 0 1 1v-1zM4 3a1 1 0 0 0-1 1h1z"></path><path stroke="currentColor" d="m17.5 4.5-8.458 8.458a.25.25 0 0 0-.06.098l-.824 2.47a.25.25 0 0 0 .316.316l2.47-.823a.25.25 0 0 0 .098-.06L19.5 6.5m-2-2 2.323-2.323a.25.25 0 0 1 .354 0l1.646 1.646a.25.25 0 0 1 0 .354L19.5 6.5m-2-2 2 2"></path></svg><div class="dt l">Write</div></div></a></span></div></div><div class="k j i d"><div class="fi ab"><a class="af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at" data-testid="headerSearchButton" href="https://medium.com/search?source=---top_nav_layout_nav----------------------------------" rel="noopener follow"><div class="bf b bg z du fj fk ab q fl fm"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" fill="none" viewBox="0 0 24 24" aria-label="Search"><path fill="currentColor" fill-rule="evenodd" d="M4.092 11.06a6.95 6.95 0 1 1 13.9 0 6.95 6.95 0 0 1-13.9 0m6.95-8.05a8.05 8.05 0 1 0 5.13 14.26l3.75 3.75a.56.56 0 1 0 .79-.79l-3.73-3.73A8.05 8.05 0 0 0 11.042 3z" clip-rule="evenodd"></path></svg></div></a></div></div><div class="fi h k j"><div class="ab q"><p class="bf b dx dy dz ea eb ec ed ee ef eg du"><span><button class="bf b dx dy eh dz ea ei eb ec ej ek ee el em eg eo ep eq er es et eu ev ew ex ey ez fa fb fc fd bm fe ff" data-testid="headerSignUpButton">Sign up</button></span></p><div class="ax l"><p class="bf b dx dy dz ea eb ec ed ee ef eg du"><span><a class="af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at" data-testid="headerSignInButton" href="https://medium.com/m/signin?operation=login&redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.medium.com%2Fmedium-is-not-a-publishing-tool-4c3c63fa41d2&source=post_page---top_nav_layout_nav-----------------------global_nav-----------" rel="noopener follow">Sign in</a></span></p></div></div></div><div class="l" aria-hidden="false"><button class="ay fn am ab q ao fo fp fq" aria-label="user options menu" data-testid="headerUserIcon"><div class="l fj"><img alt="" class="l fd by bz ca cx" src="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fill:64:64/1*dmbNkD5D-u45r44go_cf0g.png" width="32" height="32" loading="lazy" role="presentation"/><div class="fr by l bz ca fs n ay ft"></div></div></button></div></div></div><div class="fu"><a rel="me" href="https://me.dm/@ev">Mastodon</a></div><div class="l"><div class="fv fw fx fy fz l"><div class="ab cb"><div class="ci bh ga gb gc gd"></div></div><article><div class="l"><div class="l"><span class="l"></span><section><div><div class="fs gj gk gl gm gn"></div><div class="go gp gq gr gs"><div class="ab cb"><div class="ci bh ga gb gc gd"><div><h1 id="3643" class="pw-post-title gt gu gv bf gw gx gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu hv bk" data-testid="storyTitle">Medium is not a publishing tool</h1><div><div class="speechify-ignore ab cp"><div class="speechify-ignore bh l"><div class="hw hx hy hz ia ab"><div><div class="ab ib"><div><div class="bm" aria-hidden="false"><a href="https://ev.medium.com/?source=post_page---byline--4c3c63fa41d2--------------------------------" rel="noopener follow"><div class="l ic id by ie if"><div class="l fj"><img alt="Ev Williams" class="l fd by dd de cx" src="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fill:88:88/1*Oa7aZoW8TPZrQjlKYzH5dg.jpeg" width="44" height="44" loading="lazy" data-testid="authorPhoto"/><div class="ig by l dd de fs n ih ft"></div></div></div></a></div></div><div class="ii ab fj"><div><div class="bm" aria-hidden="false"><a href="https://blog.medium.com/?source=post_page---byline--4c3c63fa41d2--------------------------------" rel="noopener follow"><div class="l ij ik by ie il"><div class="l fj"><img alt="The Medium Blog" class="l fd by br im cx" src="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fill:48:48/1*AXYe3ZfLJvIjSW7fD3Eakg.jpeg" width="24" height="24" loading="lazy" data-testid="publicationPhoto"/><div class="ig by l br im fs n ih ft"></div></div></div></a></div></div></div></div></div><div class="bn bh l"><div class="ab"><div style="flex:1"><span class="bf b bg z bk"><div class="in ab q"><div class="ab q io"><div class="ab q"><div><div class="bm" aria-hidden="false"><p class="bf b ip iq bk"><a class="af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar ir" data-testid="authorName" href="https://ev.medium.com/?source=post_page---byline--4c3c63fa41d2--------------------------------" rel="noopener follow">Ev Williams</a></p></div></div></div><span class="is it" aria-hidden="true"><span class="bf b bg z du">·</span></span><p class="bf b ip iq du"><span><a class="iu iv ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar ex iw ix" href="https://medium.com/m/signin?actionUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fmedium.com%2F_%2Fsubscribe%2Fuser%2F268314bb7e7e&operation=register&redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.medium.com%2Fmedium-is-not-a-publishing-tool-4c3c63fa41d2&user=Ev+Williams&userId=268314bb7e7e&source=post_page-268314bb7e7e--byline--4c3c63fa41d2---------------------post_header-----------" rel="noopener follow">Follow</a></span></p></div></div></span></div></div><div class="l iy"><span class="bf b bg z du"><div class="ab cn iz ja jb"><div class="jc jd ab"><div class="bf b bg z du ab je"><span class="jf l iy">Published in</span><div><div class="l" aria-hidden="false"><a class="af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar ir ab q" data-testid="publicationName" href="https://blog.medium.com/?source=post_page---byline--4c3c63fa41d2--------------------------------" rel="noopener follow"><p class="bf b bg z jg jh ji jj jk jl jm jn bk">The Medium Blog</p></a></div></div></div><div class="h k"><span class="is it" aria-hidden="true"><span class="bf b bg z du">·</span></span></div></div><span class="bf b bg z du"><div class="ab ae"><span data-testid="storyReadTime">5 min read</span><div class="jo jp l" aria-hidden="true"><span class="l" aria-hidden="true"><span class="bf b bg z du">·</span></span></div><span data-testid="storyPublishDate">May 21, 2015</span></div></span></div></span></div></div></div><div class="ab cp jq jr js jt ju jv jw jx jy jz ka kb kc kd ke kf"><div class="h k w fg fh q"><div class="kv l"><div class="ab q kw kx"><div class="pw-multi-vote-icon fj jf ky kz la"><span><a class="af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at" data-testid="headerClapButton" href="https://medium.com/m/signin?actionUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fmedium.com%2F_%2Fvote%2Fblog%2F4c3c63fa41d2&operation=register&redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.medium.com%2Fmedium-is-not-a-publishing-tool-4c3c63fa41d2&user=Ev+Williams&userId=268314bb7e7e&source=---header_actions--4c3c63fa41d2---------------------clap_footer-----------" rel="noopener follow"><div><div class="bm" aria-hidden="false"><div class="lb ao lc ld le lf am lg lh li la"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24" aria-label="clap"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M11.37.828 12 3.282l.63-2.454zM13.916 3.953l1.523-2.112-1.184-.39zM8.589 1.84l1.522 2.112-.337-2.501zM18.523 18.92c-.86.86-1.75 1.246-2.62 1.33a6 6 0 0 0 .407-.372c2.388-2.389 2.86-4.951 1.399-7.623l-.912-1.603-.79-1.672c-.26-.56-.194-.98.203-1.288a.7.7 0 0 1 .546-.132c.283.046.546.231.728.5l2.363 4.157c.976 1.624 1.141 4.237-1.324 6.702m-10.999-.438L3.37 14.328a.828.828 0 0 1 .585-1.408.83.83 0 0 1 .585.242l2.158 2.157a.365.365 0 0 0 .516-.516l-2.157-2.158-1.449-1.449a.826.826 0 0 1 1.167-1.17l3.438 3.44a.363.363 0 0 0 .516 0 .364.364 0 0 0 0-.516L5.293 9.513l-.97-.97a.826.826 0 0 1 0-1.166.84.84 0 0 1 1.167 0l.97.968 3.437 3.436a.36.36 0 0 0 .517 0 .366.366 0 0 0 0-.516L6.977 7.83a.82.82 0 0 1-.241-.584.82.82 0 0 1 .824-.826c.219 0 .43.087.584.242l5.787 5.787a.366.366 0 0 0 .587-.415l-1.117-2.363c-.26-.56-.194-.98.204-1.289a.7.7 0 0 1 .546-.132c.283.046.545.232.727.501l2.193 3.86c1.302 2.38.883 4.59-1.277 6.75-1.156 1.156-2.602 1.627-4.19 1.367-1.418-.236-2.866-1.033-4.079-2.246M10.75 5.971l2.12 2.12c-.41.502-.465 1.17-.128 1.89l.22.465-3.523-3.523a.8.8 0 0 1-.097-.368c0-.22.086-.428.241-.584a.847.847 0 0 1 1.167 0m7.355 1.705c-.31-.461-.746-.758-1.23-.837a1.44 1.44 0 0 0-1.11.275c-.312.24-.505.543-.59.881a1.74 1.74 0 0 0-.906-.465 1.47 1.47 0 0 0-.82.106l-2.182-2.182a1.56 1.56 0 0 0-2.2 0 1.54 1.54 0 0 0-.396.701 1.56 1.56 0 0 0-2.21-.01 1.55 1.55 0 0 0-.416.753c-.624-.624-1.649-.624-2.237-.037a1.557 1.557 0 0 0 0 2.2c-.239.1-.501.238-.715.453a1.56 1.56 0 0 0 0 2.2l.516.515a1.556 1.556 0 0 0-.753 2.615L7.01 19c1.32 1.319 2.909 2.189 4.475 2.449q.482.08.971.08c.85 0 1.653-.198 2.393-.579.231.033.46.054.686.054 1.266 0 2.457-.52 3.505-1.567 2.763-2.763 2.552-5.734 1.439-7.586z" clip-rule="evenodd"></path></svg></div></div></div></a></span></div><div class="pw-multi-vote-count l lj lk ll lm ln lo lp"><p class="bf b dv z du"><span class="lq">--</span></p></div></div></div><div><div class="bm" aria-hidden="false"><button class="ao lb lt lu ab q fk lv lw" aria-label="responses"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24" class="ls"><path d="M18.006 16.803c1.533-1.456 2.234-3.325 2.234-5.321C20.24 7.357 16.709 4 12.191 4S4 7.357 4 11.482c0 4.126 3.674 7.482 8.191 7.482.817 0 1.622-.111 2.393-.327.231.2.48.391.744.559 1.06.693 2.203 1.044 3.399 1.044.224-.008.4-.112.486-.287a.49.49 0 0 0-.042-.518c-.495-.67-.845-1.364-1.04-2.057a4 4 0 0 1-.125-.598zm-3.122 1.055-.067-.223-.315.096a8 8 0 0 1-2.311.338c-4.023 0-7.292-2.955-7.292-6.587 0-3.633 3.269-6.588 7.292-6.588 4.014 0 7.112 2.958 7.112 6.593 0 1.794-.608 3.469-2.027 4.72l-.195.168v.255c0 .056 0 .151.016.295.025.231.081.478.154.733.154.558.398 1.117.722 1.659a5.3 5.3 0 0 1-2.165-.845c-.276-.176-.714-.383-.941-.59z"></path></svg><p class="bf b dv z du"><span class="pw-responses-count lr ls">170</span></p></button></div></div></div><div class="ab q kg kh ki kj kk kl km kn ko kp kq kr ks kt ku"><div class="lx k j i d"></div><div class="h k"><div><div class="bm" aria-hidden="false"><span><a class="af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at" data-testid="headerBookmarkButton" href="https://medium.com/m/signin?actionUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fmedium.com%2F_%2Fbookmark%2Fp%2F4c3c63fa41d2&operation=register&redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.medium.com%2Fmedium-is-not-a-publishing-tool-4c3c63fa41d2&source=---header_actions--4c3c63fa41d2---------------------bookmark_footer-----------" rel="noopener follow"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="25" height="25" fill="none" viewBox="0 0 25 25" class="du ly" aria-label="Add to list bookmark button"><path fill="currentColor" d="M18 2.5a.5.5 0 0 1 1 0V5h2.5a.5.5 0 0 1 0 1H19v2.5a.5.5 0 1 1-1 0V6h-2.5a.5.5 0 0 1 0-1H18zM7 7a1 1 0 0 1 1-1h3.5a.5.5 0 0 0 0-1H8a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v14a.5.5 0 0 0 .805.396L12.5 17l5.695 4.396A.5.5 0 0 0 19 21v-8.5a.5.5 0 0 0-1 0v7.485l-5.195-4.012a.5.5 0 0 0-.61 0L7 19.985z"></path></svg></a></span></div></div></div><div class="fd lz cn"><div class="l ae"><div class="ab cb"><div class="ma mb mc md me mf ci bh"><div class="ab"><div class="bm bh" aria-hidden="false"><div><div class="bm" aria-hidden="false"><button aria-label="Listen" data-testid="audioPlayButton" class="af fk ah ai aj ak al mg an ao ap ex mh mi lw mj mk ml mm mn s mo mp mq mr ms mt mu u mv mw mx"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" fill="none" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path fill="currentColor" fill-rule="evenodd" d="M3 12a9 9 0 1 1 18 0 9 9 0 0 1-18 0m9-10C6.477 2 2 6.477 2 12s4.477 10 10 10 10-4.477 10-10S17.523 2 12 2m3.376 10.416-4.599 3.066a.5.5 0 0 1-.777-.416V8.934a.5.5 0 0 1 .777-.416l4.599 3.066a.5.5 0 0 1 0 .832" clip-rule="evenodd"></path></svg><div class="j i d"><p class="bf b bg z du">Listen</p></div></button></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="bm" aria-hidden="false" aria-describedby="postFooterSocialMenu" aria-labelledby="postFooterSocialMenu"><div><div class="bm" aria-hidden="false"><button aria-controls="postFooterSocialMenu" aria-expanded="false" aria-label="Share Post" data-testid="headerSocialShareButton" class="af fk ah ai aj ak al mg an ao ap ex mh mi lw mj mk ml mm mn s mo mp mq mr ms mt mu u mv mw mx"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" fill="none" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path fill="currentColor" fill-rule="evenodd" d="M15.218 4.931a.4.4 0 0 1-.118.132l.012.006a.45.45 0 0 1-.292.074.5.5 0 0 1-.3-.13l-2.02-2.02v7.07c0 .28-.23.5-.5.5s-.5-.22-.5-.5v-7.04l-2 2a.45.45 0 0 1-.57.04h-.02a.4.4 0 0 1-.16-.3.4.4 0 0 1 .1-.32l2.8-2.8a.5.5 0 0 1 .7 0l2.8 2.79a.42.42 0 0 1 .068.498m-.106.138.008.004v-.01zM16 7.063h1.5a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v10a2 2 0 0 1-2 2h-11c-1.1 0-2-.9-2-2v-10a2 2 0 0 1 2-2H8a.5.5 0 0 1 .35.15.5.5 0 0 1 .15.35.5.5 0 0 1-.15.35.5.5 0 0 1-.35.15H6.4c-.5 0-.9.4-.9.9v10.2a.9.9 0 0 0 .9.9h11.2c.5 0 .9-.4.9-.9v-10.2c0-.5-.4-.9-.9-.9H16a.5.5 0 0 1 0-1" clip-rule="evenodd"></path></svg><div class="j i d"><p class="bf b bg z du">Share</p></div></button></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p id="3f3b" class="pw-post-body-paragraph my mz gv na b nb nc nd ne nf ng nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv go bk">Twelve years ago, I was heading <a class="af nw" href="http://blogger.com" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Blogger</a> at Google and frustrated we kept losing users to our competitors, like <a class="af nw" href="https://movabletype.org/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Movable Type</a> from <a class="af nw" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Apart" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Six Apart</a>. A common phenomenon at the time was that people would start blogging on Blogger — because it was free, popular, and easy to set up — and then “graduate” to more powerful tools.</p><p id="229c" class="pw-post-body-paragraph my mz gv na b nb nc nd ne nf ng nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv go bk">Movable Type, <a class="af nw" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greymatter_%28software%29" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Greymatter</a>, and, later, Wordpress, had a much higher barrier to entry (before WP had turnkey hosting). But once someone had discovered the joys of sharing thoughts on the Internet, they were willing to invest the effort in order to get the added features and flexibility that the install-on-your-server software afforded.</p><p id="986d" class="pw-post-body-paragraph my mz gv na b nb nc nd ne nf ng nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv go bk">Understanding Blogger as we did at the time — as a software tool for creating and publishing web sites — we found ourselves in the race many software makers know well: <strong class="na gw">Add features, get more users. Competitor adds more features, lose users. </strong>(Marketing and others factors have some effect, depending on the market. In blogging, that was minimal.)</p><p id="2709" class="pw-post-body-paragraph my mz gv na b nb nc nd ne nf ng nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv go bk">This game was particularly hard to play for us, since Blogger was hosted software (I mean, <em class="nx">in the cloud</em>), unlike most of the tools we were competing against. The operational and engineering challenge was that we had to build features that scaled to all our users. And when we wanted to change something, all the users had to accept that change.</p><p id="675d" class="pw-post-body-paragraph my mz gv na b nb nc nd ne nf ng nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv go bk">At the time, scaling centralized systems was a less-solved problem (even at far smaller numbers). More importantly, though it was easier due to this setup, we weren’t creating network effects. Though (I believe) we had more people publishing with Blogger than anything else, that didn’t make Blogger better. In fact, it made it worse, because it got slow and harder to add features to.</p><p id="b97d" class="pw-post-body-paragraph my mz gv na b nb nc nd ne nf ng nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv go bk">Today, we all understand the Internet business is not the software business. We strive to build networks and platforms. We compete on user experience (and marketing, to some extent). Features and flexibility are far down the list of competitive tactics, at least when you’re dealing in consumer software (make that, <em class="nx">services</em>).</p><p id="f8b6" class="pw-post-body-paragraph my mz gv na b nb nc nd ne nf ng nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv go bk"><a class="af nw" href="http://twitter.com/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">My next “blogging” tool</a> had far fewer features — and way more users. No one moves where they tweet because some other tool has better formatting or profile customization. That’s because a tiny percentage of the value Twitter brings comes from the software itself. It’s all about the network — the connection with other users and the content they create.</p><p id="0a86" class="pw-post-body-paragraph my mz gv na b nb nc nd ne nf ng nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv go bk">Chris Dixon had a great post a while back — <a class="af nw" href="http://cdixon.org/2015/01/31/come-for-the-tool-stay-for-the-network/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Come for the tool, stay for the network</a> — describing how, unlike Twitter, some platforms started out with tool value and transitioned into network value (which, ultimately, became a much bigger part of the equation, such is the case with Instagram). We had an inkling of this and were just getting started on the network piece of Blogger when I left 10+ years ago. It’s not that Blogger immediately suffered. Its ease-of-use continued to attract users in the tens of millions for many years. (<a class="af nw" href="https://siteanalytics.compete.com/blogspot.com/#.VVzsk5NViko" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">According to Compete, blogspot.com had 63M visitors just this March</a>.) But it was a pretty big missed opportunity for Google. (Don’t worry, they’ve done fine.)</p><p id="5d0b" class="pw-post-body-paragraph my mz gv na b nb nc nd ne nf ng nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv go bk">More importantly, it was a missed opportunity for people and ideas. Well-designed networks reduce friction and help good stuff be found. Connections allow the whole to become greater than the sum of the parts and allow new paths to discover and build meaning.</p></div></div></div><div class="ab cb ny nz oa ob" role="separator"><span class="oc by bm od oe of"></span><span class="oc by bm od oe of"></span><span class="oc by bm od oe"></span></div><div class="go gp gq gr gs"><div class="ab cb"><div class="ci bh ga gb gc gd"><p id="b65d" class="pw-post-body-paragraph my mz gv na b nb nc nd ne nf ng nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv go bk">It will not surprise you that these observations reveal a lot about what we’re trying to do with Medium. We started out by building <a class="af nw" href="https://medium.com/about/writing-in-medium-df8eac9f4a5e" rel="noopener">a great tool for writing</a>. And it’s not even the editor itself that created the main value. It was the fact that you could easily write and share a story without the setup, overhead, or commitment level of <em class="nx">starting a blog</em>. It’s clear that there are many more people who occasionally have valuable perspectives to share than there are people who want to be “bloggers.” These people love writing on Medium, even if they see it as just a tool to create a nice page to point people to from Twitter.</p><p id="16d0" class="pw-post-body-paragraph my mz gv na b nb nc nd ne nf ng nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv go bk">However, that’s not the point. Or, at least, that’s not the end. In the last few months, we’ve shifted more of our attention on the product side from creating tool value to creating network value. What does this mean? Obviously, one form of that value is distribution. And there’s no doubt that something published on Medium has a higher likelihood to find an audience than the same thing published on an untrafficked island on the web.</p><p id="bf94" class="pw-post-body-paragraph my mz gv na b nb nc nd ne nf ng nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv go bk">But the more interesting bit of network value we’re starting to see a lot more of is <em class="nx">qualitative feedback</em>. <a class="af nw" href="https://medium.com/@e/highlights-have-come-to-the-medium-app-this-is-going-to-be-big-822960e8653d" rel="noopener">Highlights</a> is one of my favorite example of this:</p><figure class="og oh oi oj ok ol"><div class="om jg l fj"><div class="on oo l"></div></div></figure><p id="0692" class="pw-post-body-paragraph my mz gv na b nb nc nd ne nf ng nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv go bk">And it’s not just for the writer’s benefit. When I’m reading something and come across a highlight from someone I follow, it immediately makes the passage and, indeed, the whole piece, more meaningful and memorable:</p><figure class="og oh oi oj ok ol op oq paragraph-image"><a href="https://medium.com/@Scott_Wiener/more-affordable-housing-not-a-housing-moratorium-is-what-we-need-in-san-francisco-15df3ce5b7cd"><div class="op oq or"><picture><source srcSet="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:640/format:webp/1*fdWsCNAM8wJHPXqp88dI3A.png 640w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:720/format:webp/1*fdWsCNAM8wJHPXqp88dI3A.png 720w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:750/format:webp/1*fdWsCNAM8wJHPXqp88dI3A.png 750w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:786/format:webp/1*fdWsCNAM8wJHPXqp88dI3A.png 786w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:828/format:webp/1*fdWsCNAM8wJHPXqp88dI3A.png 828w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1100/format:webp/1*fdWsCNAM8wJHPXqp88dI3A.png 1100w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1400/format:webp/1*fdWsCNAM8wJHPXqp88dI3A.png 1400w" sizes="(min-resolution: 4dppx) and (max-width: 700px) 50vw, (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 4) and (max-width: 700px) 50vw, (min-resolution: 3dppx) and (max-width: 700px) 67vw, (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 3) and (max-width: 700px) 65vw, (min-resolution: 2.5dppx) and (max-width: 700px) 80vw, (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2.5) and (max-width: 700px) 80vw, (min-resolution: 2dppx) and (max-width: 700px) 100vw, (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2) and (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" type="image/webp"/><source data-testid="og" srcSet="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:640/1*fdWsCNAM8wJHPXqp88dI3A.png 640w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:720/1*fdWsCNAM8wJHPXqp88dI3A.png 720w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:750/1*fdWsCNAM8wJHPXqp88dI3A.png 750w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:786/1*fdWsCNAM8wJHPXqp88dI3A.png 786w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:828/1*fdWsCNAM8wJHPXqp88dI3A.png 828w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1100/1*fdWsCNAM8wJHPXqp88dI3A.png 1100w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1400/1*fdWsCNAM8wJHPXqp88dI3A.png 1400w" sizes="(min-resolution: 4dppx) and (max-width: 700px) 50vw, (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 4) and (max-width: 700px) 50vw, (min-resolution: 3dppx) and (max-width: 700px) 67vw, (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 3) and (max-width: 700px) 65vw, (min-resolution: 2.5dppx) and (max-width: 700px) 80vw, (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2.5) and (max-width: 700px) 80vw, (min-resolution: 2dppx) and (max-width: 700px) 100vw, (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2) and (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px"/><img alt="" class="bh mf os c" width="700" height="282" loading="lazy" role="presentation"/></picture></div></a></figure><p id="416a" class="pw-post-body-paragraph my mz gv na b nb nc nd ne nf ng nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv go bk"><a class="af nw" href="https://medium.com/the-story/medium-responses-fd6086781625" rel="noopener">Responses</a> are the other big thing that’s leveraging both the power of the open Medium platform and the growing network tying it together.</p><p id="b7c4" class="pw-post-body-paragraph my mz gv na b nb nc nd ne nf ng nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv go bk">When you read <a class="af nw" href="https://medium.com/@wfederman/micropayments-for-news-articles-are-a-terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad-idea-267930d95a3a" rel="noopener">a thoughtful piece about micropayments</a> that questions the approach of a company and then the co-founder of that company <a class="af nw" href="https://medium.com/@AlexanderNL/the-co-founder-of-blendle-here-the-startup-from-the-netherlands-you-mention-in-in-your-piece-we-fb764207b8ed" rel="noopener">responds with a thoughtful counter</a>, that’s pretty cool. This sort of thing is possible — and happens — in traditional blog comments, but the ability for Medium responses to live on their own gives both more motivation to invest in them (as a creator) and more likelihood the significant ones will be found. (For old-schoolers: Yes, like <a class="af nw" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trackback" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Trackbacks</a>.)</p><p id="118d" class="pw-post-body-paragraph my mz gv na b nb nc nd ne nf ng nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv go bk">Here’s an interesting tidbit from <a class="af nw" href="https://medium.com/@duncan/initially-skeptical-im-now-bullish-on-responses-74f59d20887f" rel="noopener">an “initially skeptical” responder</a> about responses that didn’t occur to me before: “I think that having to meet the bar required to hit publish on a piece helped make my words civil to the person who wrote the original article.”</p><p id="b387" class="pw-post-body-paragraph my mz gv na b nb nc nd ne nf ng nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv go bk">We’re not done figuring all this stuff out. (Multi-part conversations for instance are a bit hard to follow.) But every day we’re seeing growth of this activity and great examples of the network power of Medium being realized.</p><figure class="og oh oi oj ok ol"><div class="om jg l fj"><div class="on oo l"></div></div></figure><p id="b211" class="pw-post-body-paragraph my mz gv na b nb nc nd ne nf ng nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv go bk">That’s why I say Medium is not a publishing tool. It’s a network. A network of ideas that build off each other. And people. And <a class="af nw" href="https://medium.com/@lightningboltz/-784467f1c835" rel="noopener">GIFs</a> (yeah, we have those, too — not our specialty, though, to be clear).</p><p id="ea3e" class="pw-post-body-paragraph my mz gv na b nb nc nd ne nf ng nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv go bk">Let us know what you think by writing a response (short or long) below and/or highlighting your favorite parts, above.</p></div></div></div></div></section></div></div></article></div><div class="ab cb"><div class="ci bh ga gb gc gd"><div class="ot ou ab jb"><div class="ov ab"><a class="ow ay am ao" href="https://medium.com/tag/medium?source=post_page-----4c3c63fa41d2--------------------------------" rel="noopener follow"><div class="ox fj cx oy gf oz pa bf b bg z bk pb">Medium</div></a></div><div class="ov ab"><a class="ow ay am ao" href="https://medium.com/tag/lessons-learned?source=post_page-----4c3c63fa41d2--------------------------------" rel="noopener follow"><div class="ox fj cx oy gf oz pa bf b bg z bk pb">Lessons Learned</div></a></div><div class="ov ab"><a class="ow ay am ao" href="https://medium.com/tag/blogger?source=post_page-----4c3c63fa41d2--------------------------------" rel="noopener follow"><div class="ox fj cx oy gf oz pa bf b bg z bk pb">Blogger</div></a></div></div></div></div><div class="l"></div><footer class="pc nz pd pe pf ab q pg il c"><div class="l ae"><div class="ab cb"><div class="ci bh ga gb gc gd"><div class="ab cp ph"><div class="ab q kw"><div class="pi l"><span class="l pj pk pl e d"><div class="ab q kw kx"><div class="pw-multi-vote-icon fj jf ky kz la"><span><a class="af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at" data-testid="footerClapButton" href="https://medium.com/m/signin?actionUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fmedium.com%2F_%2Fvote%2Fblog%2F4c3c63fa41d2&operation=register&redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.medium.com%2Fmedium-is-not-a-publishing-tool-4c3c63fa41d2&user=Ev+Williams&userId=268314bb7e7e&source=---footer_actions--4c3c63fa41d2---------------------clap_footer-----------" rel="noopener follow"><div><div class="bm" aria-hidden="false"><div class="lb ao lc ld le lf am lg lh li la"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24" aria-label="clap"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M11.37.828 12 3.282l.63-2.454zM13.916 3.953l1.523-2.112-1.184-.39zM8.589 1.84l1.522 2.112-.337-2.501zM18.523 18.92c-.86.86-1.75 1.246-2.62 1.33a6 6 0 0 0 .407-.372c2.388-2.389 2.86-4.951 1.399-7.623l-.912-1.603-.79-1.672c-.26-.56-.194-.98.203-1.288a.7.7 0 0 1 .546-.132c.283.046.546.231.728.5l2.363 4.157c.976 1.624 1.141 4.237-1.324 6.702m-10.999-.438L3.37 14.328a.828.828 0 0 1 .585-1.408.83.83 0 0 1 .585.242l2.158 2.157a.365.365 0 0 0 .516-.516l-2.157-2.158-1.449-1.449a.826.826 0 0 1 1.167-1.17l3.438 3.44a.363.363 0 0 0 .516 0 .364.364 0 0 0 0-.516L5.293 9.513l-.97-.97a.826.826 0 0 1 0-1.166.84.84 0 0 1 1.167 0l.97.968 3.437 3.436a.36.36 0 0 0 .517 0 .366.366 0 0 0 0-.516L6.977 7.83a.82.82 0 0 1-.241-.584.82.82 0 0 1 .824-.826c.219 0 .43.087.584.242l5.787 5.787a.366.366 0 0 0 .587-.415l-1.117-2.363c-.26-.56-.194-.98.204-1.289a.7.7 0 0 1 .546-.132c.283.046.545.232.727.501l2.193 3.86c1.302 2.38.883 4.59-1.277 6.75-1.156 1.156-2.602 1.627-4.19 1.367-1.418-.236-2.866-1.033-4.079-2.246M10.75 5.971l2.12 2.12c-.41.502-.465 1.17-.128 1.89l.22.465-3.523-3.523a.8.8 0 0 1-.097-.368c0-.22.086-.428.241-.584a.847.847 0 0 1 1.167 0m7.355 1.705c-.31-.461-.746-.758-1.23-.837a1.44 1.44 0 0 0-1.11.275c-.312.24-.505.543-.59.881a1.74 1.74 0 0 0-.906-.465 1.47 1.47 0 0 0-.82.106l-2.182-2.182a1.56 1.56 0 0 0-2.2 0 1.54 1.54 0 0 0-.396.701 1.56 1.56 0 0 0-2.21-.01 1.55 1.55 0 0 0-.416.753c-.624-.624-1.649-.624-2.237-.037a1.557 1.557 0 0 0 0 2.2c-.239.1-.501.238-.715.453a1.56 1.56 0 0 0 0 2.2l.516.515a1.556 1.556 0 0 0-.753 2.615L7.01 19c1.32 1.319 2.909 2.189 4.475 2.449q.482.08.971.08c.85 0 1.653-.198 2.393-.579.231.033.46.054.686.054 1.266 0 2.457-.52 3.505-1.567 2.763-2.763 2.552-5.734 1.439-7.586z" clip-rule="evenodd"></path></svg></div></div></div></a></span></div><div class="pw-multi-vote-count l lj lk ll lm ln lo lp"><p class="bf b dv z du"><span class="lq">--</span></p></div></div></span><span class="l h g f pm pn"><div class="ab q kw kx"><div class="pw-multi-vote-icon fj jf ky kz la"><span><a class="af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at" data-testid="footerClapButton" href="https://medium.com/m/signin?actionUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fmedium.com%2F_%2Fvote%2Fblog%2F4c3c63fa41d2&operation=register&redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.medium.com%2Fmedium-is-not-a-publishing-tool-4c3c63fa41d2&user=Ev+Williams&userId=268314bb7e7e&source=---footer_actions--4c3c63fa41d2---------------------clap_footer-----------" rel="noopener follow"><div><div class="bm" aria-hidden="false"><div class="lb ao lc ld le lf am lg lh li la"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24" aria-label="clap"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M11.37.828 12 3.282l.63-2.454zM13.916 3.953l1.523-2.112-1.184-.39zM8.589 1.84l1.522 2.112-.337-2.501zM18.523 18.92c-.86.86-1.75 1.246-2.62 1.33a6 6 0 0 0 .407-.372c2.388-2.389 2.86-4.951 1.399-7.623l-.912-1.603-.79-1.672c-.26-.56-.194-.98.203-1.288a.7.7 0 0 1 .546-.132c.283.046.546.231.728.5l2.363 4.157c.976 1.624 1.141 4.237-1.324 6.702m-10.999-.438L3.37 14.328a.828.828 0 0 1 .585-1.408.83.83 0 0 1 .585.242l2.158 2.157a.365.365 0 0 0 .516-.516l-2.157-2.158-1.449-1.449a.826.826 0 0 1 1.167-1.17l3.438 3.44a.363.363 0 0 0 .516 0 .364.364 0 0 0 0-.516L5.293 9.513l-.97-.97a.826.826 0 0 1 0-1.166.84.84 0 0 1 1.167 0l.97.968 3.437 3.436a.36.36 0 0 0 .517 0 .366.366 0 0 0 0-.516L6.977 7.83a.82.82 0 0 1-.241-.584.82.82 0 0 1 .824-.826c.219 0 .43.087.584.242l5.787 5.787a.366.366 0 0 0 .587-.415l-1.117-2.363c-.26-.56-.194-.98.204-1.289a.7.7 0 0 1 .546-.132c.283.046.545.232.727.501l2.193 3.86c1.302 2.38.883 4.59-1.277 6.75-1.156 1.156-2.602 1.627-4.19 1.367-1.418-.236-2.866-1.033-4.079-2.246M10.75 5.971l2.12 2.12c-.41.502-.465 1.17-.128 1.89l.22.465-3.523-3.523a.8.8 0 0 1-.097-.368c0-.22.086-.428.241-.584a.847.847 0 0 1 1.167 0m7.355 1.705c-.31-.461-.746-.758-1.23-.837a1.44 1.44 0 0 0-1.11.275c-.312.24-.505.543-.59.881a1.74 1.74 0 0 0-.906-.465 1.47 1.47 0 0 0-.82.106l-2.182-2.182a1.56 1.56 0 0 0-2.2 0 1.54 1.54 0 0 0-.396.701 1.56 1.56 0 0 0-2.21-.01 1.55 1.55 0 0 0-.416.753c-.624-.624-1.649-.624-2.237-.037a1.557 1.557 0 0 0 0 2.2c-.239.1-.501.238-.715.453a1.56 1.56 0 0 0 0 2.2l.516.515a1.556 1.556 0 0 0-.753 2.615L7.01 19c1.32 1.319 2.909 2.189 4.475 2.449q.482.08.971.08c.85 0 1.653-.198 2.393-.579.231.033.46.054.686.054 1.266 0 2.457-.52 3.505-1.567 2.763-2.763 2.552-5.734 1.439-7.586z" clip-rule="evenodd"></path></svg></div></div></div></a></span></div><div class="pw-multi-vote-count l lj lk ll lm ln lo lp"><p class="bf b dv z du"><span class="lq">--</span></p></div></div></span></div><div class="bq ab"><div><div class="bm" aria-hidden="false"><button class="ao lb lt lu ab q fk lv lw" aria-label="responses"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24" class="ls"><path d="M18.006 16.803c1.533-1.456 2.234-3.325 2.234-5.321C20.24 7.357 16.709 4 12.191 4S4 7.357 4 11.482c0 4.126 3.674 7.482 8.191 7.482.817 0 1.622-.111 2.393-.327.231.2.48.391.744.559 1.06.693 2.203 1.044 3.399 1.044.224-.008.4-.112.486-.287a.49.49 0 0 0-.042-.518c-.495-.67-.845-1.364-1.04-2.057a4 4 0 0 1-.125-.598zm-3.122 1.055-.067-.223-.315.096a8 8 0 0 1-2.311.338c-4.023 0-7.292-2.955-7.292-6.587 0-3.633 3.269-6.588 7.292-6.588 4.014 0 7.112 2.958 7.112 6.593 0 1.794-.608 3.469-2.027 4.72l-.195.168v.255c0 .056 0 .151.016.295.025.231.081.478.154.733.154.558.398 1.117.722 1.659a5.3 5.3 0 0 1-2.165-.845c-.276-.176-.714-.383-.941-.59z"></path></svg><p class="bf b bg z du"><span class="pw-responses-count lr ls">170</span></p></button></div></div></div></div><div class="ab q"><div class="of l iy"><div><div class="bm" aria-hidden="false"><span><a class="af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at" data-testid="footerBookmarkButton" href="https://medium.com/m/signin?actionUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fmedium.com%2F_%2Fbookmark%2Fp%2F4c3c63fa41d2&operation=register&redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.medium.com%2Fmedium-is-not-a-publishing-tool-4c3c63fa41d2&source=---footer_actions--4c3c63fa41d2---------------------bookmark_footer-----------" rel="noopener follow"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="25" height="25" fill="none" viewBox="0 0 25 25" class="du ly" aria-label="Add to list bookmark button"><path fill="currentColor" d="M18 2.5a.5.5 0 0 1 1 0V5h2.5a.5.5 0 0 1 0 1H19v2.5a.5.5 0 1 1-1 0V6h-2.5a.5.5 0 0 1 0-1H18zM7 7a1 1 0 0 1 1-1h3.5a.5.5 0 0 0 0-1H8a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v14a.5.5 0 0 0 .805.396L12.5 17l5.695 4.396A.5.5 0 0 0 19 21v-8.5a.5.5 0 0 0-1 0v7.485l-5.195-4.012a.5.5 0 0 0-.61 0L7 19.985z"></path></svg></a></span></div></div></div><div class="of l iy"><div class="bm" aria-hidden="false" aria-describedby="postFooterSocialMenu" aria-labelledby="postFooterSocialMenu"><div><div class="bm" aria-hidden="false"><button aria-controls="postFooterSocialMenu" aria-expanded="false" aria-label="Share Post" data-testid="footerSocialShareButton" class="af fk ah ai aj ak al mg an ao ap ex mh mi lw mj"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" fill="none" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path fill="currentColor" fill-rule="evenodd" d="M15.218 4.931a.4.4 0 0 1-.118.132l.012.006a.45.45 0 0 1-.292.074.5.5 0 0 1-.3-.13l-2.02-2.02v7.07c0 .28-.23.5-.5.5s-.5-.22-.5-.5v-7.04l-2 2a.45.45 0 0 1-.57.04h-.02a.4.4 0 0 1-.16-.3.4.4 0 0 1 .1-.32l2.8-2.8a.5.5 0 0 1 .7 0l2.8 2.79a.42.42 0 0 1 .068.498m-.106.138.008.004v-.01zM16 7.063h1.5a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v10a2 2 0 0 1-2 2h-11c-1.1 0-2-.9-2-2v-10a2 2 0 0 1 2-2H8a.5.5 0 0 1 .35.15.5.5 0 0 1 .15.35.5.5 0 0 1-.15.35.5.5 0 0 1-.35.15H6.4c-.5 0-.9.4-.9.9v10.2a.9.9 0 0 0 .9.9h11.2c.5 0 .9-.4.9-.9v-10.2c0-.5-.4-.9-.9-.9H16a.5.5 0 0 1 0-1" clip-rule="evenodd"></path></svg></button></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></footer><div class="po pp pq pr ps l"><div class="ab cb"><div class="ci bh ga gb gc gd"><div class="pt bh r pu"></div><div class="pv l"><div class="ab pw px py ja iz"><div class="pz qa qb qc qd qe qf qg qh qi ab cp"><div class="h k"><a href="https://blog.medium.com/?source=post_page---post_publication_info--4c3c63fa41d2--------------------------------" rel="noopener follow"><div class="fj ab"><img alt="The Medium Blog" class="qj ic id cx" src="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fill:96:96/1*AXYe3ZfLJvIjSW7fD3Eakg.jpeg" width="48" height="48" loading="lazy"/><div class="qj l id ic fs n fr qk"></div></div></a></div><div class="j i d"><a href="https://blog.medium.com/?source=post_page---post_publication_info--4c3c63fa41d2--------------------------------" rel="noopener follow"><div class="fj ab"><img alt="The Medium Blog" class="qj qm ql cx" src="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fill:128:128/1*AXYe3ZfLJvIjSW7fD3Eakg.jpeg" width="64" height="64" loading="lazy"/><div class="qj l ql qm fs n fr qk"></div></div></a></div><div class="j i d qn iy"><div class="ab"></div></div></div><div class="ab co qo"><div class="qp qq qr qs qt l"><a class="af ag ah aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at ab q" href="https://blog.medium.com/?source=post_page---post_publication_info--4c3c63fa41d2--------------------------------" rel="noopener follow"><h2 class="pw-author-name bf qv qw qx qy qz ra rb nj rc rd nn re rf nr rg rh bk"><span class="go qu">Published in The Medium Blog</span></h2></a><div class="ov ab ib"><div class="l iy"><span class="pw-follower-count bf b bg z du"><a class="af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar ir" rel="noopener follow" href="/followers?source=post_page---post_publication_info--4c3c63fa41d2--------------------------------">3.4M Followers</a></span></div><div class="bf b bg z du ab je"><span class="is l" aria-hidden="true"><span class="bf b bg z du">·</span></span><a class="af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar ir" rel="noopener follow" href="/it-happened-on-medium-october-2024-roundup-90d52a89688e?source=post_page---post_publication_info--4c3c63fa41d2--------------------------------">Last published <span>Nov 14, 2024</span></a></div></div><div class="ri l"><p class="bf b bg z bk"><span class="go">The official Medium blog.</span></p></div></div></div><div class="h k"><div class="ab"></div></div></div></div><div class="ab pw px py ja iz"><div class="pz qa qb qc qd qe qf qg qh qi ab cp"><div class="h k"><a tabindex="0" href="https://ev.medium.com/?source=post_page---post_author_info--4c3c63fa41d2--------------------------------" rel="noopener follow"><div class="l fj"><img alt="Ev Williams" class="l fd by id ic cx" src="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fill:96:96/1*Oa7aZoW8TPZrQjlKYzH5dg.jpeg" width="48" height="48" loading="lazy"/><div class="fr by l id ic fs n ay qk"></div></div></a></div><div class="j i d"><a tabindex="0" href="https://ev.medium.com/?source=post_page---post_author_info--4c3c63fa41d2--------------------------------" rel="noopener follow"><div class="l fj"><img alt="Ev Williams" class="l fd by ql qm cx" src="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fill:128:128/1*Oa7aZoW8TPZrQjlKYzH5dg.jpeg" width="64" height="64" loading="lazy"/><div class="fr by l ql qm fs n ay qk"></div></div></a></div><div class="j i d qn iy"><div class="ab"><span><button class="bf b bg z rj ox rk rl rm rn ro ev ew rp rq rr fa fb fc fd bm fe ff">Follow</button></span></div></div></div><div class="ab co qo"><div class="qp qq qr qs qt l"><a class="af ag ah aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at ab q" href="https://ev.medium.com/?source=post_page---post_author_info--4c3c63fa41d2--------------------------------" rel="noopener follow"><h2 class="pw-author-name bf qv qw qx qy qz ra rb nj rc rd nn re rf nr rg rh bk"><span class="go qu">Written by Ev Williams</span></h2></a><div class="ov ab ib"><div class="l iy"><span class="pw-follower-count bf b bg z du"><a class="af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar ir" href="https://ev.medium.com/followers?source=post_page---post_author_info--4c3c63fa41d2--------------------------------" rel="noopener follow">213K Followers</a></span></div><div class="bf b bg z du ab je"><span class="is l" aria-hidden="true"><span class="bf b bg z du">·</span></span><a class="af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar ir" href="https://medium.com/@ev/following?source=post_page---post_author_info--4c3c63fa41d2--------------------------------" rel="noopener follow">2.9K Following</a></div></div><div class="ri l"><p class="bf b bg z bk"><span class="go">Curious human, chairman @ Medium, partner @ Obvious Ventures</span></p></div></div></div><div class="h k"><div class="ab"><span><button class="bf b bg z rj ox rk rl rm rn ro ev ew rp rq rr fa fb fc fd bm fe ff">Follow</button></span></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="rs rt ru rv rw l"><div class="pt bh r rs rt rx ry rz"></div><div class="ab cb"><div class="ci bh ga gb gc gd"><div class="ab q cp"><h2 class="bf qv sa sb sc sd se sf sg sh si sj sk sl sm sn so bk">Responses (170)</h2><div class="ab sp"><div><div class="bm" aria-hidden="false"><a class="sq sr" href="https://policy.medium.com/medium-rules-30e5502c4eb4?source=post_page---post_responses--4c3c63fa41d2--------------------------------" rel="noopener follow" target="_blank"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="25" height="25" viewBox="0 0 25 25"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M11.987 5.036a.754.754 0 0 1 .914-.01c.972.721 1.767 1.218 2.6 1.543.828.322 1.719.485 2.887.505a.755.755 0 0 1 .741.757c-.018 3.623-.43 6.256-1.449 8.21-1.034 1.984-2.662 3.209-4.966 4.083a.75.75 0 0 1-.537-.003c-2.243-.874-3.858-2.095-4.897-4.074-1.024-1.951-1.457-4.583-1.476-8.216a.755.755 0 0 1 .741-.757c1.195-.02 2.1-.182 2.923-.503.827-.322 1.6-.815 2.519-1.535m.468.903c-.897.69-1.717 1.21-2.623 1.564-.898.35-1.856.527-3.026.565.037 3.45.469 5.817 1.36 7.515.884 1.684 2.25 2.762 4.284 3.571 2.092-.81 3.465-1.89 4.344-3.575.886-1.698 1.299-4.065 1.334-7.512-1.149-.039-2.091-.217-2.99-.567-.906-.353-1.745-.873-2.683-1.561m-.009 9.155a2.672 2.672 0 1 0 0-5.344 2.672 2.672 0 0 0 0 5.344m0 1a3.672 3.672 0 1 0 0-7.344 3.672 3.672 0 0 0 0 7.344m-1.813-3.777.525-.526.916.917 1.623-1.625.526.526-2.149 2.152z" clip-rule="evenodd"></path></svg></a></div></div></div></div><div class="ny l"><button class="bf b bg z bk ox ss st su ly lv ro ev ew ex sv sw sx fa sy sz ta tb tc fb fc fd bm fe ff">See all responses</button></div></div></div></div><div class="td te tf tg th l bx"><div class="h k j"><div class="pt bh ti tj"></div><div class="ab cb"><div class="ci bh ga gb gc gd"><div class="tk ab kw jb"><div class="tl tm l"><a class="af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at" href="https://help.medium.com/hc/en-us?source=post_page-----4c3c63fa41d2--------------------------------" rel="noopener follow"><p class="bf b dv z du">Help</p></a></div><div class="tl tm l"><a class="af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at" href="https://medium.statuspage.io/?source=post_page-----4c3c63fa41d2--------------------------------" rel="noopener follow"><p class="bf b dv z du">Status</p></a></div><div class="tl tm l"><a class="af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at" href="https://medium.com/about?autoplay=1&source=post_page-----4c3c63fa41d2--------------------------------" rel="noopener follow"><p class="bf b dv z du">About</p></a></div><div class="tl tm l"><a class="af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at" href="https://medium.com/jobs-at-medium/work-at-medium-959d1a85284e?source=post_page-----4c3c63fa41d2--------------------------------" rel="noopener follow"><p class="bf b dv z du">Careers</p></a></div><div class="tl tm l"><a class="af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at" href="pressinquiries@medium.com?source=post_page-----4c3c63fa41d2--------------------------------" rel="noopener follow"><p class="bf b dv z du">Press</p></a></div><div class="tl tm l"><a class="af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at" href="https://blog.medium.com/?source=post_page-----4c3c63fa41d2--------------------------------" rel="noopener follow"><p class="bf b dv z du">Blog</p></a></div><div class="tl tm l"><a class="af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at" href="https://policy.medium.com/medium-privacy-policy-f03bf92035c9?source=post_page-----4c3c63fa41d2--------------------------------" rel="noopener follow"><p class="bf b dv z du">Privacy</p></a></div><div class="tl tm l"><a class="af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at" href="https://policy.medium.com/medium-terms-of-service-9db0094a1e0f?source=post_page-----4c3c63fa41d2--------------------------------" rel="noopener follow"><p class="bf b dv z du">Terms</p></a></div><div class="tl tm l"><a class="af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at" href="https://speechify.com/medium?source=post_page-----4c3c63fa41d2--------------------------------" rel="noopener follow"><p class="bf b dv z du">Text to speech</p></a></div><div class="tl l"><a class="af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at" href="https://medium.com/business?source=post_page-----4c3c63fa41d2--------------------------------" rel="noopener follow"><p class="bf b dv z du">Teams</p></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><script>window.__BUILD_ID__="main-20241125-190609-795bd7e319"</script><script>window.__GRAPHQL_URI__ = "https://blog.medium.com/_/graphql"</script><script>window.__PRELOADED_STATE__ = {"algolia":{"queries":{}},"cache":{"experimentGroupSet":true,"reason":"","group":"enabled","tags":["group-edgeCachePosts","post-4c3c63fa41d2","user-268314bb7e7e","collection-15f753907972"],"serverVariantState":"44136fa355b3678a1146ad16f7e8649e94fb4fc21fe77e8310c060f61caaff8a","middlewareEnabled":true,"cacheStatus":"DYNAMIC","shouldUseCache":true,"vary":[],"lohpSummerUpsellEnabled":false,"publicationHierarchyEnabledWeb":false,"postBottomResponsesEnabled":false},"client":{"hydrated":false,"isUs":false,"isNativeMedium":false,"isSafariMobile":false,"isSafari":false,"isFirefox":false,"routingEntity":{"type":"COLLECTION","id":"15f753907972","explicit":true},"viewerIsBot":false},"debug":{"requestId":"cf651bdd-fbdf-4993-a026-53b69ceb3a72","hybridDevServices":[],"originalSpanCarrier":{"traceparent":"00-20a4b9b38089a27e73edf894f64f8938-a3eefd7f8ef741eb-01"}},"multiVote":{"clapsPerPost":{}},"navigation":{"branch":{"show":null,"hasRendered":null,"blockedByCTA":false},"hideGoogleOneTap":false,"hasRenderedAlternateUserBanner":null,"currentLocation":"https:\u002F\u002Fblog.medium.com\u002Fmedium-is-not-a-publishing-tool-4c3c63fa41d2","host":"blog.medium.com","hostname":"blog.medium.com","referrer":"","hasSetReferrer":false,"susiModal":{"step":null,"operation":"register"},"postRead":false,"partnerProgram":{"selectedCountryCode":null},"queryString":"","currentHash":""},"config":{"nodeEnv":"production","version":"main-20241125-190609-795bd7e319","target":"production","productName":"Medium","publicUrl":"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn-client.medium.com\u002Flite","authDomain":"medium.com","authGoogleClientId":"216296035834-k1k6qe060s2tp2a2jam4ljdcms00sttg.apps.googleusercontent.com","favicon":"production","glyphUrl":"https:\u002F\u002Fglyph.medium.com","branchKey":"key_live_ofxXr2qTrrU9NqURK8ZwEhknBxiI6KBm","algolia":{"appId":"MQ57UUUQZ2","apiKeySearch":"394474ced050e3911ae2249ecc774921","indexPrefix":"medium_","host":"-dsn.algolia.net"},"recaptchaKey":"6Lfc37IUAAAAAKGGtC6rLS13R1Hrw_BqADfS1LRk","recaptcha3Key":"6Lf8R9wUAAAAABMI_85Wb8melS7Zj6ziuf99Yot5","recaptchaEnterpriseKeyId":"6Le-uGgpAAAAAPprRaokM8AKthQ9KNGdoxaGUvVp","datadog":{"applicationId":"6702d87d-a7e0-42fe-bbcb-95b469547ea0","clientToken":"pub853ea8d17ad6821d9f8f11861d23dfed","rumToken":"pubf9cc52896502b9413b68ba36fc0c7162","context":{"deployment":{"target":"production","tag":"main-20241125-190609-795bd7e319","commit":"795bd7e3199e13224bc0a42c1be5cd7062eab1ad"}},"datacenter":"us"},"googleAnalyticsCode":"G-7JY7T788PK","googlePay":{"apiVersion":"2","apiVersionMinor":"0","merchantId":"BCR2DN6TV7EMTGBM","merchantName":"Medium","instanceMerchantId":"13685562959212738550"},"applePay":{"version":3},"signInWallCustomDomainCollectionIds":["3a8144eabfe3","336d898217ee","61061eb0c96b","138adf9c44c","819cc2aaeee0"],"mediumMastodonDomainName":"me.dm","mediumOwnedAndOperatedCollectionIds":["8a9336e5bb4","b7e45b22fec3","193b68bd4fba","8d6b8a439e32","54c98c43354d","3f6ecf56618","d944778ce714","92d2092dc598","ae2a65f35510","1285ba81cada","544c7006046e","fc8964313712","40187e704f1c","88d9857e584e","7b6769f2748b","bcc38c8f6edf","cef6983b292","cb8577c9149e","444d13b52878","713d7dbc99b0","ef8e90590e66","191186aaafa0","55760f21cdc5","9dc80918cc93","bdc4052bbdba","8ccfed20cbb2"],"tierOneDomains":["medium.com","thebolditalic.com","arcdigital.media","towardsdatascience.com","uxdesign.cc","codeburst.io","psiloveyou.xyz","writingcooperative.com","entrepreneurshandbook.co","prototypr.io","betterhumans.coach.me","theascent.pub"],"topicsToFollow":["d61cf867d93f","8a146bc21b28","1eca0103fff3","4d562ee63426","aef1078a3ef5","e15e46793f8d","6158eb913466","55f1c20aba7a","3d18b94f6858","4861fee224fd","63c6f1f93ee","1d98b3a9a871","decb52b64abf","ae5d4995e225","830cded25262"],"topicToTagMappings":{"accessibility":"accessibility","addiction":"addiction","android-development":"android-development","art":"art","artificial-intelligence":"artificial-intelligence","astrology":"astrology","basic-income":"basic-income","beauty":"beauty","biotech":"biotech","blockchain":"blockchain","books":"books","business":"business","cannabis":"cannabis","cities":"cities","climate-change":"climate-change","comics":"comics","coronavirus":"coronavirus","creativity":"creativity","cryptocurrency":"cryptocurrency","culture":"culture","cybersecurity":"cybersecurity","data-science":"data-science","design":"design","digital-life":"digital-life","disability":"disability","economy":"economy","education":"education","equality":"equality","family":"family","feminism":"feminism","fiction":"fiction","film":"film","fitness":"fitness","food":"food","freelancing":"freelancing","future":"future","gadgets":"gadgets","gaming":"gaming","gun-control":"gun-control","health":"health","history":"history","humor":"humor","immigration":"immigration","ios-development":"ios-development","javascript":"javascript","justice":"justice","language":"language","leadership":"leadership","lgbtqia":"lgbtqia","lifestyle":"lifestyle","machine-learning":"machine-learning","makers":"makers","marketing":"marketing","math":"math","media":"media","mental-health":"mental-health","mindfulness":"mindfulness","money":"money","music":"music","neuroscience":"neuroscience","nonfiction":"nonfiction","outdoors":"outdoors","parenting":"parenting","pets":"pets","philosophy":"philosophy","photography":"photography","podcasts":"podcast","poetry":"poetry","politics":"politics","privacy":"privacy","product-management":"product-management","productivity":"productivity","programming":"programming","psychedelics":"psychedelics","psychology":"psychology","race":"race","relationships":"relationships","religion":"religion","remote-work":"remote-work","san-francisco":"san-francisco","science":"science","self":"self","self-driving-cars":"self-driving-cars","sexuality":"sexuality","social-media":"social-media","society":"society","software-engineering":"software-engineering","space":"space","spirituality":"spirituality","sports":"sports","startups":"startup","style":"style","technology":"technology","transportation":"transportation","travel":"travel","true-crime":"true-crime","tv":"tv","ux":"ux","venture-capital":"venture-capital","visual-design":"visual-design","work":"work","world":"world","writing":"writing"},"defaultImages":{"avatar":{"imageId":"1*dmbNkD5D-u45r44go_cf0g.png","height":150,"width":150},"orgLogo":{"imageId":"7*V1_7XP4snlmqrc_0Njontw.png","height":110,"width":500},"postLogo":{"imageId":"bd978bb536350a710e8efb012513429cabdc4c28700604261aeda246d0f980b7","height":810,"width":1440},"postPreviewImage":{"imageId":"1*hn4v1tCaJy7cWMyb0bpNpQ.png","height":386,"width":579}},"collectionStructuredData":{"8d6b8a439e32":{"name":"Elemental","data":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","ethicsPolicy":"https:\u002F\u002Fhelp.medium.com\u002Fhc\u002Fen-us\u002Farticles\u002F360043290473","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn-images-1.medium.com\u002Fmax\u002F980\u002F1*9ygdqoKprhwuTVKUM0DLPA@2x.png","width":980,"height":159}}},"3f6ecf56618":{"name":"Forge","data":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","ethicsPolicy":"https:\u002F\u002Fhelp.medium.com\u002Fhc\u002Fen-us\u002Farticles\u002F360043290473","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn-images-1.medium.com\u002Fmax\u002F596\u002F1*uULpIlImcO5TDuBZ6lm7Lg@2x.png","width":596,"height":183}}},"ae2a65f35510":{"name":"GEN","data":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","ethicsPolicy":"https:\u002F\u002Fhelp.medium.com\u002Fhc\u002Fen-us\u002Farticles\u002F360043290473","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\u002F\u002Fmiro.medium.com\u002Fmax\u002F264\u002F1*RdVZMdvfV3YiZTw6mX7yWA.png","width":264,"height":140}}},"88d9857e584e":{"name":"LEVEL","data":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","ethicsPolicy":"https:\u002F\u002Fhelp.medium.com\u002Fhc\u002Fen-us\u002Farticles\u002F360043290473","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\u002F\u002Fmiro.medium.com\u002Fmax\u002F540\u002F1*JqYMhNX6KNNb2UlqGqO2WQ.png","width":540,"height":108}}},"7b6769f2748b":{"name":"Marker","data":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","ethicsPolicy":"https:\u002F\u002Fhelp.medium.com\u002Fhc\u002Fen-us\u002Farticles\u002F360043290473","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn-images-1.medium.com\u002Fmax\u002F383\u002F1*haCUs0wF6TgOOvfoY-jEoQ@2x.png","width":383,"height":92}}},"444d13b52878":{"name":"OneZero","data":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","ethicsPolicy":"https:\u002F\u002Fhelp.medium.com\u002Fhc\u002Fen-us\u002Farticles\u002F360043290473","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\u002F\u002Fmiro.medium.com\u002Fmax\u002F540\u002F1*cw32fIqCbRWzwJaoQw6BUg.png","width":540,"height":123}}},"8ccfed20cbb2":{"name":"Zora","data":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","ethicsPolicy":"https:\u002F\u002Fhelp.medium.com\u002Fhc\u002Fen-us\u002Farticles\u002F360043290473","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\u002F\u002Fmiro.medium.com\u002Fmax\u002F540\u002F1*tZUQqRcCCZDXjjiZ4bDvgQ.png","width":540,"height":106}}}},"embeddedPostIds":{"coronavirus":"cd3010f9d81f"},"sharedCdcMessaging":{"COVID_APPLICABLE_TAG_SLUGS":[],"COVID_APPLICABLE_TOPIC_NAMES":[],"COVID_APPLICABLE_TOPIC_NAMES_FOR_TOPIC_PAGE":[],"COVID_MESSAGES":{"tierA":{"text":"For more information on the novel coronavirus and Covid-19, visit cdc.gov.","markups":[{"start":66,"end":73,"href":"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cdc.gov\u002Fcoronavirus\u002F2019-nCoV"}]},"tierB":{"text":"Anyone can publish on Medium per our Policies, but we don’t fact-check every story. For more info about the coronavirus, see cdc.gov.","markups":[{"start":37,"end":45,"href":"https:\u002F\u002Fhelp.medium.com\u002Fhc\u002Fen-us\u002Fcategories\u002F201931128-Policies-Safety"},{"start":125,"end":132,"href":"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cdc.gov\u002Fcoronavirus\u002F2019-nCoV"}]},"paywall":{"text":"This article has been made free for everyone, thanks to Medium Members. For more information on the novel coronavirus and Covid-19, visit cdc.gov.","markups":[{"start":56,"end":70,"href":"https:\u002F\u002Fmedium.com\u002Fmembership"},{"start":138,"end":145,"href":"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cdc.gov\u002Fcoronavirus\u002F2019-nCoV"}]},"unbound":{"text":"This article is free for everyone, thanks to Medium Members. For more information on the novel coronavirus and Covid-19, visit cdc.gov.","markups":[{"start":45,"end":59,"href":"https:\u002F\u002Fmedium.com\u002Fmembership"},{"start":127,"end":134,"href":"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cdc.gov\u002Fcoronavirus\u002F2019-nCoV"}]}},"COVID_BANNER_POST_ID_OVERRIDE_WHITELIST":["3b31a67bff4a"]},"sharedVoteMessaging":{"TAGS":["politics","election-2020","government","us-politics","election","2020-presidential-race","trump","donald-trump","democrats","republicans","congress","republican-party","democratic-party","biden","joe-biden","maga"],"TOPICS":["politics","election"],"MESSAGE":{"text":"Find out more about the U.S. election results here.","markups":[{"start":46,"end":50,"href":"https:\u002F\u002Fcookpolitical.com\u002F2020-national-popular-vote-tracker"}]},"EXCLUDE_POSTS":["397ef29e3ca5"]},"embedPostRules":[],"recircOptions":{"v1":{"limit":3},"v2":{"limit":8}},"braintreeClientKey":"production_zjkj96jm_m56f8fqpf7ngnrd4","braintree":{"enabled":true,"merchantId":"m56f8fqpf7ngnrd4","merchantAccountId":{"usd":"AMediumCorporation_instant","eur":"amediumcorporation_EUR","cad":"amediumcorporation_CAD"},"publicKey":"ds2nn34bg2z7j5gd","braintreeEnvironment":"production","dashboardUrl":"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.braintreegateway.com\u002Fmerchants","gracePeriodDurationInDays":14,"mediumMembershipPlanId":{"monthly":"ce105f8c57a3","monthlyV2":"e8a5e126-792b-4ee6-8fba-d574c1b02fc5","monthlyWithTrial":"d5ee3dbe3db8","monthlyPremium":"fa741a9b47a2","yearly":"a40ad4a43185","yearlyV2":"3815d7d6-b8ca-4224-9b8c-182f9047866e","yearlyStaff":"d74fb811198a","yearlyWithTrial":"b3bc7350e5c7","yearlyPremium":"e21bd2c12166","monthlyOneYearFree":"e6c0637a-2bad-4171-ab4f-3c268633d83c","monthly25PercentOffFirstYear":"235ecc62-0cdb-49ae-9378-726cd21c504b","monthly20PercentOffFirstYear":"ba518864-9c13-4a99-91ca-411bf0cac756","monthly15PercentOffFirstYear":"594c029b-9f89-43d5-88f8-8173af4e070e","monthly10PercentOffFirstYear":"c6c7bc9a-40f2-4b51-8126-e28511d5bdb0","monthlyForStudents":"629ebe51-da7d-41fd-8293-34cd2f2030a8","yearlyOneYearFree":"78ba7be9-0d9f-4ece-aa3e-b54b826f2bf1","yearly25PercentOffFirstYear":"2dbb010d-bb8f-4eeb-ad5c-a08509f42d34","yearly20PercentOffFirstYear":"47565488-435b-47f8-bf93-40d5fbe0ebc8","yearly15PercentOffFirstYear":"8259809b-0881-47d9-acf7-6c001c7f720f","yearly10PercentOffFirstYear":"9dd694fb-96e1-472c-8d9e-3c868d5c1506","yearlyForStudents":"e29345ef-ab1c-4234-95c5-70e50fe6bc23","monthlyCad":"p52orjkaceei","yearlyCad":"h4q9g2up9ktt"},"braintreeDiscountId":{"oneMonthFree":"MONTHS_FREE_01","threeMonthsFree":"MONTHS_FREE_03","sixMonthsFree":"MONTHS_FREE_06","fiftyPercentOffOneYear":"FIFTY_PERCENT_OFF_ONE_YEAR"},"3DSecureVersion":"2","defaultCurrency":"usd","providerPlanIdCurrency":{"4ycw":"usd","rz3b":"usd","3kqm":"usd","jzw6":"usd","c2q2":"usd","nnsw":"usd","q8qw":"usd","d9y6":"usd","fx7w":"cad","nwf2":"cad"}},"paypalClientId":"AXj1G4fotC2GE8KzWX9mSxCH1wmPE3nJglf4Z2ig_amnhvlMVX87otaq58niAg9iuLktVNF_1WCMnN7v","paypal":{"host":"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.paypal.com:443","clientMode":"production","serverMode":"live","webhookId":"4G466076A0294510S","monthlyPlan":{"planId":"P-9WR0658853113943TMU5FDQA","name":"Medium Membership (Monthly) with setup fee","description":"Unlimited access to the best and brightest stories on Medium. Membership billed monthly."},"yearlyPlan":{"planId":"P-7N8963881P8875835MU5JOPQ","name":"Medium Membership (Annual) with setup fee","description":"Unlimited access to the best and brightest stories on Medium. Membership billed annually."},"oneYearGift":{"name":"Medium Membership (1 Year, Digital Gift Code)","description":"Unlimited access to the best and brightest stories on Medium. Gift codes can be redeemed at medium.com\u002Fredeem.","price":"50.00","currency":"USD","sku":"membership-gift-1-yr"},"oldMonthlyPlan":{"planId":"P-96U02458LM656772MJZUVH2Y","name":"Medium Membership (Monthly)","description":"Unlimited access to the best and brightest stories on Medium. Membership billed monthly."},"oldYearlyPlan":{"planId":"P-59P80963JF186412JJZU3SMI","name":"Medium Membership (Annual)","description":"Unlimited access to the best and brightest stories on Medium. Membership billed annually."},"monthlyPlanWithTrial":{"planId":"P-66C21969LR178604GJPVKUKY","name":"Medium Membership (Monthly) with setup fee","description":"Unlimited access to the best and brightest stories on Medium. Membership billed monthly."},"yearlyPlanWithTrial":{"planId":"P-6XW32684EX226940VKCT2MFA","name":"Medium Membership (Annual) with setup fee","description":"Unlimited access to the best and brightest stories on Medium. Membership billed annually."},"oldMonthlyPlanNoSetupFee":{"planId":"P-4N046520HR188054PCJC7LJI","name":"Medium Membership (Monthly)","description":"Unlimited access to the best and brightest stories on Medium. Membership billed monthly."},"oldYearlyPlanNoSetupFee":{"planId":"P-7A4913502Y5181304CJEJMXQ","name":"Medium Membership (Annual)","description":"Unlimited access to the best and brightest stories on Medium. Membership billed annually."},"sdkUrl":"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.paypal.com\u002Fsdk\u002Fjs"},"stripePublishableKey":"pk_live_7FReX44VnNIInZwrIIx6ghjl","log":{"json":true,"level":"info"},"imageUploadMaxSizeMb":25,"staffPicks":{"title":"Staff Picks","catalogId":"c7bc6e1ee00f"}},"session":{"xsrf":""}}</script><script>window.__APOLLO_STATE__ = {"ROOT_QUERY":{"__typename":"Query","collectionByDomainOrSlug({\"domainOrSlug\":\"blog.medium.com\"})":{"__ref":"Collection:15f753907972"},"viewer":null,"postResult({\"id\":\"4c3c63fa41d2\"})":{"__ref":"Post:4c3c63fa41d2"}},"ImageMetadata:":{"__typename":"ImageMetadata","id":"","alt":null,"focusPercentX":null,"focusPercentY":null,"originalHeight":null,"originalWidth":null},"Collection:15f753907972":{"__typename":"Collection","id":"15f753907972","favicon":{"__ref":"ImageMetadata:"},"customStyleSheet":null,"colorPalette":{"__typename":"ColorPalette","highlightSpectrum":{"__typename":"ColorSpectrum","backgroundColor":"#FFFFFFFF","colorPoints":[{"__typename":"ColorPoint","color":"#FFFFFFFF","point":0},{"__typename":"ColorPoint","color":"#FFE8F3E8","point":0.1},{"__typename":"ColorPoint","color":"#FFE8F3E8","point":0.2},{"__typename":"ColorPoint","color":"#FFD1E7D1","point":0.6},{"__typename":"ColorPoint","color":"#FFA3D0A2","point":1}]},"defaultBackgroundSpectrum":{"__typename":"ColorSpectrum","backgroundColor":"#FFFFFFFF","colorPoints":[{"__typename":"ColorPoint","color":"#FF1A8917","point":0},{"__typename":"ColorPoint","color":"#FF11800E","point":0.1},{"__typename":"ColorPoint","color":"#FF0F730C","point":0.2},{"__typename":"ColorPoint","color":"#FF095407","point":1}]},"tintBackgroundSpectrum":null},"domain":"blog.medium.com","slug":"blog","googleAnalyticsId":null,"editors":[{"__typename":"CollectionMastheadUserItem","user":{"__ref":"User:a32c340ea342"}},{"__typename":"CollectionMastheadUserItem","user":{"__ref":"User:adeddd83f452"}},{"__typename":"CollectionMastheadUserItem","user":{"__ref":"User:c388f85fe2b"}},{"__typename":"CollectionMastheadUserItem","user":{"__ref":"User:11ba4fd53be0"}},{"__typename":"CollectionMastheadUserItem","user":{"__ref":"User:3c6a3fa3a112"}},{"__typename":"CollectionMastheadUserItem","user":{"__ref":"User:9b63206eb11c"}},{"__typename":"CollectionMastheadUserItem","user":{"__ref":"User:a3f986d95358"}},{"__typename":"CollectionMastheadUserItem","user":{"__ref":"User:420c0057bf5f"}},{"__typename":"CollectionMastheadUserItem","user":{"__ref":"User:7cf52203990f"}},{"__typename":"CollectionMastheadUserItem","user":{"__ref":"User:64e62607a990"}},{"__typename":"CollectionMastheadUserItem","user":{"__ref":"User:58d4839b7777"}},{"__typename":"CollectionMastheadUserItem","user":{"__ref":"User:e7699e43350b"}},{"__typename":"CollectionMastheadUserItem","user":{"__ref":"User:e15a7f0e2b98"}},{"__typename":"CollectionMastheadUserItem","user":{"__ref":"User:d241d82049f5"}},{"__typename":"CollectionMastheadUserItem","user":{"__ref":"User:d5c3ddbb2482"}},{"__typename":"CollectionMastheadUserItem","user":{"__ref":"User:a870c0c34e46"}}],"name":"The Medium Blog","avatar":{"__ref":"ImageMetadata:1*AXYe3ZfLJvIjSW7fD3Eakg.jpeg"},"description":"The official Medium blog.","subscriberCount":3411861,"latestPostsConnection({\"paging\":{\"limit\":1}})":{"__typename":"PostConnection","posts":[{"__ref":"Post:90d52a89688e"}]},"viewerEdge":{"__ref":"CollectionViewerEdge:collectionId:15f753907972-viewerId:lo_2106f18a10d0"},"twitterUsername":null,"facebookPageId":null,"logo":{"__ref":"ImageMetadata:"}},"User:a32c340ea342":{"__typename":"User","id":"a32c340ea342","customDomainState":null,"hasSubdomain":false,"username":"MediumStaff"},"User:adeddd83f452":{"__typename":"User","id":"adeddd83f452"},"User:c388f85fe2b":{"__typename":"User","id":"c388f85fe2b"},"User:11ba4fd53be0":{"__typename":"User","id":"11ba4fd53be0"},"User:3c6a3fa3a112":{"__typename":"User","id":"3c6a3fa3a112"},"User:9b63206eb11c":{"__typename":"User","id":"9b63206eb11c"},"User:a3f986d95358":{"__typename":"User","id":"a3f986d95358"},"User:420c0057bf5f":{"__typename":"User","id":"420c0057bf5f"},"User:7cf52203990f":{"__typename":"User","id":"7cf52203990f"},"User:64e62607a990":{"__typename":"User","id":"64e62607a990"},"User:58d4839b7777":{"__typename":"User","id":"58d4839b7777"},"User:e7699e43350b":{"__typename":"User","id":"e7699e43350b"},"User:e15a7f0e2b98":{"__typename":"User","id":"e15a7f0e2b98"},"User:d241d82049f5":{"__typename":"User","id":"d241d82049f5"},"User:d5c3ddbb2482":{"__typename":"User","id":"d5c3ddbb2482"},"User:a870c0c34e46":{"__typename":"User","id":"a870c0c34e46"},"ImageMetadata:1*AXYe3ZfLJvIjSW7fD3Eakg.jpeg":{"__typename":"ImageMetadata","id":"1*AXYe3ZfLJvIjSW7fD3Eakg.jpeg"},"Post:90d52a89688e":{"__typename":"Post","id":"90d52a89688e","firstPublishedAt":1731608433700,"creator":{"__ref":"User:a32c340ea342"},"collection":{"__ref":"Collection:15f753907972"},"isSeries":false,"mediumUrl":"https:\u002F\u002Fblog.medium.com\u002Fit-happened-on-medium-october-2024-roundup-90d52a89688e","sequence":null,"uniqueSlug":"it-happened-on-medium-october-2024-roundup-90d52a89688e"},"MastodonAccount:ev@me.dm":{"__typename":"MastodonAccount","domain":"me.dm","username":"ev","id":"ev@me.dm"},"LinkedAccounts:268314bb7e7e":{"__typename":"LinkedAccounts","mastodon":{"__ref":"MastodonAccount:ev@me.dm"},"id":"268314bb7e7e"},"UserViewerEdge:userId:268314bb7e7e-viewerId:lo_2106f18a10d0":{"__typename":"UserViewerEdge","id":"userId:268314bb7e7e-viewerId:lo_2106f18a10d0","isFollowing":false,"isUser":false,"isMuting":false},"NewsletterV3:3c9c912d7a0f":{"__typename":"NewsletterV3","id":"3c9c912d7a0f","type":"NEWSLETTER_TYPE_AUTHOR","slug":"268314bb7e7e","name":"268314bb7e7e","collection":null,"user":{"__ref":"User:268314bb7e7e"}},"User:268314bb7e7e":{"__typename":"User","id":"268314bb7e7e","name":"Ev Williams","username":"ev","newsletterV3":{"__ref":"NewsletterV3:3c9c912d7a0f"},"linkedAccounts":{"__ref":"LinkedAccounts:268314bb7e7e"},"isSuspended":false,"imageId":"1*Oa7aZoW8TPZrQjlKYzH5dg.jpeg","mediumMemberAt":1487014628000,"verifications":{"__typename":"VerifiedInfo","isBookAuthor":false},"socialStats":{"__typename":"SocialStats","followerCount":213666,"followingCount":2713,"collectionFollowingCount":240},"customDomainState":{"__typename":"CustomDomainState","live":{"__typename":"CustomDomain","domain":"ev.medium.com"}},"hasSubdomain":true,"bio":"Curious human, chairman @ Medium, partner @ Obvious Ventures","isPartnerProgramEnrolled":true,"viewerEdge":{"__ref":"UserViewerEdge:userId:268314bb7e7e-viewerId:lo_2106f18a10d0"},"viewerIsUser":false,"postSubscribeMembershipUpsellShownAt":0,"membership":{"__ref":"Membership:fadfe40c-ae68-497a-b3d5-873ce88192db"},"allowNotes":true,"twitterScreenName":"ev"},"Membership:fadfe40c-ae68-497a-b3d5-873ce88192db":{"__typename":"Membership","tier":"FRIEND","id":"fadfe40c-ae68-497a-b3d5-873ce88192db"},"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_0":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"bc3cfa9cc44_0","name":"3643","type":"H3","href":null,"layout":null,"metadata":null,"text":"Medium is not a publishing tool","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":null,"mixtapeMetadata":null},"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_1":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"bc3cfa9cc44_1","name":"3f3b","type":"P","href":null,"layout":null,"metadata":null,"text":"Twelve years ago, I was heading Blogger at Google and frustrated we kept losing users to our competitors, like Movable Type from Six Apart. A common phenomenon at the time was that people would start blogging on Blogger — because it was free, popular, and easy to set up — and then “graduate” to more powerful tools.","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[{"__typename":"Markup","type":"A","start":32,"end":39,"href":"http:\u002F\u002Fblogger.com","anchorType":"LINK","userId":null,"linkMetadata":null},{"__typename":"Markup","type":"A","start":111,"end":123,"href":"https:\u002F\u002Fmovabletype.org\u002F","anchorType":"LINK","userId":null,"linkMetadata":null},{"__typename":"Markup","type":"A","start":129,"end":138,"href":"http:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FSix_Apart","anchorType":"LINK","userId":null,"linkMetadata":null}],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":null,"mixtapeMetadata":null},"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_2":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"bc3cfa9cc44_2","name":"229c","type":"P","href":null,"layout":null,"metadata":null,"text":"Movable Type, Greymatter, and, later, Wordpress, had a much higher barrier to entry (before WP had turnkey hosting). But once someone had discovered the joys of sharing thoughts on the Internet, they were willing to invest the effort in order to get the added features and flexibility that the install-on-your-server software afforded.","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[{"__typename":"Markup","type":"A","start":14,"end":24,"href":"http:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FGreymatter_%28software%29","anchorType":"LINK","userId":null,"linkMetadata":null}],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":null,"mixtapeMetadata":null},"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_3":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"bc3cfa9cc44_3","name":"986d","type":"P","href":null,"layout":null,"metadata":null,"text":"Understanding Blogger as we did at the time — as a software tool for creating and publishing web sites — we found ourselves in the race many software makers know well: Add features, get more users. Competitor adds more features, lose users. (Marketing and others factors have some effect, depending on the market. In blogging, that was minimal.)","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[{"__typename":"Markup","type":"STRONG","start":168,"end":241,"href":null,"anchorType":null,"userId":null,"linkMetadata":null}],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":null,"mixtapeMetadata":null},"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_4":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"bc3cfa9cc44_4","name":"2709","type":"P","href":null,"layout":null,"metadata":null,"text":"This game was particularly hard to play for us, since Blogger was hosted software (I mean, in the cloud), unlike most of the tools we were competing against. The operational and engineering challenge was that we had to build features that scaled to all our users. And when we wanted to change something, all the users had to accept that change.","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[{"__typename":"Markup","type":"EM","start":91,"end":103,"href":null,"anchorType":null,"userId":null,"linkMetadata":null}],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":null,"mixtapeMetadata":null},"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_5":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"bc3cfa9cc44_5","name":"675d","type":"P","href":null,"layout":null,"metadata":null,"text":"At the time, scaling centralized systems was a less-solved problem (even at far smaller numbers). More importantly, though it was easier due to this setup, we weren’t creating network effects. Though (I believe) we had more people publishing with Blogger than anything else, that didn’t make Blogger better. In fact, it made it worse, because it got slow and harder to add features to.","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":null,"mixtapeMetadata":null},"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_6":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"bc3cfa9cc44_6","name":"b97d","type":"P","href":null,"layout":null,"metadata":null,"text":"Today, we all understand the Internet business is not the software business. We strive to build networks and platforms. We compete on user experience (and marketing, to some extent). Features and flexibility are far down the list of competitive tactics, at least when you’re dealing in consumer software (make that, services).","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[{"__typename":"Markup","type":"EM","start":316,"end":324,"href":null,"anchorType":null,"userId":null,"linkMetadata":null}],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":null,"mixtapeMetadata":null},"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_7":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"bc3cfa9cc44_7","name":"f8b6","type":"P","href":null,"layout":null,"metadata":null,"text":"My next “blogging” tool had far fewer features — and way more users. No one moves where they tweet because some other tool has better formatting or profile customization. That’s because a tiny percentage of the value Twitter brings comes from the software itself. It’s all about the network — the connection with other users and the content they create.","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[{"__typename":"Markup","type":"A","start":0,"end":23,"href":"http:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002F","anchorType":"LINK","userId":null,"linkMetadata":null}],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":null,"mixtapeMetadata":null},"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_8":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"bc3cfa9cc44_8","name":"0a86","type":"P","href":null,"layout":null,"metadata":null,"text":"Chris Dixon had a great post a while back — Come for the tool, stay for the network — describing how, unlike Twitter, some platforms started out with tool value and transitioned into network value (which, ultimately, became a much bigger part of the equation, such is the case with Instagram). We had an inkling of this and were just getting started on the network piece of Blogger when I left 10+ years ago. It’s not that Blogger immediately suffered. Its ease-of-use continued to attract users in the tens of millions for many years. (According to Compete, blogspot.com had 63M visitors just this March.) But it was a pretty big missed opportunity for Google. (Don’t worry, they’ve done fine.)","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[{"__typename":"Markup","type":"A","start":44,"end":83,"href":"http:\u002F\u002Fcdixon.org\u002F2015\u002F01\u002F31\u002Fcome-for-the-tool-stay-for-the-network\u002F","anchorType":"LINK","userId":null,"linkMetadata":null},{"__typename":"Markup","type":"A","start":537,"end":604,"href":"https:\u002F\u002Fsiteanalytics.compete.com\u002Fblogspot.com\u002F#.VVzsk5NViko","anchorType":"LINK","userId":null,"linkMetadata":null}],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":null,"mixtapeMetadata":null},"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_9":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"bc3cfa9cc44_9","name":"5d0b","type":"P","href":null,"layout":null,"metadata":null,"text":"More importantly, it was a missed opportunity for people and ideas. Well-designed networks reduce friction and help good stuff be found. Connections allow the whole to become greater than the sum of the parts and allow new paths to discover and build meaning.","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":null,"mixtapeMetadata":null},"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_10":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"bc3cfa9cc44_10","name":"b65d","type":"P","href":null,"layout":null,"metadata":null,"text":"It will not surprise you that these observations reveal a lot about what we’re trying to do with Medium. We started out by building a great tool for writing. And it’s not even the editor itself that created the main value. It was the fact that you could easily write and share a story without the setup, overhead, or commitment level of starting a blog. It’s clear that there are many more people who occasionally have valuable perspectives to share than there are people who want to be “bloggers.” These people love writing on Medium, even if they see it as just a tool to create a nice page to point people to from Twitter.","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[{"__typename":"Markup","type":"A","start":132,"end":156,"href":"https:\u002F\u002Fmedium.com\u002Fabout\u002Fwriting-in-medium-df8eac9f4a5e","anchorType":"LINK","userId":null,"linkMetadata":null},{"__typename":"Markup","type":"EM","start":337,"end":352,"href":null,"anchorType":null,"userId":null,"linkMetadata":null}],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":null,"mixtapeMetadata":null},"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_11":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"bc3cfa9cc44_11","name":"16d0","type":"P","href":null,"layout":null,"metadata":null,"text":"However, that’s not the point. Or, at least, that’s not the end. In the last few months, we’ve shifted more of our attention on the product side from creating tool value to creating network value. What does this mean? Obviously, one form of that value is distribution. And there’s no doubt that something published on Medium has a higher likelihood to find an audience than the same thing published on an untrafficked island on the web.","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":null,"mixtapeMetadata":null},"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_12":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"bc3cfa9cc44_12","name":"bf94","type":"P","href":null,"layout":null,"metadata":null,"text":"But the more interesting bit of network value we’re starting to see a lot more of is qualitative feedback. Highlights is one of my favorite example of this:","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[{"__typename":"Markup","type":"A","start":107,"end":117,"href":"https:\u002F\u002Fmedium.com\u002F@e\u002Fhighlights-have-come-to-the-medium-app-this-is-going-to-be-big-822960e8653d","anchorType":"LINK","userId":null,"linkMetadata":null},{"__typename":"Markup","type":"EM","start":85,"end":105,"href":null,"anchorType":null,"userId":null,"linkMetadata":null}],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":null,"mixtapeMetadata":null},"MediaResource:ca842815371f22e74b628fc877a70f92":{"__typename":"MediaResource","id":"ca842815371f22e74b628fc877a70f92","iframeSrc":"","iframeHeight":0,"iframeWidth":0,"title":"Shane Mac on Twitter"},"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_13":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"bc3cfa9cc44_13","name":"2f83","type":"IFRAME","href":null,"layout":"INSET_CENTER","metadata":null,"text":"","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":{"__typename":"Iframe","mediaResource":{"__ref":"MediaResource:ca842815371f22e74b628fc877a70f92"}},"mixtapeMetadata":null},"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_14":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"bc3cfa9cc44_14","name":"0692","type":"P","href":null,"layout":null,"metadata":null,"text":"And it’s not just for the writer’s benefit. When I’m reading something and come across a highlight from someone I follow, it immediately makes the passage and, indeed, the whole piece, more meaningful and memorable:","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":null,"mixtapeMetadata":null},"ImageMetadata:1*fdWsCNAM8wJHPXqp88dI3A.png":{"__typename":"ImageMetadata","id":"1*fdWsCNAM8wJHPXqp88dI3A.png","originalHeight":1000,"originalWidth":2488,"focusPercentX":null,"focusPercentY":null,"alt":null},"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_15":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"bc3cfa9cc44_15","name":"5c66","type":"IMG","href":"https:\u002F\u002Fmedium.com\u002F@Scott_Wiener\u002Fmore-affordable-housing-not-a-housing-moratorium-is-what-we-need-in-san-francisco-15df3ce5b7cd","layout":"INSET_CENTER","metadata":{"__ref":"ImageMetadata:1*fdWsCNAM8wJHPXqp88dI3A.png"},"text":"","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":null,"mixtapeMetadata":null},"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_16":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"bc3cfa9cc44_16","name":"416a","type":"P","href":null,"layout":null,"metadata":null,"text":"Responses are the other big thing that’s leveraging both the power of the open Medium platform and the growing network tying it together.","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[{"__typename":"Markup","type":"A","start":0,"end":9,"href":"https:\u002F\u002Fmedium.com\u002Fthe-story\u002Fmedium-responses-fd6086781625","anchorType":"LINK","userId":null,"linkMetadata":null}],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":null,"mixtapeMetadata":null},"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_17":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"bc3cfa9cc44_17","name":"b7c4","type":"P","href":null,"layout":null,"metadata":null,"text":"When you read a thoughtful piece about micropayments that questions the approach of a company and then the co-founder of that company responds with a thoughtful counter, that’s pretty cool. This sort of thing is possible — and happens — in traditional blog comments, but the ability for Medium responses to live on their own gives both more motivation to invest in them (as a creator) and more likelihood the significant ones will be found. (For old-schoolers: Yes, like Trackbacks.)","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[{"__typename":"Markup","type":"A","start":14,"end":52,"href":"https:\u002F\u002Fmedium.com\u002F@wfederman\u002Fmicropayments-for-news-articles-are-a-terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad-idea-267930d95a3a","anchorType":"LINK","userId":null,"linkMetadata":null},{"__typename":"Markup","type":"A","start":134,"end":168,"href":"https:\u002F\u002Fmedium.com\u002F@AlexanderNL\u002Fthe-co-founder-of-blendle-here-the-startup-from-the-netherlands-you-mention-in-in-your-piece-we-fb764207b8ed","anchorType":"LINK","userId":null,"linkMetadata":null},{"__typename":"Markup","type":"A","start":471,"end":481,"href":"http:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FTrackback","anchorType":"LINK","userId":null,"linkMetadata":null}],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":null,"mixtapeMetadata":null},"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_18":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"bc3cfa9cc44_18","name":"118d","type":"P","href":null,"layout":null,"metadata":null,"text":"Here’s an interesting tidbit from an “initially skeptical” responder about responses that didn’t occur to me before: “I think that having to meet the bar required to hit publish on a piece helped make my words civil to the person who wrote the original article.”","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[{"__typename":"Markup","type":"A","start":34,"end":68,"href":"https:\u002F\u002Fmedium.com\u002F@duncan\u002Finitially-skeptical-im-now-bullish-on-responses-74f59d20887f","anchorType":"LINK","userId":null,"linkMetadata":null}],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":null,"mixtapeMetadata":null},"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_19":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"bc3cfa9cc44_19","name":"b387","type":"P","href":null,"layout":null,"metadata":null,"text":"We’re not done figuring all this stuff out. (Multi-part conversations for instance are a bit hard to follow.) But every day we’re seeing growth of this activity and great examples of the network power of Medium being realized.","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":null,"mixtapeMetadata":null},"MediaResource:9c66b88a6119fc1cb6e6459d2084c5d4":{"__typename":"MediaResource","id":"9c66b88a6119fc1cb6e6459d2084c5d4","iframeSrc":"","iframeHeight":0,"iframeWidth":0,"title":"mike kadziulis on Twitter"},"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_20":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"bc3cfa9cc44_20","name":"de6f","type":"IFRAME","href":null,"layout":"INSET_CENTER","metadata":null,"text":"","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":{"__typename":"Iframe","mediaResource":{"__ref":"MediaResource:9c66b88a6119fc1cb6e6459d2084c5d4"}},"mixtapeMetadata":null},"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_21":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"bc3cfa9cc44_21","name":"b211","type":"P","href":null,"layout":null,"metadata":null,"text":"That’s why I say Medium is not a publishing tool. It’s a network. A network of ideas that build off each other. And people. And GIFs (yeah, we have those, too — not our specialty, though, to be clear).","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[{"__typename":"Markup","type":"A","start":128,"end":132,"href":"https:\u002F\u002Fmedium.com\u002F@lightningboltz\u002F-784467f1c835","anchorType":"LINK","userId":null,"linkMetadata":null}],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":null,"mixtapeMetadata":null},"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_22":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"bc3cfa9cc44_22","name":"ea3e","type":"P","href":null,"layout":null,"metadata":null,"text":"Let us know what you think by writing a response (short or long) below and\u002For highlighting your favorite parts, above.","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":null,"mixtapeMetadata":null},"CollectionViewerEdge:collectionId:15f753907972-viewerId:lo_2106f18a10d0":{"__typename":"CollectionViewerEdge","id":"collectionId:15f753907972-viewerId:lo_2106f18a10d0","isEditor":false,"isMuting":false},"PostViewerEdge:postId:4c3c63fa41d2-viewerId:lo_2106f18a10d0":{"__typename":"PostViewerEdge","shouldIndexPostForExternalSearch":true,"id":"postId:4c3c63fa41d2-viewerId:lo_2106f18a10d0"},"Tag:medium":{"__typename":"Tag","id":"medium","displayTitle":"Medium","normalizedTagSlug":"medium"},"Tag:lessons-learned":{"__typename":"Tag","id":"lessons-learned","displayTitle":"Lessons Learned","normalizedTagSlug":"lessons-learned"},"Tag:blogger":{"__typename":"Tag","id":"blogger","displayTitle":"Blogger","normalizedTagSlug":"blogger"},"Post:4c3c63fa41d2":{"__typename":"Post","id":"4c3c63fa41d2","collection":{"__ref":"Collection:15f753907972"},"content({\"postMeteringOptions\":{}})":{"__typename":"PostContent","isLockedPreviewOnly":false,"bodyModel":{"__typename":"RichText","sections":[{"__typename":"Section","name":"58f5","startIndex":0,"textLayout":null,"imageLayout":null,"backgroundImage":null,"videoLayout":null,"backgroundVideo":null},{"__typename":"Section","name":"f453","startIndex":10,"textLayout":null,"imageLayout":null,"backgroundImage":null,"videoLayout":null,"backgroundVideo":null}],"paragraphs":[{"__ref":"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_0"},{"__ref":"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_1"},{"__ref":"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_2"},{"__ref":"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_3"},{"__ref":"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_4"},{"__ref":"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_5"},{"__ref":"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_6"},{"__ref":"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_7"},{"__ref":"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_8"},{"__ref":"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_9"},{"__ref":"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_10"},{"__ref":"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_11"},{"__ref":"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_12"},{"__ref":"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_13"},{"__ref":"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_14"},{"__ref":"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_15"},{"__ref":"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_16"},{"__ref":"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_17"},{"__ref":"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_18"},{"__ref":"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_19"},{"__ref":"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_20"},{"__ref":"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_21"},{"__ref":"Paragraph:bc3cfa9cc44_22"}]},"validatedShareKey":"","shareKeyCreator":null},"creator":{"__ref":"User:268314bb7e7e"},"inResponseToEntityType":null,"isLocked":false,"isMarkedPaywallOnly":false,"lockedSource":"LOCKED_POST_SOURCE_NONE","mediumUrl":"https:\u002F\u002Fblog.medium.com\u002Fmedium-is-not-a-publishing-tool-4c3c63fa41d2","primaryTopic":null,"topics":[],"isPublished":true,"latestPublishedVersion":"bc3cfa9cc44","visibility":"PUBLIC","postResponses":{"__typename":"PostResponses","count":170},"clapCount":4136,"allowResponses":true,"isLimitedState":false,"title":"Medium is not a publishing tool","isSeries":false,"sequence":null,"uniqueSlug":"medium-is-not-a-publishing-tool-4c3c63fa41d2","socialTitle":"","socialDek":"","canonicalUrl":"","metaDescription":"","latestPublishedAt":1443640600058,"readingTime":4.275471698113208,"previewContent":{"__typename":"PreviewContent","subtitle":"Twelve years ago, I was heading Blogger at Google and frustrated we kept losing users to our competitors, like Movable Type from Six Apart…"},"previewImage":{"__ref":"ImageMetadata:"},"isShortform":false,"seoTitle":"","firstPublishedAt":1432175358382,"updatedAt":1529484672682,"shortformType":"SHORTFORM_TYPE_LINK","seoDescription":"","viewerEdge":{"__ref":"PostViewerEdge:postId:4c3c63fa41d2-viewerId:lo_2106f18a10d0"},"isSuspended":false,"license":"ALL_RIGHTS_RESERVED","tags":[{"__ref":"Tag:medium"},{"__ref":"Tag:lessons-learned"},{"__ref":"Tag:blogger"}],"isNewsletter":false,"statusForCollection":"APPROVED","pendingCollection":null,"detectedLanguage":"en","wordCount":1080,"layerCake":0,"responsesLocked":false}}</script><script>window.__MIDDLEWARE_STATE__={"session":{"xsrf":""},"cache":{"cacheStatus":"HIT"}}</script><script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/manifest.de931270.js"></script><script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/9865.1496d74a.js"></script><script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/main.3947a59c.js"></script><script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/instrumentation.d9108df7.chunk.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/reporting.ff22a7a5.chunk.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/9120.5df29668.chunk.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/5049.d1ead72d.chunk.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/4810.6318add7.chunk.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/6618.db187378.chunk.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/2707.b0942613.chunk.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/9977.5b3eb23a.chunk.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/8599.1ab63137.chunk.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/5250.9f9e01d2.chunk.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/6349.b071a958.chunk.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/2648.26563adf.chunk.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/8393.826a25fb.chunk.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/7079.67349d50.chunk.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/3735.afb7e926.chunk.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/5642.a2d9f6a1.chunk.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/6546.cd03f950.chunk.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/6834.08de95de.chunk.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/7346.72622eb9.chunk.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/2420.2a5e2d95.chunk.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/839.ca7937c2.chunk.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/7975.d195c6f1.chunk.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/2106.21ff89d3.chunk.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/7394.3d049572.chunk.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/2961.00a48598.chunk.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/8204.c4082863.chunk.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/4391.59acaed3.chunk.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/PostPage.MainContent.c8a11795.chunk.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/8414.6565ad5f.chunk.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/3974.8d3e0217.chunk.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/2527.a0afad8a.chunk.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn-client.medium.com/lite/static/js/PostResponsesContent.36c2ecf4.chunk.js"></script><script>window.main();</script><script>(function(){function c(){var b=a.contentDocument||a.contentWindow.document;if(b){var d=b.createElement('script');d.innerHTML="window.__CF$cv$params={r:'8e8f969bdf819caa',t:'MTczMjY4Mzk4MC4wMDAwMDA='};var a=document.createElement('script');a.nonce='';a.src='/cdn-cgi/challenge-platform/scripts/jsd/main.js';document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(a);";b.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(d)}}if(document.body){var a=document.createElement('iframe');a.height=1;a.width=1;a.style.position='absolute';a.style.top=0;a.style.left=0;a.style.border='none';a.style.visibility='hidden';document.body.appendChild(a);if('loading'!==document.readyState)c();else if(window.addEventListener)document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded',c);else{var e=document.onreadystatechange||function(){};document.onreadystatechange=function(b){e(b);'loading'!==document.readyState&&(document.onreadystatechange=e,c())}}}})();</script></body></html>