Writer, linguist, content creator & dad of 4. I write about tech, menswear, fashion, social media, life lessons, writing, blogging, nutrition, fitness, and anything that pops into my mind. Connect with me: burkr.de!
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Don’t tell anyone else
Digitally speaking, I’m a failed minimalist. Despite my efforts to not be on every social media platform out there, I’m on a few. Mostly the writing ones. Also for excessive consumption. Too often really.
If you ever wanted to find me, these are the places to visit:
First and foremost, I’m on Twitter. Funny, because in the past, I had viewed Twitter as the least attractive social media platform. I hadn’t really figured out Twitter before February 2021. Now, it’s my main destination for all things social and digital.
Say hi if you like, click here.
YouTube
I don’t know whether…
“Subscribe to my email list”, is the way to go now
You’ve read the email. For a while now, at the top of your profile, you’ve seen an email button. With a click, your readers could sign up for your Medium-based newsletter. Now, this has been taken to the next level.
Email subscription page
Connect off Medium. Direct readers to a dedicated and optional landing page where they can sign up.
That’s a quote from Medium’s email I received this morning.
A new way to build a newsletter. Great!
That was my first reaction. And it is great. With a dedicated landing page that you’ll find under your usual Medium domain plus the addition…
What’s next
It’s time. The last bonus payment will be hand out by Medium in the coming hours. I am a little sad about this. These bonus payments over the last 4 months did encourage the writing spirit, didn’t they? They gave us a goal to work toward.
As we know, next on Medium’s list is the writers challenge. Another great opportunity to make money. But just for a few writers. The really important question to ask right now is:
What comes next?
What will happen after this challenge? Will there be another one? Is this the future for Medium? A challenge-based system like Vocal…
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Writers Challenge, 2K followers, and new platforms
June was a hell of a month for me. July a little quieter but still fantastic. I’ve been busy writing here but also branching out to a couple of other platforms.
Reuniting with old friends
I joined (or rejoined to be exact) Vocal Media in July. A platform that seems to divide the minds. Some love it, some hate it. I’m going to try it for a longer period of time before picking a side here.
Tech geeks
In July, I started writing on Hashnode. It’s a free blogging platform for developers and tech posts. Since I regularly write about tech, this fits nicely.
Challenges
Do you have to self-publish to enter the…
You’ve heard it. Medium will be handing out $50,000 for the winner of their writing challenge. Actually, in total, it’s going to be $100,000.
$50,000 for the overall winner, $10,000 each for the winner of the 4 writing prompts, and $100 each for 100 honorable mentions.
That’s $100,000. It pales, however, in comparison to the bonus system where Medium paid out $575,000 a month. $500 for the top 1000 writers, $100 for places 1001–1500, and $50 for places 1501–2000.
My 3 main concerns:
Obviously, I’m not a native English speaker. It isn’t hard to tell. My English is fine at best. Nowhere near that of a native speaker. Not to mention that of a prolific writer. But does this matter?
I’ve thought about this question several times over the last few months. Medium, in essence, is an English platform. I’ve seen entries in foreign languages here and there, for example, Spanish or even German articles.
A few years back, Medium made a real effort to establish a German community here. With German editors. …
Even though it features Natalie Portman
Yesterday evening (in Germany) I read a post by Medium. 3 minutes about a new Medium writers challenge in August that gives participants the chance to win $50,000.
Wow.
Shortly afterward, I enjoyed reading Kristina God’s thoughts about it in her post “You Can Win $50,000 On Medium”.
Great news was my first reaction to all of this. And it is.
But I thought about it some more and found a few problematic aspects about this new challenge.
What is it?
This challenge — which is judged by Natalie Portman and other inspiring writers like Roxane Gay, Saeed Jones, Susan Orlean — boasts…
