Evan Williams, a seasoned digital entrepreneur and co-founder of Twitter , has declared his intention to leave his position as CEO of Medium . Medium is an online platform that allows anyone to publish articles and voice their opinions online. When Medium was first introduced in the market in 2011, Williams had described it as "a beautiful space for reading and writing - a little else".
However, Medium did not turn out how Williams had imagined it. It was very different from the other newer publishing platforms like Substack, which has started to gain traction in recent years. Nevertheless, in a post by Evan Williams, he stated that this move should not be taken negatively. He said that Medium would continue to grow as it is. He appreciated his team and added that the current team at the firm is competent and that he is excited to see what they come up with in the future. Evan Williams will be replaced by Tony Stubblebine, the chief executive at Coach.me, an online coaching company.
Since its inception, Medium has sought to attract intelligent writing, the kind of which might be neglected in a society where social media platforms trade in trending, frequently false news. However, it has had trouble developing a viable business plan for the venue and its writers.
Although writers are paid based on how much time users spend reading their content, Medium has experimented with several sweeteners to increase their pay. At one point, users paid $50 per year for access to an unlimited number of articles from individual authors and poets. More recently, Medium introduced a referral programme in August 2021 that gives writers half of the new subscriber revenue that their content generates.
Most of the information is still accessible without a fee; the company first introduced a subscription model in 2017. Williams, a pioneer in podcasting and blogging and a well-known co-founder of Twitter who served on the board of directors through 2019, isn't making himself accessible for interviews. He did, however, write in a post that he intends to spend more time with his family and friends in the next months or years as well as take the time to learn subjects he previously didn't have the opportunity to learn.
Williams, who is also a venture partner with the venture firm Obvious Ventures, said he plans to launch a new "holding company/research lab" that can be helpful to Medium and other companies.
Williams is one of the recent most well-known CEOs to leave their position in the past year after serving for a very long time. Since then, a few more founders have resigned as CEO, including TheRealReal founder Julie Wainwright and JD.com founder Richard Liu. Jack Dorsey , a co-founder of Twitter, resigned as CEO of the social media platform for the second time in late November of last year. In addition, Ben Silbermann, a co-founder of Pinterest, resigned as CEO of the business late last month.
Nevertheless, with regards to the future of Medium, many media technology consultants seem skeptical. Some have speculated that the possibility of the Medium simply succeeding by placing quality writing first isn't very economical for the firm.
About Medium
Medium is an open platform which allows thinkers, experts and undiscovered voices to share their writings on any topic. Medium's social publishing platform unites opinions and ideas on important subjects. The business, which is based in San Francisco, California, was established in 2012.The founders of the firm include Alex Vikati, Biz Stone , Bridgett Moore , Edwin Ong and Jason Goldman
