Ev Williams, Is Medium Ageist?

Why Would A Platform That Champions Writers Exclude Anyone…Especially Seasoned Pros

READERS OF THIS BLOG: This piece appeared first on Medium.   In the original version, which I hope you’ll read there if you’re a member, I tagged several writers whose work I’ve discovered over the last year and who, I think, are no longer young!  I hope they weigh in–and you, too.

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After writing for Medium this past year, I received an email on April 19th and a follow-up reminder on 23rd, asking me to participate in a survey that would help make Medium “a better place” for writers. Little did I suspect that the author of that email didn’t mean me.

The Email Got My Attention!

How great, I thought. Ev Williams and others at the top are willing to listen.

The email promised that the survey would only take me 15 or 20 minutes to complete. I was willing to give it a half hour.

The “carrot” — a $5 Amazon Gift Card — was sweet and, as “an 
incentive,” naïve. I was eager to answer, but not because of a $5-reward that would be sent, 4–6 weeks later. 

The good news: “they” were asking for writers’ input:

…looking to learn about things like your approach towards writing, your hopes for the future, and your experiences sharing writing on Medium and elsewhere.

A survey promises insight and synthesis

I was willing to talk about my hopes and recount my sometimes exhilarating, sometimes frustrating experiences with this brave new world of online publishing. But I wanted most to hear other writers’ perspectives and how they manage.

Granted, on any given day, a least one —if not a hundred — Medium writers upload a story about why they write, how they do it, what tricks they’ve learned along the way. I read some of them, mostly out of curiosity. Even after four decades, I hope to learn something new — and sometimes I do.

Still, a survey is different. The email from Medium gives me hope that they might pull it together — illuminate what writers want versus what they actually get. A survey might give us a better sense of the gestalt of this place and perhaps bigger insights.

But I wasn’t able to participate. 

I tried. I clicked the link. I entered my name and email. I can’t remember whether I was then asked to enter my age or my date of birth, but that was as far as I got.

The next screen told me I was too old. Well, not exactly. I don’t remember the actual words. But they were something like, “The information you provided disqualifies you.”

I wish I had the presence of mind at that moment to take a screen shot — or to remember exactly how my rejection was worded. I was in shock. 

I figured it must have been a mistake. Why would I be excluded? I probably entered something wrong. 

I exited and reloaded the email. As I clicked on the link again, I hoped they would let me take this survey this time. 

No second chances. 

An error screen appears: “ClientID00092050” already tried to get in. 

I’m almost embarrassed to admit: I even tried again a few days, using the link in the follow-up email, and once more before sitting down to write this piece. Just to be sure. Same result.

Is It Ageism? 

I only entered three items on the only screen I could access: first and last name and email address. 

Maybe it was my name. Has Medium decided to exclude all Melindas from the survey? Were Melinda Gates, Melinda Crow, and Melinda Briana Epler also disqualified?

Or perhaps the ban was on writers with four-lettered last names. Yes, I’m stretching. 

My AOL email address might have been the problem, too. A few years ago, Mike Pence was vilified in Forbes for using his. It’s a widespread assumption that AOL is decidedly unhip. Even AOL acknowledges that its users choose “classic” over “trendy.”

Then again, we all know what words like unhip and classic are code for: old.

So if I wasn’t barred for my name or my email address, the only other piece of information I gave was my birthdate, my age. 

It’s hard not to conclude that Medium excludes me — and writers like me — from participating in their survey because of how long we’ve been alive — not how well we write?

Ev Williams, I Don’t Know You, but Hear my Plea 

I’m only one of seven gazillion writers on Medium. On a good day, it’s not easy to be found here. But, Mr. Williams, I hope you read this piece. 

I don’t know you, only “of” you. Still, I have made some assumptions: You do your own writing. You’re good with words, and I usually like what you say. You seem fair, honorable; your sensibilities generally jive with my own. 

Sure, I know you’re in this to make money, and you’ve been phenomenally successful. I’m not that new to online publishing! I also realize I have a lot to learn about the Medium ecosystem.

Still, I’m wondering, why — as the evidence in my case seems to suggest — your survey sets an upward age-barrier for writer feedback? When does “old” set in here — 40? 50? 60? 

Here’s Where I Expect to Encounter Ageism 

• The work place 
• The fashion world (unless you’re a celebrity, a former model or Iris Apfel 
• Magazine ads (unless the company is hawking erectile dysfunction drugs or arthritis medicine). 

But on Medium — a place for writers???? 

Unless our brains fail us, writers (unlike athletes or surgeons) get better with age. Not just at the craft, but at the thinking. I’m a better writer today than when I wrote my first article for New York magazine in the late 70s.

So, tell me: Why would a platform that professes to champion writers deliberately exclude anyone, especially the most experienced?