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September 3, 2013

Medium – A Publishing Platform For Everyone

ss-medium
Medium picks up where Twitter left off. The online publishing platform offers writers a place to share thoughts and stories that can’t be communicated in 140 characters or less. Because Medium is a collaborative platform, users can write alongside their friends and create group documents chalk full of great ideas.

Register and sign-in to Medium with your Twitter account to get started reading and recommending posts on the platform. Medium is still in the process of inviting new users to create their own content, but you can read the content written by other contributors right away. When the mood finally strikes and you’ve got something to say, write it in Medium just like you would a traditional blog CMS. Highlight text to add formatting elements, and use keyboard shortcuts to make editing a breeze. When your post is complete, hit “Publish.” You’ll immediately be able to share the provided link with all your friends online.

People who like what you’ve written on Medium can click “Recommend” to share it with their friends, or they can leave their own notes as a way to submit comments, criticisms, and general feedback. Medium also offers pre-publishing collaboration tools, allowing you to solicit feedback from your friends by sharing a “secret link” that only they can view before your posts have gone live on Medium’s public platform.

Practical Uses:

  • Tell a great story without being confined by word limits
  • Discover interesting articles written by unknown authors
  • Easily share information with everyone in the world
  • Get your writing noticed by influential editors

Insider Tips:

  • Click “Recommend” to share a post with friends
  • Set up RSS feeds to follow individual collections and authors
  • Solicit feedback on your posts prior to publication
  • Anyone who offered pre-publishing feedback on a post is listed in the “Thanks to” section of that post

What we liked:

  • Users can give their feedback to authors by leaving notes on posts
  • Recommended posts show up at the bottom of a user’s profile page
  • Writers can add their posts to specific collections
  • Medium makes it easy to share posts on social media

What we didn’t like:

  • Users can’t yet publish from their smartphones or tablets

Alternatives:

Company Info:

  • Launched: August 2012
  • Privately Held
  • Headquarters: San Francisco, California
  • Founded by: Obvious Corp.
  • Web site: http://medium.com

Costs:

  • Free

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