Last Thursday I published a post on Medium. It’s a new site for long-form publishing. Authors can post to a variety of collections. Readers can leave notes for authors. It’s a great place if you enjoy the exchange of ideas.
Medium is also exclusive. Eventually everyone’s going to be able to publish their own content but for now you need to be invited.
It’s totally unfair. There is no formula that dictates who gets invited and who doesn’t. It’s based on subjectivity and personal bias rather than merit. Medium still hasn’t invited tons of writers that would knock me out in the first round with a weak-handed jab.
Nonetheless, it’s intriguing. We can’t figure out exactly where the line is drawn, so it’s worth paying attention to. Jokes work that way. They’re funny because you can’t see the punchline coming.
If you haven’t been invited you might wonder what you’re missing. You’re more likely to want it now that you can’t have it. Perhaps they know something you don’t. Your primal need to belong kicks into overdrive. The adverse is true if you have been invited. It doesn’t mean you’re better, but it sure feels special.
You can’t have insiders without having outsiders. Years ago Tiffany & Co. pulled a lower-priced necklace for younger girls that was selling like hot cakes. Smart. Their name means what it does only because not everyone can have it.
The same goes for you. In order to define who we are we must also define who we are not. As business owners, salespeople, job candidates and friends, who (and what) we leave out is just as important as who (and what) we leave in. The more you stand against, the more you stand for. Sometimes those things are tangible. Sometimes they’re not.
So long as they’re there.
In whatever you do, exclude more of the wrong stuff and you’ll include more of the right stuff.
P.S. If you want to write on Medium, just let them know you’re interested like I did. 🙂
Photo credit: istolethetv
