Excellent analogy, Tien! And, yes, the money reward geared us to earnings more than creativity and the joy of writing. But, I think it also gave many the freedom and encouragement to write.

Before the MPP, I was writing a few times a week. After, joining MPP (and I was a very late joiner), I was encouraged to write more, to break through time constraints, and to start two publications. I don’t know if I would have created those publications if not for MPP and the feeling that I could grow my writing into a steady parttime source of income. When you work 50+ hours a week at a regular job, it sometimes takes someone dangling a carrot to commit what little energy and time you have left to another “job”, although I never truly thought of Medium as a job, more like playing the lottery and winning a few bucks regularly.

And, yes, you are one of the most unpredictable writers here, Tien — here today, gone tomorrow! I am simply happy you are here NOW and took the time to respond to this piece.

I am enjoying all the comments and different opinions on the MPP changes. Thanks for being part of the conversation!