Explore the new blogging platform Medium

Medium

When he stepped aside as chief executive of Twitter in 2010, [Evan] Williams wanted to get back into blogging and found the tools creaky and insufficient. His is not an uninformed opinion. Before he started Twitter, he developed and sold the blogging software Blogger to Google. His entire career has been built on creating tools that let people make their thoughts public. 

“It feels like these blogging tools haven’t really evolved in a decade,” he said. “When I looked at that, I thought, ‘Do I really want to get into this again? Am I just stuck in a rut?’ I did some investing and incubating, but came back around to this as what I wanted to do.”

Reference: A Platform and Blogging Tool, Medium Charms Writers.

For me, it's largely a give-and-take.  I love Google, by and large, for its superb business strategy and model, its innovative reach in media and technology, and its suite of free products that I am immersed in: from Search and Gmail, to Google+ and YouTube, to Android and Maps.  But my reaction to Williams' points above (italicized) is: Tell me about it, man.

Tumblr is a user-friendly, convenient blogging platform, and some of my projects are housed over five profiles.  But it simply doesn't have the versatility of Blogger, so even more of my projects - 13, in fact, including Ahrvey - are right here.  In moments of frustration and skepticism, I wonder how Google is going to eliminate traffic accidents completely with its self-driving car concept, if it does not seem interested in the far less complex details of Blogger.

The give side of Blogger is that it is clunky.  For example, it can be very difficult to get the format that I want, such basics as font size, line spacing, and sizing videos.  In fact I came to appreciate the superb quality, ease and range of Microsoft Word, so much more after diving into Blogger two years ago.  Mind you, I still think Blogger is the best in class.

[Williams] started Medium, a place where stories are made and read. It’s a blogging platform, and anyone can contribute, with writing on all manner of topics. The posts that gain attention, often on Twitter, are displayed prominently and gain more traction as readers and contributors weigh in. The design is responsive, meaning that no matter what you are reading on — phone, tablet or computer — it always looks pretty.

But with the advent of Medium, I have an alternative to explore.  I do have a handful of stories that I haven't posted anywhere, yet.  So let's see.  Give Medium a go, too, if you like, and let me know how it goes: DrRonontheInternet@gmail.com.