History of Medium (website) in Timeline

Medium is an online publishing platform launched in August 2012 by Evan Williams and owned by A Medium Corporation. It is considered social journalism, blending amateur and professional contributions. Medium hosts a mix of individual blogs, publications, and exclusive content, making it a popular blogging platform.

August 2012: Medium Launch

Medium, an online publishing platform, was launched in August 2012 by Evan Williams, co-founder of Twitter.

2012: Encouraging Long-Form Content

Created by Evan Williams, Medium's goal in 2012 was to encourage users to publish longer posts, addressing the limitations of Twitter's character count at the time.

2012: Medium Launch

Medium was launched in 2012, receiving positive reviews from publications like The Guardian, which enjoyed the curated collections. TechCrunch speculated that the platform's name might come from its positioning as a "medium"-sized platform between Twitter and traditional blogging platforms.

April 2013: Medium's Early Growth

By April 2013, Medium had grown to employ 30 full-time staff. While still in its early stages, the platform showed promise as a space for thoughtful content.

2013: Criticism from Writers

In 2013, Medium faced criticism from writers who expressed confusion about the platform's purpose and what it aimed to provide.

March 2015: Prioritizing Reading Time Over Traffic

In March 2015, Medium focused on user engagement, emphasizing the time visitors spent reading (1.5 million hours) over audience size.

May 2015: Editorial Budget Cuts and Publication Exodus

May 2015 marked a period of turmoil as Medium implemented deep cuts to its editorial budget, leading to layoffs and the departure of several publications from the platform.

July 2015: Sarawak Report Publishes on Medium

The Sarawak Report began hosting articles on Medium in July 2015 after its website was blocked by the Malaysian government for publishing allegations of corruption against the Prime Minister.

2015: Estimated User Base

In 2015, Medium had an estimated user base of 25 million.

January 2016: Medium Receives Takedown Notice

Medium received a takedown notice from the Malaysian government in January 2016 regarding an article published by the Sarawak Report, which contained allegations of corruption linked to the Prime Minister.

January 27, 2016: Medium Blocked in Malaysia

On January 27, 2016, Medium was blocked in Malaysia after refusing to remove the Sarawak Report article. Medium's legal team had requested further information and evidence from the Malaysian government but ultimately refused to comply without a court order.

February 23, 2016: Hosting The Ringer

On February 23, 2016, Medium announced a deal to host Bill Simmons' new website, The Ringer.

April 2016: Medium Blocked in China

Medium was blocked in mainland China in April 2016, following the publication of leaked information from the Panama Papers on the platform.

2016: Estimated Monthly Visitors

In 2016, Medium had an estimated 60 million monthly visitors.

2016: Acquisition of Embedly and User Statistics

Medium acquired Embedly in 2016, a platform for rich media embedding. The platform saw significant growth with 7.5 million posts published and 60 million readers.

2016: Hiring of Human Parts Founder

Medium hired the founder of Human Parts, a publication focused on personal stories, in 2016.

2016: Shift from Holacracy

Medium moved away from its initial holacracy management structure in 2016. They cited difficulties in coordinating large projects, dissatisfaction with the extensive record-keeping, and negative public perception of holacracy as reasons for the change.

January 2017: Layoffs and a Shift in Revenue Model

Medium's attempt to introduce advertising in January 2017 faced setbacks, leading to staff cuts and office closures. The company pivoted towards a new revenue model focused on rewarding writers based on content value.

March 2017: Membership Program Launch and Publication Departures

March 2017 saw the launch of Medium's membership program, offering premium content for a monthly fee. However, publications like The Ringer and Backchannel left the platform, citing concerns over profitability.

May 2017: Reaching 60 Million Readers

Medium achieved a significant milestone in May 2017, boasting 60 million unique monthly readers.

June 2017: Medium Blocked in Egypt

Medium was blocked in Egypt in June 2017 along with over 60 other media websites as part of a government crackdown.

August 2017: Introduction of the "Clap" Feature

In August 2017, Medium introduced the "clap" feature to replace the Recommend button, allowing users to express their appreciation for articles more dynamically. Author compensation was also linked to the number of claps received.

August 2017: The Ringer Moves to Vox Media

The Ringer departed from Medium in August 2017, moving to Vox Media.

October 2017: Exploring Alternative Revenue Streams

In October 2017, Medium reiterated its commitment to exploring alternative revenue models like micropayments and patronage instead of relying on banner advertising.

2017: Medium's Technology Stack

As of 2017, Medium was using a variety of AWS services for its technology stack, including EBS, RDS for Aurora, and Route 53. The image server was written in Go, and the main application servers were still written in Node.js.

2017: Introducing Paywalled Content and Author Compensation

In 2017, Medium introduced two significant changes: paywalled content accessible only to subscribers and a system for compensating authors based on user engagement metrics.

May 2018: Medium Unblocked in Malaysia

The ban on Medium in Malaysia was lifted in May 2018. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) stated that there was no longer a reason to block the website because the 1MDB report was made public.

2019: "Endless Thought Experiment"

A 2019 Nieman Lab article characterized Medium's first seven years as having undergone "countless pivots," describing it as "an endless thought experiment into what publishing on the internet could look like."

2019: Acquisition and Launch of New Publications

In 2019, Medium acquired The Bold Italic and launched seven new publications: GEN, OneZero, Marker, Elemental, Focus, Zora, and Level, expanding its content diversity.

June 2020: Medium's Board Members

This entry lists the members of Medium's board as of June 2020.

2020: Medium Blocked by Some ISPs in Vietnam

By the end of 2020, there were reports that Medium was being blocked by certain Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Vietnam.

2020: Launch of Momentum

Medium launched Momentum in 2020, a publication dedicated to topics of anti-racism and civil rights.

2020: Medium Briefly Blocked in Albania

The Albanian Audiovisual Media Authority blocked Medium from April 19 to 21, 2020.

January 2021: Acquisition of Glose

Expanding its offerings, Medium acquired Glose, a social ebook company, in January 2021.

February 2021: Unionization Efforts and Management Response

February 2021 saw Medium employees attempting to form a union, with a majority signing union cards. However, the effort fell short of recognition, and the company faced criticism for its handling of the situation.

March 2021: Shift in Publishing Strategy

In March 2021, Medium revealed a significant shift in its publishing strategy, opting to scale down its team of paid journalists while increasing support for independent writers.

November 2021: Acquisitions of Projector and Knowable

Medium further expanded its portfolio in November 2021 by acquiring Projector, a graphic design tool, and Knowable, an audio-based learning platform.

July 12, 2022: Ev Williams Steps Down as CEO

In a significant leadership change, Ev Williams announced his decision to step down as CEO of Medium on July 12, 2022, transitioning to the role of chairman of the board.

July 20, 2022: Tony Stubblebine Appointed as CEO

Tony Stubblebine, former CEO of Coach.me, took over as CEO of Medium on July 20, 2022.

August 11, 2022: Staff Layoffs Under New Leadership

Shortly after assuming the CEO role, Tony Stubblebine announced layoffs affecting 29 staff members on August 11, 2022.

November 2022: Medium Accessible Again in Egypt

As of November 2022, Medium became accessible again in Egypt after being blocked since June 2017.

2022: Projector Shutdown

Following its acquisition, Projector was shut down in 2022, with its team integrated into Medium.

May 31, 2023: Medium Blocked in Russia

Roskomnadzor, the Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media, blocked Medium and its subdomains in Russia on May 31, 2023.

May 2024: Ban on AI-Generated Content

Starting May 1, 2024, Medium implemented a policy prohibiting AI-generated content from being placed behind paywalls or receiving payouts through its Partner Program.