Writers, Don’t Trust Social Media Platforms: Don’t Give Up Your Power

*Social Media is a tool. You don’t own social media and don’t let social media own you. Image by The Machine — Leonardo.ai.*

As many of my readers know, I’ve been writing frequently on the Medium platform since the middle of last year, 2023. Medium can be described as YouTube for writers. For the most part, Medium’s been awesome. Of course, no platform is perfect, but I’ve made friends and some money (nothing to brag about). Most importantly, I’ve made myself at home on Medium.

Imagine my surprise this morning while on my first coffee scroll—

“Your account is under investigation or was found in violation of the Medium Rules.”

In layperson’s terms, I have been suspended. WTF! I can only speculate about my crime and the new spam police are as useless as the real police. It’s just my turn. At least that’s what I keep telling myself.

My head keeps spinning, though. Is it because I labelled someone a toe rag in a story? That’s just stating a fact. Are filthy words now banned? Did one of my smutty jokes offend a pearl necklace?

I’ll probably never know because Medium keeps these things a secret so the scammers don’t game the system. At least that’s their standard excuse for everything.

A few weeks ago, many popular writers disappeared without warning. Caught by the spam police. It took days for my friends to return from Guantanamo Bay. No explanation. Don’t do it again. But don’t do what exactly?

As I type this and wait, I feel like a naughty school kid outside the principal’s office. I’m at the mercy of the Medium masters. Please don’t terminate my account. I’ll be good. No more emojis when I laugh, and no more fucks, if that’s the issue.

Obviously, this isn’t an enjoyable situation to be in. I’m checking my emails every five minutes for an update. Waiting, waiting, waiting… But thank the stars, I have my WordPress blogs as a home base.

While I’m pretty sure in their own sweet time Medium will reinstate my account to its former glory. It’s a slap in the face lesson —

WRITERS DON’T TRUST PLATFORMS:
YOU’RE A RENTER, NOT AN OWNER!

The only online real estate you own is your webpage. Facebook, X (not porn), YouTube, Instagram, Medium, and their counterparts can terminate on a whim. We’ve all heard horror stories; hell, some of us have lived them. Some users deserve the boot and others get caught up in whoopies.

As writers, we need to diversify. Make social media work for you. Use social media as a tool to showcase and network, but keep a website as your home base. Never put all your energy into one social media platform, as tempting as it may be. Newsletter lists are a perfect solution because email lists can move platforms with the writer, but a follower list is worthless if you’re booted.

THE WRITING ASYLUM