Written by Aiden MC from Substack: Technology, Gaming, Movies, and Social Media
After failing on Vocal Media last year, as of July 1, 2024, I’m on the brink of failing on Medium, but there’s still a bit of hope.
This afternoon, here in Australia, I checked my weekly stats and saw that my 700+ stories — covering gaming, technology, movies, social media, and filmmaking — earned a mere 50 cents. I told my beloved grandma and she said “Good boy”. These are topics I’m passionate about, and some of these stories were even boosted and well-loved by readers.
Then, I received a phone call from my mentor, Dr Mehmet Yildiz, who told me he won’t be attending Medium Day this year. He asked if I would be going, but I told him there was no way I could attend after Medium put me in ‘distribution jail’ and canceled my role as a boost nominator. This was despite the fact that I proudly curated, edited, and promoted 113 boosted stories. He chuckled but I sensed sadness in his voice.
I wondered why he brought this up so suddenly. He confided that he was stressed and frustrated, unable to keep up with the growing publication queues in ILLUMINATION and his other 12 publications. I stayed silent, letting him speak. After a deep breath, he asked if I had seen Lawson Wallace’s message in the editorial room earlier. I hadn’t, as I was busy adding new writers to our publication — a tedious job no one else wanted to do. He appreciated my extra support.
He then revealed that his account was cloned again, deceiving his readers with rumors that he was leaving Medium. These rumors urged his readers to leave immediately, promising that secrets would be revealed after a WhatsApp call. He wrote about it — it’s a sad and long story. I read the story, which brought a few tears to my eyes as I was cloned as well, knew the pain, and had to get therapy to get rid of my nightmares.
The Silent Assault on Authenticity: My Battle with Medium’s Account Cloning Epidemic😢
My profile was cloned again today — for 15 hours while I was sleeping and away at a family gathering, a scammer…medium.com
Years ago, after film school, I started a YouTube channel that grew to over 3 million subscribers. Unfortunately, I had to abandon it due to health issues, a story I’ve documented before.
Gaming, Fun, and Humor: The Lifelines That Rescued Me From Social Media’s Grip on My Life
The hidden costs of chasing fame and neglecting my health and life’s precious momentsmedium.com
I cut back on social media to maintain my sanity and focussed on therepeutic gaming like Minecraft.
Finding Comfort in Blocks: How Minecraft Eased My First Time Loneliness and Intense Grief at 17
The significance of forging virtual connections in Minecraft gaming during periods of solitude and times of grief.medium.com
And I spend lots of time on car shows for fun and to make real friends.
What Car Shows Mean to Me and How They Enriched My Life
From hobbyist to media buff, car shows are now part of my professional life; who knows, you might like them toomedium.com
Fortunately, in early 2022, my film company supervisor in Australia introduced me to Dr. Yildiz, asking him to mentor me. I was thrilled when he accepted and introduced me to Medium and Vocal Media.
Medium looked very attractive to me, especially when Dr. Yildiz made me an editor and helped me establish two publications — one for gaming and one for videos/podcasts, both areas of my expertise.
He encouraged me to repurpose my content on Vocal Media. I loved that platform and poured my heart into promoting it on Medium, particularly writing content to inspire other writers to join the competitions and earn money. But after a year, I only earned $1. I miserably failed on Vocal Media.
Here’s How I Miserably Failed Vocal Media But Have No Regrets
Every failure or setback serves as a stepping stone toward success, offering invaluable lessons that pave the way for…medium.com
So, I decided to quit and focus all my energy on Medium. My efforts paid off on Medium. My followers grew from 500, tripling monthly, and within a year, I had 19K followers. I kept writing about gaming and virtual reality, becoming the #1 top writer in these topics for over a year.
Most importantly, six months ago, I was invited to be a boost nominator — a job I loved despite its challenges. It was the hardest job I’d ever tried, but with support from Dr. Yildiz and the editors of the former ILLUMINATION-Curated, I managed. Sadly, in the fifth month, I received an email from Medium saying my contract had ended as Medium was scaling. I wrote about it too.
I Will No Longer Be a Boost Nominator but Still Will Continue Curating Non-Boosted Stories
An open letter to my mentor, Dr. Mehmet Yildiz, Chief Editor of ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications, who did not…medium.com
I didn’t understand what that meant, but I accepted the termination and thanked them for the opportunity. Later, I informally heard that my contract was ended due to poor performance. This shocked me and broke my heart, as my acceptance rate was consistently 70%, and Ariel even gave me limitless nomination points.
Despite the pain, I suppressed it and continued my hard work, writing and curating non-boosted stories daily while reviewing and publishing around 100 stories from the ILLUMINATION queue, as Medium doesn’t allow more than 30 editors.
I was about to join X Premium but I didn’t want to waste my time.
I Was About to Upgrade to X Premium Today But Changed My Mind Due to the Harassment of Its AI
While sharing excerpts from an exceptional Medium story of Dr Mehmet Yildiz, who ironically referred me to X Premium…medium.com
Work and rejection never bothered me, but suddenly, my stats started dropping rapidly. My gaming stories only got around 5 to 10 views despite my 19K followers. My account froze, and I received ZERO new followers. Even my curated collections stopped getting organic views, despite being loved by writers and readers. An elderly woman even gave me a $100 tip — the first time in my life that had happened.
An Elderly Lady Gave Me a $100 Tip, My First Ever Big Tip.
As an Australian, I never get tips, but this special and generous one warmed my heart and inspired me to continue…medium.com
So now, I’m in curation jail and have lost 90% of my income. However, I recently joined Substack, gained 366 subscribers, and two of them even paid to read my content. This is my silver lining.
Therefore, I’ve become a founding member of the Substack Mastery of ILLUMINATION to support writers there and curate their newsletters for the Curated Newsletters publication, recently established by Dr. Yildiz, who also resigned from the Boost program and shut down ILLUMINATION-Curated. I also read from the story that one of my favorite writers, Douglas Giles, PhD, also quit the boost program.
With this opportunity, I want to introduce the stories and newsletters I’ve curated so far, so that you can be informed and inspired to find your own silver lining if you’re in distribution jail like me.
Here are the newsletters I curated so far
Unfiltered by Tim Denning [see the Interview]
Cardiology Made Easy by David Mokotoff, MD [see the Interview]
Silver’s Substack by Michelle Mariscal [see the Interview]
THE BHIVE BUZZ by Elle [see the Interview]
Changing Lives Wendi Gordon [see the Interview]
Joshua Mason Weekly Joshua Mason [see the Interview]
Technology, Gaming, Movies, and Social Media Aiden (Owner of Illumination Gaming)
Gabriella’s Addiction and Wellness. The Nurse’s Voice Dr. Gabriella Korosi:
Integrated Healthcare by Dr. ADAM TABRIZ [see the interview]
Above The Middle, Joe Gibson by Joe Gibson, Above The Middle
William F. Spivey’s History Channel by William Spivey [see the interview]
Your Next Decision Nika Kabiri, JD PhD
Here are the stories I curated from the Subtack Mastery publication
My Technology Excellence and Leadership Site on Substack Dr Mehmet Yildiz (Tech)
Finally Joined Substack: A New Chapter in Supporting My Readers Mike Broadly, DHSc
A New Beginning: Join Me on My Writing Journey on Substack Dr. ADAM TABRIZ
Transitioning to a Focus on Newsletter Growth: My Shift from Five Years of Medium Publishing to… Lawson Wallace
Here’s The Ultimate Reason Why Substack Is Far More Rewarding Than Medium Raveen
Two Weeks Ago, I Decided To Get Serious On Substack. Sompa Mensah
The Substack Learning Curve — As Told By A 3x Substack Editor Ellen “Jelly” McRae
Introducing My Substack Newsletter on Medium Waleed Mahmud Tariq
Substack rival Ghost federates its first newsletter James David
Dear Medium, I Have Avoided Substack Long Enough Le Voir N. Lewis
Introducing My Substack Newsletter on Medium 😀 Patrick OConnell
My stats after writing for 2 months on Substack and Medium Sonaakshi Sinha Jamwal
Dancing Elephants Press Magazine on Substack Dr. Gabriella Korosi
The Substack Learning Curve — As Told By A 3x Substack Editor Ellen “Jelly” McRae
Medium, Substack & Mailchimp — A Canonical Debate Sana Uqaili
Not in the Regular Direction Julie Chavanu — The Idea Compass
The Great Purpose of the Great Reality Newsletter on Substack Chandni Challa
My Substack Journey: If You Want to Change Your Life, This Will Help Wendi Gordon
Here’s Why I’m Growing Fonder of Substack Every Day Sana Uqaili
Why I Decided to Add Publishing on Substack to Medium for My Writing David Mokotoff, MD
I’m Publishing on Substack (again), and on Medium. Bill Petro
Safe and Sound: A First Aid and Safety Newsletter on Substack Gill McCulloch
Why Writing Exclusively on Medium or Substack is a Mistake Joshua Mason
I also share them both on my Medium and Substack. Here are the links:
IInvitation to Substack Mastery on Medium
Welcome to My “Technology, Gaming, Movies, and Social Media” Substack Site. This site will be a dynamic and engaging…medium.com
Invitation to Substack on ILLUMINATION Publication
Welcome to My “Technology, Gaming, Movies, and Social Media” Substack Site. This site will be a dynamic and engaging…aidenmc.substack.com
I stopped posting curated collections from my accounts and started publishing them through publication accounts of ILLUMINATION and ILLUMINATION-Curators account with the permission of Dr Yildiz hoping my stats can get better.
I wrote two gaming stories one about popular GTA which used to go viral recently and each of them got only handful of views. For example this one was close to my heart but none of my gaming readers got a chance to read it because Medium algorithm censored it. It only got 9 reads from editors in the Slack team.
What’s the Secret Behind Free-To-Play Games Raking in Millions and Making Gamers Wealthy?
Curious how free-to-play games can be so profitable ? Here’s an explanation inspired by my grandma’s savvy insights.medium.com
I am not even a top writer in the gaming topic despite my 700+ gaming stories and I no longer care because I will publish my gaming stories on Substack and shut down my beloved Gaming publication as Dr Yildiz did his ILLUMINATION-Curated both were once former boost nominating publications.
I will start podcasting on Substack like Lawson and will also narrate newsletters of Dr Yildiz. He offered me to pay for podcasts but I politely declined as he spend hundreds of mentoring hours for me in the last 2 years enhancing my knowledge and experience.
Here are my most loved stories for new readers.
Snapchat: Unleash Your Creativity and Transform Your Marketing: A Practical Guide
Instagram: Unleash Your Creativity and Transform Your Marketing
AI Can Now Create Photorealistic Videos From Just a Text Prompt
I recently finished the boost program, so I am no longer a boost nominator after birthing 113 boosted stories. I explained in a story: I Will No Longer Be a Boost Nominator but Still Will Continue Curating Non-Boosted Stories.
You may wonder why I stopped writing for Vocal Media. Here’s How I Miserably Failed Vocal Media But Have No Regrets. I spend more time on Substack now to support writers via my newsletter Technology, Gaming, Movies, and Social Media.
I enjoy introducing writers on YouTube. So, if you are interested, you may contact me on Slack or Discord. You can check out them from Meet Top Writers of Medium on YouTube.
I also enjoy collecting writer bios, so if you write one, please send me a link on Slack. Meet ILLUMINATION Writers from Their Personally Penned Biographies. You may check out my latest curated collection. Look What Aiden Found Today — Episode #224.
I write articles in my field covering gaming, film-making, social media, and design. I am also a YouTuber. Thank you for subscribing to my account to get notifications when I post on Medium. I created a new website to share my content for free and promote stories of writers contributing to my publications on Medium. I also have a Substack newsletter. Let’s connect on Twitter and LinkedIn.
I own two publications on Medium. One for video gamers and another for YouTubers and Podcasters. I also support Illumination Integrated Publications as a volunteer editor and participate in collaborative activities in the Slack Workspace.
Writer applications for my publications can be sent via this weblink. Please add your Medium ID. Some info about Slack and Discords to communicate with writers as part of my role in media coordinating, editing, curating, and promoting stories.
An Introduction to ILLUMINATION Slack Workspace
ILLUMINATION Discord: Video Introduction to Beginners
/media/387a8029fcce6d2d37c61d8d42349b43
Thanks Mike Broadly, DHSc, Dr Mehmet Yildiz, ILLUMINATION-Curators, and ILLUMINATION editors for reviewing and publishing my story on ILLUMINATION publications supporting 31K writers. If you are a writer, you are welcome to join our publications by sending a request via this link.
Get an email whenever Aiden (Illumination Gaming) publishes.
medium.com
Thank you for subscribing to my newsletter on Substack.
Leave a Reply