The Medium Model and the Best, Most Frustrating Quote About Creativity

The Medium Model and the Best, Most Frustrating Quote About Creativity

In today's digital age, content monetization has become a crucial aspect of the media industry. With the rise of platforms like Medium, the concept of bundles has emerged as a potential solution. Medium, often described as a system for moving ideas between brains, offers a space for writers from various backgrounds to share their knowledge and insights. More than 50,000 writers publish on Medium every week, covering a wide range of topics.

However, Medium distinguishes itself by focusing on ideas that require space and thought. It aims to provide smart thinking on things that matter, rather than simply delivering news. The platform's goal is to curate the best selection of insightful stories that can't be found anywhere else. To achieve this, Medium is doubling down on human curation and revamping its recommendation systems to give users more of what they want and less of what they don't.

Meanwhile, when it comes to creativity, there's a quote from Ira Glass, the creator and host of This American Life, that perfectly captures the journey of every creative individual. Glass emphasizes that beginners often face a frustrating gap between their taste and the quality of their work. As individuals with good taste, they enter the creative field with high expectations. However, their initial projects often fall short of their ambitions, leading to disappointment.

Glass points out that this phase is normal and that many people quit during this stage. However, those who persevere and continue to do the work eventually close the gap and produce work that aligns with their ambitions. The key is to create a volume of work and set deadlines to finish projects regularly. Through repetition and reinvention over time, creativity can be honed and improved.

The truth about creative careers and projects is that the job isn't to simply "be creative." It's about creating and constantly striving to make things better. Ira Glass, during a talk at SXSW, urged creators to stop waiting and start making. The process of creation is about continuously iterating and improving upon previous versions.

This perspective on creativity resonates with the belief that anyone can create what matters. Just as anyone can cook or paint, anyone is capable of creating meaningful things. Closing the gap between our taste, intuition, and ambitions requires us to create a volume of work. Our body of work becomes our most important and only real project.

To apply these insights to our own creative journeys, here are three actionable pieces of advice:

1. Embrace the process: Understand that the initial phase of any creative endeavor may not meet your expectations. Embrace the learning process and be willing to iterate and improve over time.

2. Set deadlines and create a volume of work: Establish regular deadlines for completing projects. By consistently producing work, you can refine your skills and bridge the gap between your taste and the quality of your creations.

3. Don't wait, start creating: Stop waiting for the perfect moment or inspiration to strike. Start making things and continuously iterate upon them. Improvement comes through action.

In conclusion, the Medium Model and Ira Glass's quote about creativity both emphasize the importance of consistent work and the process of improvement. By focusing on bundles of curated content and embracing the journey of creativity, we can all create meaningful and impactful work. So, let's start creating and closing that gap between our ambitions and our skills.