Hangin’ with my high school buddy (on Medium)
Last April, I was skimming my Medium Weekly Digest when I spotted a familiar name: Scott-Ryan Abt.
I did a double, maybe even triple-take. I know that guy. I went to high school with him. What’s he doing in my Gmail?
And so began a lopsided reunion. After a quick back and forth in the comments for an article about late 90s music (Me: “You’re great with words!” Him: “Thanks, old friend.”) I now silently read his articles at lunchtime. Sometimes I applaud/clap but usually I don’t, since that interaction pattern has always felt a bit weird to me.
Because Scott-Ryan is trying to make money from his Medium adventure, and because I used to be a freelance journalist, I find what he’s doing quite fascinating. Most of the time I read his articles because they’re great (his batting average is quite good, especially given the frequency of his posts). Other times I read them because I can still hear his voice, his delivery, his inflections after all these years. He’s changed of course, but not so much that I can’t hear the younger Scott-Ryan peeking through now and then.
Finally, I read his articles because they provide a small window into what it’s like to try and become financially successful on Medium. (The short answer: next to impossible).
In late November, after lurking for many months, Scott-Ryan’s article about “Never Let Me Down Again” by Depeche Mode flipped a switch in my brain. It’s a song I’ve never really thought much about, but after reading the article, I was in a slightly new and different place. Which is always a very nice place to be indeed.
So I used Ko-fi to buy Scott-Ryan a coffee. In the message box, I instinctively wrote an inside joke from junior high science class: “Do not use the coarse adjustment under the high power!” I could have written something sane or useful or vaguely adult-ish. But no, I wrote something that only a handful of people on planet earth would find vaguely amusing.
A few hours later, Scott-Ryan replied, “Do I have to SPOONfeed you?” Explaining this call and response would take forever and kill the frog. But suffice to say, it was the best $3USD I spent in 2022.
Years and years and years ago, in 1998, I was doing research into Douglas Coupland. His novel Girlfriend in a Coma had just been published, and I managed to find a rickety GeoCities site with links to dozens of interviews. I don’t remember the exact phrasing, but a former colleague said, “The best thing about a new novel from Douglas is that I get to spend a few uninterrupted hours inside his head.”
Although a bit hagiographic, that quote has always stuck with me. I think about it sometimes when I read an article from Scott-Ryan. How often do you get a chance to slip inside the eye of someone’s mind? Especially for a sustained period of time? Until Scott-Ryan decides to slow down or do something else, I get to spend at least 10 minutes each week inside his head.
I can think of far worse places to visit.
