Medium reminds me of a park nestled somewhere in an urban neighborhood. Put there by fair-minded people who thought the kids needed somewhere safe to play. So, they installed some neat equipment, fine artificial turf, a few swing sets and a bar where you can do some chin-ups. They even placed a plaque at the entrance. Something egalitarian about peace and play and that sort of thing.

Then they left and went back to collecting high rents in the neighboring units and never returned to the park. Never re-painted the equipment. Never repaired the turf that was torn out and relocated in someone's front yard. They forgot all about it - except for the rents.

Not sure what Ev's original vision was - not the one he wrote about, but the one he felt. But my guess is it's not what we see now. Profit has a way of changing things. Even the course of rivers have fallen to its attraction.

Great piece, really. Competing against 10 people in a 100-meter race is okay. Even 3000 in a marathon. But competing against 150,000 articles a day - is exhausting.