Medium could offer simple and readable blogs via an open source app and concurrently offer freemium hosting (e.g., the ghost.io and WordPress model).

I agree with the author's fundamental concerns about freedom.

I imagine some years in the future the same people heralding Medium will become its harshest critics. How many times does it take for people to be burned by proprietary apps/services before they stop using them? In the case of Medium, there are ample alternatives.The author is right that marketing Medium really is what Medium does best.