Why I Think Medium Is Going To Become A Powerhouse Again
Why I Think Medium Is Going To Become A Powerhouse Again
It’s going to require some pain, though
I’ve seen numerous tweets from outspoken Medium writers about how their views are in the toilet since September started.
Like this one from
I think he has a point, given all the responses he got underneath the tweet from various Medium writers.
So it’s safe to assume that there’s something happening with the algorithm, yes?
I mean, maybe?
Maybe the fact that school is back in session and people are busy has something to do with it.
Maybe the fact that we’re writing ridiculous articles like “10 Fruits I Would Totally Bang” has something to do with it, too.
Side note: The amount of absolute nonsense written on this platform is mind-boggling.
Anyway, I have a feeling that the algorithm HAS changed, though. I really do. And I have a bit of a different take on whether it’s good or bad for the platform.
Tony Is Listening And Fixing Stuff
Tony recently wrote an article about how he fixed our newsfeed.
He wrote:
“The old Following feed didn’t fulfill it’s purpose because it had some recommendation algorithm filter on it so that it showed what we thought you wanted to read rather than just showing everything. That defeats the purpose of following and so now that feed is a true follow feed in chronological order.”
THANKS TONY.
God, THANK YOU.
There were some people in the comments talking about how shit their newsfeed is now and blah blah blah.
Tony rightfully told some of these people that it’s completely in their control to change their follow feed now.
You can unfollow and follow whoever you like. If you follow 300 active writers, then yeah, your newsfeed is going to look like an abomination.
But who REALLY follows 300 writers?
Who has the time to read new articles from 300 writers?
Nobody, that’s who.
So, instead of relying on Medium to spoon feed you content, go clean out the list of writers you follow.
Tony’s actually listening. He’s actually being transparent with how he runs things here. He’s fixing an out-of-touch platform that gave us a lot of features that nobody really cared about.
He’s turning Medium back into a meritocracy.
In the old days of Medium, everything was a meritocracy.
The best publications dominated because they published content we actually wanted to read.
It was HARD to get into The Mission, or the Startup, or P.S. I Love You.
They didn’t publish 30 articles per day like Illumabomination.
The cream rose to the top, and publications like The Mission were well-respected because they gave us quality.
The publications that didn’t give us quality were forgotten about.
“But how do I find writers to follow now, Tom?”
Sheesh, I don’t know random Medium user. I wish there was a convenient solution for this!
Oh yeah!
P-U-B-L-I-C-A-T-I-O-N-S.
By extension — Editors. People who look over drafts and decide to publish quality.
Because I respect The Startup, I respect the authors I see published in the Startup.
Medium functioned this way for years and writers absolutely FLOURISHED because of it.
I’ve been here since 2016. From 2016–mid 2018, Medium was a dream to write on because Medium wasn’t shooting itself in the foot at every turn just yet.
Then in mid 2018 Medium created their own publications, told us they knew what we wanted to read, and put all the stories published in their own publications at the very top of our feeds every day.
They ruined the meritocracy.
Come to find out, years later, that their business model didn’t work. Ev admitted this much in a blog post early last year.
Tony’s giving US the power back. And that’s some great news after more than four years of Medium ramming it’s own content down our throats at every turn.
I Have Faith In Medium
Sure, maybe views are declining since September started. You know what I say to that?
Good.
Medium became a platform of too much.
Too much garbage. Too much curation.
If Medium needs to take two steps back to take four steps forward, I’m good with that. If they need to spend years building this platform back to its former glory, I’m good with that.
The Mission, one of the best publications Medium ever saw, left Medium a few years ago. P.S. I Love You left Medium, too. Same with The Ascent. Same with The Post-Grad Survival Guide.
These publications — once a bastion for user-controlled content curation — left.
And they’re not coming back.
But new ones could take their place.
I hear a lot of writers complain about not getting curated.
Well, publications were and still are the perfect weapon against the opinion of some faceless curator with little online writing experience/sensitivity to the tastes of actual readers.
They’re OUR opportunity to balance the scales and take power back.
And now that Tony’s decided to make Medium a meritocracy again by removing recommended filters and giving power back to the follow button, there might just be space for new publications to grow again.
So yeah, I’m bullish on the future of Medium.
I don’t care if the platform has to lose 3/4 of its readers. I consider that trimming the fat. And there’s a crap ton of fat on this platform right now, considering the fact that Medium hasn’t truly been a meritocracy for years.
Good on ya, Tony.
I’m here for the long-haul.
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