Medium Awareness: A Platform or Publication?
Are we all just spammers who have been jilted by the platform?
I came to Medium as I loved the idea of being part of a large meritocratic community. Reward based on creativity rather than other factors such as privilege. For a while I was happy with the reciprocal relationship I had fostered, like a marriage.
But now I want a DIVORCE. Let's check out the grounds…
1) Engage, Marry or Jilt?
Medium told us the following after the massive 1st August update:
Instead of simply using the member read time as the single input to earnings, we’re moving to a system where reads and engagements earn different amounts of points based on member activity on your stories. Medium.
For some, this new system really did not involve a change of behaviour, as one of the things so many people enjoy about being on the Medium platform is the chance to be part of a community. The writers always support each other — like a marriage — and often readers (who don’t write) are also a part of that relationship.
However, when members, including me, began to make the most from the communities we had happily built over time, we are told:
We 100% never said we want you to engage. What we said is that engagement is a minor factor in payments because it’s often correlated with quality. What you are talking about here is completely disconnected from quality. This tactic in large part relies on preying on people’s sense of reciprocity. You (and anyone reading) should expect this type of growth hacking behavior to end up falling into the same category as a spammer. Coach Tony
Goodness, whatever gave us the idea engagement was important! I think Medium just jilted us, alongside adding insult to injury.
At this point, I was wondering if my ass was my elbow and vice versa. Or if indeed your ass was my elbow!
In one flick of a switch, the money was cut!
Above: The algo jilt happened between An Open Letter and Don’t Be Scared. Both stories had a similar amount of engagement by member followers.
Here’s what Tony said:
There’s been an unfortunate belief that the way to make money is to give and encourage engagement. Coach Tony
Right. The whole community must have been blind or deaf… or both. Oh yeah. I got it wrong — we don’t have a community, we are just spamming our time away.
2) Falling out of Love
- I am cross because the initial August update was not fully functional when it was put out, and so several tweaks and backtracks have had to take place. Yet still we can’t see views on our general stats.
Mickey Mouse. Squeak... Sorry, that just popped into my head.
- I am cross because the current updates have been the reason several writers I know have stopped their work and others have decided to take a break.
- I am cross because many writers — myself included — put in the effort to create well-crafted articles and stories. Yet apparently when they are commented on we are penalised if the member is a frequent flyer, even if the reader loved your work.
if you comment on hundreds of stories then a comment from you is less of a signal that any of those stories were the cream of the crop… Coach Tony
Right, I have actually spent most of the last few months trying to find out if this was the case via medium support. Who didn’t seem to be able to answer me. I guess I should have just asked Tony!
3) Know Thyself: Platform or Publication
Let’s move on and explore the difference between a platform and a publication.
Is medium a platform or a publisher? It matters.
Medium state, they are a platform and provide a nice description as to what a platform is — open and accessible for all.:
The open platform lets anyone share their ideas on an accessible, ad-free, well-designed story page. It’s at the core of Medium. Medium
Typically, publishers are considered to have editorial judgment, while platforms do not.¹ A platform does not define the member content, but a publication will.
Many Medium members — like me — can become publishers on the platform and then showcase certain writers work. I curate stories — helping to make them more visible to the publication followers — and promote others the editorial team and I think are on brand, quality tales.
So it seems a platform and a publisher serve different roles.
- A platform provides a writer with an open area to share their work, engage with readers and build an audience.
- A publisher will distribute/promote stories to a wider audience if they align closely with the publication brand. Giving them a stamp of approval.
So if Medium is a platform, why is it behaving like a publisher by being engaged in a selection process which gives priority to its own subjective preferences?
Not only that, subjectively chosen stories receive more of the money pot than another story which has not been picked for a boost. Suddenly the open assessable platform looks more like a hierarchy.
NB: The stories are nominated (and then Medium boost those they like) by hand-picked members of the community, who are compensated for their time. Yet, being allowed to profit by genuinely engaging within the community can be seen as spamming. Seems a little like a “them” and “us” situation, no middle class. Did the industrial revolution ever happen?
I understand a community to be a group who interact regularly, providing a sense of belonging and support to its members. I don’t think Medium sees it that way…
Quick Fire Conclusion
On an open platform, the readers should be used as markers for deciding which articles rise to the top. And then the best method of rewarding the writer has got to be simply paying for read time on their story. So much less complicated, too.
When a panel is subjectively choosing the winners, the game ceases to be a meritocracy.²
References
1] “Don’t Try to Be a Publisher and a Platform at the Same Time”— https://hbr.org/2015/01/dont-try-to-be-a-publisher-and-a-platform-at-the-same-time
2] Meritocracy represents a rejection of hereditary aristocracy and nepotism. The theory of meritocracy presupposes the possibility of equality of opportunity.
Check out some more stories about the Medium Platform by Smillew Rahcuef and Janice Harayda: