A Writer’s Musings: Dear Medium, Your Navigation System Sucks!

Summary

A new Medium user expresses frustration with the platform's navigation system, particularly the difficulty in finding recent stories and new writers, while acknowledging the potential of the platform and the supportive community.

Abstract

The author, a six-day-old Medium user, finds the platform's navigation system challenging, especially when trying to locate new posts and writers. Despite initially questioning whether their own stories were published due to a lack of interaction, the author appreciates the platform's concept of showcasing curated stories but criticizes the lack of visibility for recent content. The discovery of the tagging system with a "recent" option provides some relief, allowing the author to find their own stories and those of less-followed everyday writers. However, the author points out that the tagging system is not user-friendly and suggests that recent stories should be more accessible, perhaps hinting at a marketing strategy that prioritizes certain content. The author remains hopeful about the platform, recognizing its potential for sharing and community building, and invites feedback from other users about their navigation experience on Medium.

Opinions

The author finds the Medium navigation system for discovering new posts and writers to be suboptimal and confusing.
While acknowledging the ease of creating profiles, the author is critical of the difficulty in finding new content, which they liken to trying to sell candy to a baby.
The author appreciates the concept of curated stories but believes that this should not overshadow the importance of showcasing recent stories.
The author experienced a shift in perspective after receiving welcoming words from other writers, suggesting that community interaction is a positive aspect of Medium.
The tagging system is seen as unintuitive, requiring users to search extensively for tags and recent stories, which should be more prominently featured in the menu topics.
The author suspects that the current navigation setup may be a marketing ploy to promote certain stories over others.
Despite the criticisms, the author is open to changing their opinion and potentially becoming a loyal Medium user if the navigation issues are addressed.

Where to find new writers… new stories… seriously?

I can relate to this poor lost baby — I want my mummy. Photo by Maksym Kaharlytskyi on Unsplash

I’m new to Medium, 6 days old to be precise, an infant. I should consider wearing a neon sign — oh wait. Never mind.

For the most part, the Medium, platform is easy to use. Pretty standard stuff creating profiles and whatnot. No complaints. But, trying to find new posts is a freaking nightmare. For a day or two I questioned if my stories were published. Starting from ground zero… well it’s hard to tell with no interaction from the outside world.

Every time I hit a button stories from months or weeks ago bombard my reading list. Trying to sell candy to a baby is not cool. I now get it, they are the chosen stories… no wait “curated stories”. I see their halos. For what it’s worth, I think it’s a cool idea but not at the expense of “recent stories”. I didn’t sign up for candy that stays on the shelf past the expiry date.

I signed up to share. To find the rough diamonds. I want my unleash the beast (my stories) unto the Medium world and if I am lucky have a laugh and make friends along the way. My diabolical mission. This is what I thought Medium offered. It does… despite my last reflective post. A few lovely writers offered welcoming words. My perspective is shifting.

Eventually, I found the tagging system with the “recent” option. Woohoo. Located my recent stories. Stoked my ego. Light shone upon writers like me, you know the everyday folk that don’t have a shitload of followers? Also, known as the community?

The tagging system is unintuitive… Unless I am doing something wrong, a user needs to dig around on the main page and search for the tags. Why aren’t recent stories an option with the menu topics? I suspect it’s a marketing ploy. I get it. But still finding recent stories shouldn’t be like going to the dentist. Fellow Medium writer, Robin Wilding, has a lot to say on the subject. You can read her post here — a lot of the details flew over my head.

Maybe I’m missing something? I’m prepared to eat my words. On a happy note, I could come to love Medium and join the cult. If you follow me, how could I possibly leave? Consider it kidnapped by the cult. 😀

What are your thoughts? Is the navigation fine on Medium? Or are you like me and would like to access stories more efficiently on Medium?