Summary

The author reveals the significance of visual elements in the distribution of stories on Medium, suggesting that the platform's curators favor articles with compelling images over the written content's quality or effort.

Abstract

The article titled "Aha! Distribution Secret Out of the Bag!" on Medium discusses the impact of images on the curation and distribution of written content. The author humorously recounts their experience of receiving personalized underwear from Medium, hinting at the platform's preference for visual appeal over textual content. They illustrate this point by sharing their process of selecting an offbeat image for a poem, which led to its curation, while a more labor-intensive piece on mask-wearing with a less engaging photo remained undistributed. The author emphasizes the importance of choosing eye-catching and intriguing images, referencing a TED talk by Chipp Kidd on book cover design and the effectiveness of cute animals in attracting views. The article concludes with the author's realization that visual elements can significantly influence the success of content on Medium, despite the quality of the writing.

Opinions

The author believes that Medium's curation process is biased towards stories with captivating images, which may overshadow the actual content.
They suggest that the choice of image can be more critical than the written piece in terms of gaining visibility and distribution on the platform.
The author implies that Medium's generosity, such as sending personalized gifts, may come with an expectation of content that aligns with their curation preferences.
They express a personal preference for quirky and fun images that do not directly relate to the content, following the advice from Chipp Kidd's TED talk on book cover design.
The author acknowledges the effectiveness of using cute animals in content to increase viewership, which they have successfully employed in their posts.
There is a hint of frustration and humor in the author's tone when discussing the lack of distribution for a piece they worked hard on, due to an unengaging image choice.
The author sarcastically refers to the potential consequences of revealing Medium's curation secret, suggesting they are willing to face "distribution jail" for the benefit of their peers.

HUMOR

Aha! Distribution Secret Out of the Bag!

It’s the Pictures, Y’all, Not Your Words!

Oops, maybe I wasn’t supposed to tell.

After Medium sent me these engraved undies with the initial “M” on them and all. Given that my first name begins with “M,” they sort of do double duty. Nice coincidence.

But given their generosity, maybe I shouldn’t be outing them like this. But I’ve caught them red-handed at doing something I suspected all along — curating our stories based on the photos or art we select to illustrate them.

Case in Point or Point in Case if you’re hip to that pub:

Two days ago, very late at night. I’m talking one am-ish, when I should have been in bed or heading there, I clicked on the fabulous poetry pub, Chalkboard, the Queen of prompt-based one-line poetry on Medium.

Lo and behold, the prompt was fickle. Which rhymes with pickle. So in a matter of minutes, 15 at the most, I dashed off my ditty. Then came the hard part, the part that really pays off with the curators — finding the perfect picture.

Well, that probably took an hour. But it paid off!

Now I looked at sweet pickles, gherkins, dills, cukes on the vine, cukes in a line, all were fine. But none of them had that special something that quirky pizzazz I fancy myself known for in these parts.

Then the curtains parted, and the light streamed in and voila! There she was…the perfect quirky picture that had nothing really to do with my poem and could even be rejected as depicting violence. After all, that one pickle is standing on the back of another:

But I selected it.

First of all, cause I love it — so fun and colorful and unusual and off-beat, unexpected. And secondly, because I try to remember what I learned from a hilarious TED talk on book cover design by Alfred Knopf book cover designer, Chipp Kidd:

Don’t be too on the nose, especially with the title. If the title has the word apple in it, don’t put a pic of an apple on the cover. That’s the concept anyway.

But not the only one.

Another concept I borrow heavily from Roz Warren often is to use a cute animal. So many people seem to fall for that. And there’s validity to it.

So I’ll use a picture of a dog reading a book over a person reading. The attraction multiples by a factor of 1000 for each cute animal. That’s why there are 3 sleeping puppies in my post about the hidden value of NOT sleeping.

But that’s not really a distribution factor as far as I know. It’s a get-more-views factor. And since we’ve paid by reads, it can only help. You gotta view it before you read it, right?

But back to curation.

I added that lovely neon artwork to my fickle pickle ditty and viola — the welcome “C” word, curation!!!!

Now here’s the ironic part. I worked really hard on a funny poem I am very proud of. It’s called To Mask or not to Mask. Based on Hamlet’s To Be or Not to Be soliloquy, it took hours.

To Mask Or Not to Mask

The question that tries men’s souls.

medium.com

I had to download a copy of the Shakespeare and model my poem on it line by friggin’ line, making my conceit fit the structure of the original. Thank God, I adore doing this, and I’ve learned a lot about iambic pentameter.

But unfortunately, my fingertips are getting calloused for all the meter counting I do on them. It’s not all Will Shakes’ fault, however. I count on my fingers for limericks, too.

So given all that blood, sweat, and cleverness, you’d think that poem would be distributed, right? After all, it’s grandaddy To Tree or not to Tree was. I was miffed, baffled, frustrated bordering on outrage when it hit me!

Look at the difference in pictures. Here’s the To Mask one (or close enough):

And here’s the To Tree one

Duh! This had a cute animal and it was a much more intriguing picture of a Christmas tree than the mask image is of a surgical mask. Double distribuion whammy.

Now there are all kinds of cute pictures of people in masks. Including those homemade masks that have become the quilts of the Corona times, with all the calico, superhero, and other iconic fabric designs you can get nowadays. Wearable art.

And I chose the generic surgical kind. Double Duh! Shame on me! It won’t happen again!

So there you have it, folks, Now you know. And if this means I get to rot in distribuion jail for snitching and y’all get to shine and climb, well, it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.

Just remember me at the top. And toss down a few crumbs. Not dollars, crumbs. I’ll be that hungry!

Here’s Ten Templates to Kick-Start Your Humor or Satire

Marilyn Flower writes political humor and satire to delight socially and spiritually conscious folks. She’s a regular columnist for the prison newsletter, Freedom Anywhere, where she writes about faith and prayer. Five of her short plays have been produced in San Francisco. Clowning and improvisation strengthen her resolve during these crazy times.