Clap Once or Clap 50 Times? Does It Even Really Matter?
Medium Etiquette (As I Understand It)
“You are not the amount of likes you get.” — Unknown
When you join any club or online platform, there are some rules of etiquette you have to learn as you go.
I admit it, when I joined Medium, I was a one-clapper.
You don’t know (until you know) that you can clap 50 times in response to someone’s story. I assumed a clap was equal to a “like.” Unfortunately, I found out later that in Medium etiquette, clapping once is like leaving your waiter a dime on the table and expecting him to be happy about it.
Sorry for anyone I offended.
So, then if I read a good story that already had 1041 claps, I’m like If I give them 9 claps, that will give them 1050 which is a nice round number. They’ll like that because it will be nice and even.
When I look up from my laptop, I’ll probably straighten the photos on my wall, too.
Then I started reading stories calling people out for giving less than 50 claps.
“It only takes 14 seconds,” writers say.
“Show your appreciation and just give the claps.”
“It’s not that hard.”
“ I’ll probably be a little mad if you don’t.”
“Don’t be a jerk.”
But I die a little inside every time I hold that button down.
You know how long it takes to pull a shot of ristretto coffee? 15 seconds. That’s just one second more than giving one story 50 claps. Sometimes, the button doesn’t even stop at 50 but starts going round-robin back to 0. Then I’m not even sure how many claps stuck. (Did I hold it so long I undid them? Is the clap button just messing with my mind?)
So now, sometimes I read a story I find interesting (all the way down to the clap symbol so the author gets credit for the read.) Then I may skip out quickly before I get caught.
No one gets offended it seems if you don’t clap or comment at all. (Because if you don’t comment or clap, they’ll never know it was you who read the story.)
I may get some clap-back for this…
At the risk of getting some clap-back, I’ll be honest and say I hate that Medium allows you to give 50 claps.
For me, just deciding if I should give the thumbs-up, a heart, or a slightly-sad-face-hug on Facebook is a weighty decision. If my friends expected me to give each of their vacation photos 50 likes (and anything else is an insult) I might just have to close my laptop and my Facebook account and just get more useful hours of my life back.
So does it make a difference how many claps you give?
Well, the answer is yes and no and maybe. Here are the ways claps may or may not affect you:
- Medium used to give paid perks for more claps. But they no longer do this.
- However, claps may help stories rank. (Which if you get more readers, you get paid more, right?)
- However, Medium bases this ranking on how many claps one reader usually hands out. So, if I usually give out 9 (you know, to even the claps out), it’s like I’m giving them all 50. I’m also getting a few seconds of my life back and possibly a shot of ristretto. (That might be a full hour by the time I die and who knows how many cups of coffee.)
- However, if I usually give 9 claps, but your story blew me away, and I’m like: This story is so worth 14 seconds of this lifetime and a ristretto to boot, let’s go the whole 50. Then your story should rank higher than the guy who is just going through and re-spinning others' stories to make them his own.
- It also means that if you give everyone 50 claps, it’s basically the same as if you gave them all just one clap.
You can read about it for yourself on Medium’s website:
So, that’s all I understand about clapping on Medium. Giving one clap or 50 may not actually amount to a hill of beans. Just keep doing you.
If you like this story, feel free to give this story some claps — the amount is up to you. Or, you can leave me a comment with your perspective on this touchy issue. Or, you can dodge and run so I’ll never know you read it… I get you. Time is important and so are ristrettos.
(If there is any other Medium etiquette I am behind on, please let me know.)
Happy reading, writing, and clapping!
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