Editorial Bulletin
Is Further Distribution on Medium, RIP? We Have No Clarity Yet.
A quick update on inquiries about the glitches of Chosen for Further Distribution and new plans of Medium
Dear Writers,
Last few days, we had many inquiries from our contributing writers who were concerned their stories were not chosen for further distribution, and their stats substantially declined, as we mentioned in this story titled Let’s Make Invisible Stories Visible #01.
Yesterday, all writers seemed to lose the label “chosen for further distribution” from their articles. This created unnecessary stress and concern for writers. Everyone got confused.
We received additional inquiries yesterday and earlier today, but it was impossible to reply to all. We understand your concerns and would like to provide a quick update.
Some writers got replies from the helpdesk that the loss of distribution later was a glitch. It was true because the labels came back as we checked our curated collections.
However, we found out the reasons behind the glitch as Medium changed the distribution rules. Therefore we wanted to share it promptly based on our understanding.
Earlier today, Medium’s VP Scott Lamb announced that Medium would not be showing stories distributed to topics to writers anymore. However, we understand that human curators will still be selecting some content for a specific audience. The criteria are unclear.
Several of our editors read the bulletin from VP and struggled to understand the final outcome. We understood that from now on, chosen stories would not be notified to writers. So you will not see the “Chosen for Distribution” label on your story stats page. We believe this is clear from VP’s announcement.
That’s all we know so far by reading the bulletin from the VP. The subtitle says “clarity,” but we got more confused after reading the bulletin. We hope more clarifying information will be provided soon as we are all confused with the outcome.
More importantly, it will be great to articulate what is good about the new changes for writers and readers.
Here is the link to the bulletin. You might provide your feedback in the comment section of the bulletin so that the leadership team can provide a better response to the writers.
This story is not about criticizing or praising Medium. It is a perspective based on our writing, reading, and editorial experience.
We believe Medium’s leadership team has the best interest of writers and readers at heart. They work hard to create viable solutions for the platform’s sustainability. It is a complex platform with a difficult economic model.
Our Perspective on Further Distribution
Since the inception of our publications, we have observed further distribution progress and had mixed thoughts and feelings about it.
Curation is an excellent process to satisfy the needs of readers; however, the way it is implemented on Medium seems to give more psychological harm than benefit to writers based on the feedback we obtained.
Even though Medium has a set of criteria to select for further distribution, the implementation seems to be subjective and biased towards writers with an extensive audience.
For example, some new writers with excellent writing skills and expertise in specific topics never had the chance for their stories to be chosen for further distribution. We reviewed many of those stories and felt sorry for the affected writers.
The second problem is some great stories are chosen for further distribution, but they receive a handful of views, not even reads. So if a story was chosen for further distribution, why don’t they receive more views? These few views are from the loyal readers of the writers. So, distributed stories do not bring additional readers to these writers.
If the problem was the quality of the stories, we would understand that the reading times might be low. But the concern was some chosen stories for further distribution did not get more than 20 views.
Considering the size of Medium, this is a concern. So, some writers think that Medium might not be distributing them to a broader audience as perceived. Or there might be a problem with the algorithm that needs to be fixed.
Perhaps the algorithm is restricting some content with specific keywords or other variables. In either case, it is up to Medium to sort this issue. It is a valid concern.
It will be a great win if Medium can solve the further distribution issue. However, the normal distribution is also a problem.
Our Perspectives on Recent Decline in Stats
As mentioned in a previous post, we also had significant inquiries from writers about a substantial decline in their stats.
Some writers informed us that there was a glitch with the system. We also read a notice on the distribution page and shared the news in our daily bulletins.
As the editorial team, we also noticed a substantial drop in our stats. Some of us have lost 50% of views and more reading times since last week. The concerned writers post more stories, but they get fewer views day by day. This does not make sense.
We don’t believe so many readers suddenly disappear from Medium. It is most likely related to the programming of the algorithm. Unfortunately, there is no transparency on the platform, so we will not know what algorithm favors or not.
Some stories on trivial matters go viral. And some stories really matter for humanity only get a handful of views. We hope Medium programs the algorithm for a fairer position soon before writers lose their motivation and patience.
Some new writers pour their hearts and soul and spend hours creating excellent content, but they only earn a few cents. We believe that their efforts need to be recognized and compensated for encouragement to write more and better for the valuable readers of this platform.
Another concern is that most views come from external sources. Writers publish their stories on this platform, but non-members see stories more than members.
We don’t know the reasons for external views. Medium also needs to consider this fact in upgrading the distribution system. Naturally, writers want their stories mainly viewed by internal readers.
Final Words and Takeaways
Medium is a dynamic platform. It constantly evolves. Sometimes change can be painful. Transition periods can create stress and anxiety for all stakeholders. It is inevitable.
While the distribution system is very problematic, Medium made significant progress in audience development opportunities. Many writers are happy about this new feature.
For example, writers can now create their distribution lists based on their subscribers. Some writers are also happy about boosting their income with referrals.
Medium keeps changing rules. Some are good, and some are not so good for writers. Priority is readers naturally. However, without writers, readers cannot find content. So the platform needs to consider both stakeholders equally.
As writers, we must be patient and continue producing and delighting our readers. Most likely, these issues will be solved soon and amicably.
We will keep you informed of the progress.
Thank you for contributing to our publications. We look forward to publishing and sharing your stories.
Essential Documents for Our Writers
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Starter Kit for Writers of ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications
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