avatarPen Magnet

Summary

The author has shared their six most popular programming articles, with view counts ranging from 65K to 319K, discussing various topics from privacy concerns to career advice, and highlighting the impact of Medium's recommendation algorithm and external platforms like Reddit.

Abstract

The author reflects on their success as a writer on Medium, having reached an audience of over 1 million readers. Among their articles, the one that stands out the most is "Why You Should Never Send Your CV via Gmail," which has garnered 319K views, mainly through Medium's internal audience. The author also notes the significant role of social media, particularly Reddit, in amplifying the reach of their work, as seen with the article on senior developers leading the Great Resignation Movement. This piece alone has achieved 109K views and 24K reads. The author's writings have resonated with readers, leading to high engagement in terms of comments and claps, and have even inspired the author to create a comprehensive eBook about senior developer interviews. The articles have been promoted through Medium's recommendation algorithm, external publications, and the author's own initiatives, such as the Pen Magnet publication.

Opinions

  • The author believes that privacy concerns, such as those highlighted in the article about not sending CVs via Gmail, are often overlooked but crucial for public awareness.
  • Senior developers' career choices, particularly their tendency to leave traditional 9-5 jobs, is a significant trend that has captured the interest of the programming community.
  • The author's personal experiences, such as the interview answer that had significant financial consequences, are seen as valuable lessons that can benefit others in the industry.
  • Medium's recommendation algorithm has been instrumental in driving traffic to the author's articles, suggesting a strong relationship between content creators and the platform's algorithms.
  • Engagement metrics, like claps and comments, are valued by the author as indicators of the impact and relevance of their articles to the reader base.
  • The author's success on Medium has encouraged them to expand their reach by offering resources such as an eBook on senior developer interviews, demonstrating a commitment to providing value beyond their articles.

My 6 Most Popular Programming Articles

Photo by Yannick Pulver on Unsplash

My total Medium outreach is already past 1M readers.

Here is a list of my most popular articles, sorted by view count:

Why You Should Never Send Your CV via Gmail

This story went viral on Medium right when the pandemic lockdowns shook the world. So far, it has netted 319K views, and 80% of it are Medium internal. It talks about some of the most overlooked privacy concerns in our life.

Why Senior Developers Are Leading the Great Resignation Movement

This story went viral outside Medium. It got most of its views from social media, the leading one of which was Reddit. The story ruled Programming subreddit (/r/programming) not just once, but twice.

So far, its total view count is 109K, with 24K reads.

Developers — here is the best WHY to quit your 9–5 job

This story was published in June 2019, and was one of my first Medium writings. It turned out to be a breakout story, netting 86K views despite my follower count being under 100.

5 Difficult Skills That Pay Off Exponentially in Programming

This story got traction purely via Medium’s recommendation algorithm. So far, it got 65K views, out of which 80% were from Medium. The story got quite encouraging comments and claps within a short time.

The Interview Answer That Cost Me $314K+ Job

This story got boosted by Medium recommendation algorithm, coupled with gitconnected publication’s (Level Up) exceptional outreach. Since about 6 months, it is the top story in the Level Up publication. Not only that, it enjoyed insane engagement in terms of claps (3.5K). and comments (89 so far).

The incident I described in the story affected my career in the most profound way. It inspired me to apply for Amazon and come up with a comprehensive eBook about Senior Developer Interviews.

Thank you for reading!

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Pen Magnet is the author of the popular senior developer interview eBook that addresses the Amazon STAR interview format questions:

Comprehensive Approach to Senior Developer Interview (40+ example questions) (For the next 10 Medium readers, the discount is 50%)

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