My Return to Medium Continues

Changing perspectives after one month in

January has come and gone, like a thief in the night.

With the arrival of a brand new month, we are bound to see a whole host of reflection pieces concerning the platform pop up on our screens. While it is not something I write about too often, I thought it may be interesting to discuss my evolving thoughts and perspectives about the platform.

Time has flown by so quickly for me this month. I suspect that has everything to do with my return to Medium. I have been spending a whole lot of time here, and that has made the days literally fly by.

I’m definitely not complaining about that. This is so much better than a few months ago when I was bedridden and could not do much of anything at all. Just laying in bed and staring at the ceiling all day.

Good times!

However, on January 5th I decided that I was strong enough to return to the platform and reconnect with my friends here once again. After being absent for six months due to my surgery, I was unsure about what to expect upon my return. I had also deleted my old account so I needed to start over again from scratch.

I considered that to be quite appropriate really. In many ways, I had begun a whole new life. May as well do the same on Medium!

After a few days, I wrote an article in which I discussed the many changes I had seen since I returned to the platform. There were lots, and I considered them to be overwhelmingly positive.

It looked more like a complete overhaul in which Medium seemed to be making a bold attempt to promote quality over quantity. This was something I had longed for during my years on the platform and was pleased to see that this philosophy had been embraced.

Not so fast my friend, R C Hammond cautioned. Give it some time! He is usually spot-on with his perspectives so I took his words seriously but decided to find out for myself.

So what have I discovered in my first month back? Have my perspectives changed?

In truth, I still believe many of the changes Medium has made are resoundingly positive. The FOM program for instance makes a significant difference. I have seen better results than ever since my return, and I only have a fraction of the followers I once had.

I also think that changing the metrics to reward engagement more was a brilliant move. The best thing about this platform is the community. That should not come as breaking news for any of us. However, by deliberately rewarding engaged members, the platform reinforces the concept of supporting our fellow writers. A very good thing!

What about the quality over quantity push, you ask?

In contrast to what I wrote earlier this month, I now have mixed feelings there. On one hand, I believe Medium really wants this. That is part of the reason the boosting system came about. (I believe nominators should only be Medium staff… but that is a story for another day). Suffice it to say that the intentions were good.

Nevertheless, I have seen a huge uptick in something else.

The dreaded AI articles!

Look, if you want to read these flavorless concoctions, go for it! To each his own. Personally, I would rather smear myself with honey and sit naked on an anthill than read these robotic regurgitations. But in the end, it is all about choice.

That is not really the point though.

What is happening is a deliberate flooding of the system. These AI articles are appearing at an alarming rate, and they usually are not accompanied by the required disclaimer. (Anyone who has written for any period of time can easily pick these pieces out from the crowd).

Jay Vaananen wrote a fine piece yesterday about this very fact. It is well worth a read as he is a very creative and clever writer.

The reward for these articles must be there, or people would simply not bother.

All this being said…do you see the problem?

We are returning to quantity over quality again. And the rewards are going to quantity.

It has even got to the point where AI bots are spamming out engagement comments in an attempt to game the system. This is just an abuse of the platform so many of us have grown to love.

So what is the solution?

I do not believe that we can put the burden of fixing this all on Medium themselves. They are trying their best under difficult circumstances.

As writers, we need to do our part. Moaning and complaining won't do too much. We need to take a more active role. For instance, always report spam and violations. Stop reading and engaging with AI articles that are drowning out your own.

This is all of our community, and it falls upon each one of us to support it.

So therein lies my evolving perspectives after a month back on the platform. Medium is still the best writing platform that exists…period! I have written for many others and they do not even come close.

There is room for even more improvement though. Something that can really only be achieved by acting together as a cohesive community.

You know… the same community we all say is the best part about Medium!