Summary

The content discusses a widespread concern among writers on Medium about a substantial decline in their article statistics, particularly reading times, and the potential impact of recent changes to Medium's profile format.

Abstract

The author of the web content addresses a common issue raised by many writers on Medium, including themselves, regarding a noticeable drop in their article statistics. This decline is characterized by a significant reduction in average reading times, which seems inconsistent with the usual engagement levels. The author has conducted an analysis, observing a dramatic decrease of about 80% in reading times across various articles, including their own leadership pieces that typically garner high engagement. Despite reasonable view counts, the reading times do not align with historical data, leading the author to question whether this is a bug or an intentional feature introduced by Medium. The author also notes that changes to Medium's profile format may be contributing to the issue, expressing personal dissatisfaction with the new profile design. The article concludes with an invitation for affected writers to share their experiences and a call for Medium to address these concerns promptly to avoid demotivating its writers.

Opinions

The author believes that the decline in stats is a valid concern for writers, as it does not reflect the usual engagement patterns.
There is skepticism about the accuracy of the current statistics, with the author suggesting that a 55% reading ratio dropping to 3% is indicative of a problem.
The author is uncertain whether the issue is a technical glitch (bug) or a deliberate change (feature) by Medium.
The recent modifications to Medium profiles are seen as detrimental, with the author expressing a strong dislike for the new design and believing it negatively affects their stats.
The author encourages a collective sharing of findings among writers to validate the observed patterns and to seek a resolution from Medium.
There is a sense of urgency for Medium to address these issues to maintain the motivation and trust of its writing community.

No, You Are Not The Only One!

Many writers ask why stats declined substantially. I reflect upon my perspective.

During the last two weeks, I received many email inquiries on declining stats by the concerned writers. The examples provided by writers differ, but the most common question is “what happened to my stats and why”.

Like many of these writers, I noticed a decline in my stats too. The most significant adverse impact on my stats was reduced reading time. I caught a typical pattern from my stats.

To test my hypothesis, I checked the specific type of stories which attract the most views, reading times, and substantial engagement. They are my leadership articles followed and enjoyed by many readers.

My leadership articles used to average around two minutes of reading time. However, the latest story in this topic published within the last two weeks, even though it had considerable engagement rate such as 3,3K claps and 30 comments, shows only 34 seconds of average reading time. This reflects an unusual average reading time for me.

Considering the engagement on this particular story, the decline in reading times concerns me because it does not align with my history and does not seem to reflect the reality. I sensed something wrong with stats.

To validate this initial observation, I reviewed around 100 articles from top writers in my publication and noticed that there was a massive decline in reading times. The average reading times that I sampled was a decline of about 80%.

I don’t want to bore you with details of analysis but want to point out the key pattern with an example. Here is a sample entry in my analysis notebook.

Let me explain this figure. I checked a group of articles from a reputable writer whose stories averaged around 55% reading ratio. In this recent example, the story received 415 views and 18 favorites. However, the stats show only 12 reads. A decline from 55% to 3% ratio did not make sense to me.

After seeing a substantial decline in stats, I understand and empathize with the concerns of many writers. These are valid concerns. These concerns are recent and seemed to pop out of nowhere. I acknowledge the issue but am unable to propose an explanation, let alone a solution now.

My main confusion comes from the inconsistency or dichotomy between views and reads. The views looked reasonable in many stories that I reviewed. However, the reading times were questionable. It does not gel.

The problem is apparent, but the cause is not. I don’t know the reason. Did readers suddenly stop reading from their favorite writers? I don’t think so. There may be fluctuations in reading times, but it is hard to justify a magnitude of gap from 50% to 3%.

Like many of you, I am at a confusing stage and discovery mode. The first thought coming to my mind is whether this situation is an outcome of a bug or a feature. It is yet to be determined.

When I answer to many inquiries, I say I don’t know whether this is a bug or feature in reading times. There is no empirical evidence yet. I reflect upon observations and a preliminary assessment to understand the concerns. Anecdotes reveal something is going wrong. We need more time and data to validate the patterns.

When I search for trending topics, it was possible to see a plethora of articles raising concerns about the recent changes on Medium. For example, I followed a recent story of Julia E Hubbel published in my publication. The comments section of the story was raising similar concerns.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my biggest concern related to changes in my profile. I don’t like my new profile. I have enough data that my profile is not serving the purpose as it used to do. I genuinely dislike my new profile. It does not reflect my writing practice on this platform. And it is causing me grief.

I am not sure what affects the concerns of other writers at this stage, but I firmly believe that my stats were affected by the modification of my profile. It is something which bothers me deeply.

Yes, the recent changes appear to have disadvantaged stats of many writers. As a consolation, no, you are not the only one.

This is a sincere feedback from me as I care about this platform.

I hope Medium addresses these issues timely before demotivating the writers.

If your stats are affected, please comment on your findings.

Thank you for reading my perspective.

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