Writing

One Clap Is Not a Slap

While we’re tinkering with Medium, let’s change the clapping thing

Do we really need to give 50 claps?

A lot of Medium authors think we do.

Giving a single clap is often regarded as a slap.

But why?

As far as I can tell, Medium counts one clap the same as 50 claps, correct, Tony Stubblebine?

One clap equals one fan, right? Or does a greater number of claps goose the algorithm into showing your story around to more people?

To my understanding, you aren’t giving people anything but vanity claps when you take the time to hold down that button and wait for it to get to 50.

It takes me about 11 seconds to give 50 claps.

“Oh, you’re too busy to give somebody a measly 11 seconds of your time? You only gave 20 because you couldn’t spare a few more seconds?”

I know how that sounds. So when I read your story, I will nearly always give you 50 claps, because I want to be polite. If I am responding to one of your comments, I usually give one clap to acknowledge your kind words, and nearly always a quick “thank you for reading” at the very least.

Sometimes I’m eager to write a response but first, I’ve gotta put myself on hold while keeping my finger on that damned clap icon.

Am I too impatient? Yeah. I am. I am an impatient person who wants to be doing something besides holding my finger still for what feels like forever.

Once in a while, if you write a prolonged response that really resonates with me, I’ll give you 50. I have no idea if this matters to Medium, or to the writer.

Maybe somebody can tell me now.

If I give you a compliment, it’s a good thing.

Do I have to give you 50 of them?

Other platforms have likes or upvotes/downvotes. I like the clap, but I don’t know if we need all 50 every time.

In theory, one could use this as a scale. If you like it, you give a clap. If you like it a lot, you give a few more. If it’s the best thing you’ve ever read in your whole life and you are going to name your first child after the writer, you give 50 claps.

But it hasn’t worked out that way.

It’s like going to a rock concert.

Have you ever gone to a performance and felt obligated to participate in the standing ovation?

I’m not going to just sit there when everyone around me is standing and clapping. I’d look like I didn’t care for the concert, and I almost certainly did — I’m pretty damned cheap. If I shelled out for a show, you can bet your ass it was for a performer who means the world to me.

But the performer expects you to be performative right back.

If you go to a concert waiting to hear that artist’s biggest hit, you know you are not going to hear that hit as the opening number. You know when you’re most likely to hear it — during the encore, right?

They save it because they know and expect everybody will clap until they come back and do another song. Everybody pretends the band was done performing but was persuaded to give one more song because the audience begged so hard.

“Oh, look! It seems we inadvertently left our most popular song out of our set! My, how could we have forgotten our biggest hit? Should we play it now, since you all really, really want one more song? I mean, we weren’t going to perform it, but OK. Since you insist.”

At least, that’s been my experience. I don’t get to see many concerts, so maybe my experience is not universal. I did get to see the Violent Femmes a couple of years ago, but I cannot remember if they saved Blister in the Sun until the end.

They probably did, though.

I don’t like to be performative.

I would rather give you an honest clap to show I appreciated your work. I am a writer. So if I loved your piece, I will tell you why I loved it. I may end up writing the equivalent of a Medium essay right there in the comments section. That should mean more to you than the number of claps I give you.

What’s your opinion?

Do you love the 50 claps, or do you think it’s become an expectation? Should the platform change anything, or should we all change how we use it?

Or maybe I’m the only curmudgeon who finds it tiresome to give every single writer 50 claps?

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