Medium Math: Claps, Comments, Follows, and More
The Eight Rules of Medium Math
If you really want to support the writers on Medium, it helps to know what’s truly valuable. Introducing Medium Math
Do you think a comment is much more valuable than a clap? That’s what my friend Borut noted recently.
This got me thinking about how much more valuable a comment is, which led to today’s summary of the Eight Rules of Medium Math.
Do you know the relative worth of a clap versus a comment? A follow versus a subscribe? Can you divide a picture by ten claps? (I’m just kidding about that one. There will be no long division done here today.)
Knowing the relative value of various Medium activities helps you spend your time wisely. It also helps you help other writers most effectively if that’s your intention.
The Basic Rules of Medium Math
We start by assigning Medium activity an arbitrary unit of worth called the “M.” This serves only to help us determine relative values.
Rule 1. One View is worth but little (0.001 M)
It’s not worth zero, or our equations won’t work. But let’s say 0.001 M to pick a number.
Rule 2. One Read = 10x a View (0.01 M)
A longer read time is worth more than a quick skim.
You may be thinking longer articles are thus more valuable. But beware: If the reader does not scroll all the way to the bottom of your article, Medium will not count it as a Read.
Rule 3. One Clap = 10x a Read (0.1 M)
The first likely point of controversy. Am I really saying that clapping on a story is 100 times more valuable than quickly dipping in but not reading it? Yes, I am.
“But, James!” you wish to exclaim. “People clap without reading all the time.” I hear you, dear reader (and thanks for reading).
Their clap still serves a valuable function in Medium Math which creates its worth:
- A Clap signals activity to other readers
- A Clap wakens the slumbering algorithm
- A Clap starts the Fan count
Rule 4. One Clap = 50 Claps (All claps are equal)
The second likely point of controversy. If one clap signals reader interest, how come more claps don’t signal greater reader interest?
Here’s why: Clapping is all over the place on Medium, and hence serves an unreliable signal. See A Clap Is Like a Slap if You Do It Only Once and 5 Questions About Clapping With Annoyingly Ambiguous Answers.
Clap once or clap 50 times, and the Fan count is the same. The number of claps doesn’t signal much when below 100. And above that number, the number of claps quickly becomes uninteresting.
So, where do the valuable Ms in Medium Math come from?
Rule 5. A Comment = 50x a Clap (5 M)
Rather than clapping 50 times, which some annoying Medium scolds suggest is proper etiquette (see infra. A Clap Is Like a Slap), it’s preferable for you to Clap once and Comment.
Why is a Comment worth so much more? It signals more than mindless engagement. (But beware the Robo-commenter, laid bare in Disclaimer 19 of 30 Disclaimers We’ll Never See On Medium.)
A Comment is a seed from which further Ms grow.
Rule 6. A Hollow Follower = A Comment (5 M)
Follows really start to get our attention. You need 100 followers to join the Medium Partner Program. And more followers means more reads, right?
Unfortunately not. At the extreme end, we have what I’ll call Hollow Follows.
These are people who click follow without reading and without the intention to read further. See Disclaimers 6 and 7 for a description of these foul creatures.
A person who follows you but never sees another story is worth something. Your follower count signals interest. But without more, I say the Hollow Follow is worth about the same as a Comment.
Rule 7. A True Follower = 10x a Comment or Hollow Follower (50 M)
There’s no bright line test, but a True Follow means someone who has read, clapped, and commented on more than one story. They like what they see and would like to see more.
A True Follow is the foundation of your Fan base.
Rule 8. A Subscriber = 10x a True Follow (500 M)
By doing some Medium Math calculations, we see that a Subscriber is worth a lot of Followers. It’s somewhere between 50:1 for Hollow Followers and 10:1 for True Followers.
Alexander Semenyuk wrote an interesting article “How I got 100 email subscribers” in which he provides his own estimate:
“Personally I’d say that having 100 subscribers is as good as having at least 3000 followers.”
Alexander thus arrives at a figure of One Subscriber = 30 Followers. That passes my sniff test because he’s not differentiating between True and Hollow Follows.
What’s the Takeaway, James?
Glad you asked, dear reader. If you really want to support the writers on Medium, it helps to know what’s truly valuable.
By the transitive property of Medium Math, we can conclude thusly:
A Comment is 50x more valuable than a Clap
A (true) Follow is 10x more valuable than a Comment
A Subscribe is 100x more valuable than a Comment
You are now armed with Medium Math. I hope it helps you navigate this wonderful site, and that you act accordingly.
Leave a Comment to let me know what you think. If you like this and would like to read more, Follow me.
Better yet, click that little Subscribe button and send some imaginary Ms my way.
Be well.