Things No One Told Me: Medium Clapping Etiquette
I’ve been here for 2.5 months now, and I’m slowly working my way through proper medium etiquette, learning the tricks of the trade, and becoming a part of this community.
This has been weighing heavily on me so I’m just going to say it. Until about a few weeks ago, I was a single clapper. Then I started seeing articles about clapping and comments like:
“it only takes a few seconds”
“claps could change somebody’s life”
“what? Like it’s hard….” (in my best Elle Woods)
It turns out leaving one clap is like tipping your server in gum and loose change. I sincerely apologize if I offended anyone.
I’ve dug around for more info on this, and here’s what I’ve found:
- There are different types of clappers
- Snooty clappers — they only give one clap. Again — so sorry!
- Encouraging clappers — these are the people who give 30+ claps, and they will support it all.
2. Numbers of claps = different things
- 50 Claps = This story is AMAZING! I LOVE IT
- 21–49 Claps = Nice work… I got something out of it
- <20 = Thanks… I guess.
3. Claps help boost posts
- The more claps you get, the more visible your posts become. It also helps Medium understand you better. The more you clap, the more dialed in your feed can be toward you — just like any other social media platform where you can like or give hearts.
Joking aside, claps motivate writers, and supporting other writers is what we’re here to do. This has been a fun ride so far. I hope this was helpful to other newbies like me! Please feel free to clap away.