Summary

The article discusses the perceived disorganization and peculiar selection of topics on Medium, particularly criticizing the prioritization of trendy and biased topics over a more structured and inclusive categorization system.

Abstract

The author of the article expresses dissatisfaction with the way Medium has organized its topics, suggesting that there is a lack of coherence and logic in the categorization. The article points out that while "True Crime" is listed under "Arts & Entertainment," other genres like "Science Fiction" or "Poetry" are missing, leading to confusion about whether Medium views crime as entertainment or art. The author also questions the inclusion of "San Francisco" as a topic under "Society," while other significant cities and broader categories like "Security" and "Family" are omitted. The piece argues that Medium's topic selection seems arbitrary, possibly influenced by Silicon Valley's interests or web popularity, rather than serving the diverse interests of its readers and writers. The author concludes that Medium's apparent disinterest in improving the topic organization, despite having an "army of editors," indicates a focus on featured content at the expense of providing better visibility for all stories.

Opinions

The author believes that Medium's topic organization is disorganized and lacks logical structure, with some categories feeling random or trend-driven.
There is a critique of Medium's categorization of "True Crime" under "Arts & Entertainment," suggesting it might trivialize crime or overlook the artistic value of other genres like "Science Fiction" and "Poetry."
The inclusion of "San Francisco" as a topic, while other major cities and relevant categories are excluded, is seen as an indication of bias towards Silicon Valley interests.
The author implies that Medium's editorial decisions are driven by popularity and trendiness rather than a balanced representation of reader and writer interests.
There is a sense of frustration that Medium's editors focus on featuring content rather than addressing the issues with the topic organization, which could improve the visibility of a wider range of stories.
The author expresses a belief that Medium is more concerned with its editorial line and featured content than with the interests of its users outside of what is prominently showcased.

Topics on Medium Speak Volumes

The truth about the organization of Medium topics may be unpleasant.

**Girl enjoying a summer beach picnic in California** — by Sasha • Stories on Unsplash

If you ever looked at Medium topics, you may have noticed that something weird is at work there.

Yes, you checked topics when you registered. But that doesn’t count. You didn’t know, at the time.

True Crime

Scrolling topics, you soon find True Crime. In the Arts & Entertainment category.

And that feels good news.

If True Crime is there, I can follow Science Fiction or Poetry too.

False.

At best, you can follow Comics or Humor. And that’s good, but no Science Fiction, nor Poetry. Nor a lot of other topics it would make sense to have there, besides True Crime.

First taste of the Big Illusion at work here.

Checking better, I see that True Crime is not a genre (I’m non-native English, so I get confused easily, but I’m not the only non-native here). It’s most, actually, about true crimes.

Damn, I should have guessed.

But, wait a moment… Is it in the Art & Entertainment category?

Now, I’m really confused.

Does Medium consider crime entertaining or rather a form of art?

I get that crime can be entertaining. My mother watches those TV shows.

But I hoped that Medium could go beyond that.

Or, at least, consider poetry a form of art.

The gem

But when you think that Medium just forgot this page and it’s all random, you see the gem.

San Francisco.

San Francisco is a topic, in the Society category. The same category that sports Gun control (legit category) but does not sport Security (legit category too, and maybe a broader one). Or the same category which sports Philosophy (philosophy in the society category, seriously?) but does not sport Family among the 18 topics in the category.

Cities can be topics, of course (and the topic Cities is also there, maybe as mending).

But while San Francisco has a population of under one million of inhabitants, dozens of (popular and modern) cities on the planet are in the millions. And in many of those cities, many Internet connections are fully operative, and many of Medium paying users live.

I get that San Francisco is quite a popular topic on the Web and in Silicon Valley, but many other cities are of interest for so many of us.

If popularity in Silicon Valley is a criterion for choosing topics, I’d expect to find MacBook and iPhone among topics too.

If Web popularity is the criterion, instead, I’d expect Porn to be there.

Putting the dots together

Apparently, an infant picked random topics out of a box.

Or a wicked apprentice editor played with them for a couple of hours.

The first thing you can say could be: “Hey, Medium, why don’t you look at the topics? It seems there’s a bit of mess, there.”

Then, you play a bit with Medium, and maybe you say a second thing: “I get that Medium is turning into a magazine and they are surfing hot topics. But too trendy and biased for my taste”.

Then, you stay on Medium for 15 months, you see the army of editors at work featuring while the much-needed Medium features are kept stuck — topics mess included — and you get the truth.

Simply put, Medium doesn’t give a shit about the visibility of your stories outside featured content and it’s not interested in investing hours in it. Nor it doesn’t care about your interests as a reader outside featured content. Topics organization is just laid there as you guessed: trendy and biased. Because Medium doesn’t care much and, if anything, topics can just contribute to the editorial line.

And maybe — too late — you say the third thing: “________!@!“ Fill the blank space at will.

You can tell it loudly. They don’t listen.