Summary

The article discusses the author's concern about the lack of diversity in their daily Medium feed, which frequently features multiple articles from the same authors, particularly Roz Warren and Ryan Fan, despite following 975 writers across various topics.

Abstract

The author begins by acknowledging their appreciation for Roz Warren's writing, which appears frequently in their feed. However, they notice an overrepresentation of articles from Warren and another favored writer, Ryan Fan, raising questions about the diversity of content being curated by Medium's algorithm. Despite following a vast number of writers, the author observes that their feed lacks variety and rarely includes pieces from many of the writers they follow. This leads to a broader concern about the algorithm's impact on viewership and engagement, as the author and others have experienced declining readership and views, even on curated pieces. The author expresses a desire for Medium to showcase a wider range of voices, including both their followed writers and new, undiscovered ones, to enhance the reading experience and ensure fair exposure for all writers on the platform.

Opinions

The author enjoys Roz Warren's and Ryan Fan's writing but is concerned about the algorithm's overemphasis on a few authors in their feed.
There is a belief that the Medium algorithm may be flawed, as it does not seem to reflect the diversity of the 975 writers the author follows.
The author suggests that the algorithm's behavior could be contributing to low views and reads on their pieces and those of other writers.
Despite having their work curated, the author notes that it has not resulted in increased views, leading to questions about the effectiveness of Medium's curation in driving readership.
The author is grateful for the platform and the community but is critical of the current state of content distribution on Medium.
There is a call for Medium to improve its algorithm to ensure that a broader range of writers, including those who are less established, receive visibility and support.

Who’s In My Feed? It’s Interesting

But it’s a bit confusing

Roz Warren asked the question “Who’s in Your Feed?” in her article today. I told Roz that she’s in my feed almost every day. I don’t think she believed me. But yes, here at the top of Your Daily Feed today was none other than Roz, once again!

Yea! I love reading Roz’s fabulous and fun writing. I like her in my feed. I haven’t read that article yet, but I will.

But wait — there was something else curious I noticed. While I circled Roz in red at the top, look at the blue you see scrolling down. My buddy Ryan Fan. Another favorite, for sure. I read a lot of his work.

But I continued to scroll down and found this.

And this.

And this.

And this.

And yes, there’s more. This.

That’s eight of Ryan’s pieces in one day’s feed. There could have been more, but I didn’t want to know.

I adore Ryan. I will always read and support his writing. I am sure eventually I will read most, if not all, of these articles. He writes on a lot of topics, and writes well, which means his writing should get attention. But I don’t think even Ryan’s mama is reading eight of his pieces in one day.

My problem is this. I currently follow 975 writers. Where are they? I follow a lot of topics, and these 975 writers write on a lot of them. I suspect curations occur for them in many of these topics. They deserve to have their work read. I want to see it.

Today could be a fluke, but I have noticed for some time that there often is not a lot of variety in writers in what Medium sends out to me. Should I receive more than one or two articles from a writer a day?

I read a lot every day. I love reading different points of view. Different styles. Supporting different people. I love it when my work is supported, too.

But something is fishy with the algorithm. Many of us have mentioned low views and reads on our pieces lately.

My numbers have gone down each month since January 2020 (though numbers were about the same for April and May.) Even my curated pieces aren’t seeing many views. I had three curated pieces in one week, one in four topics. My numbers remained low. My number of followers has grown, but my views haven’t. I have marketed these pieces myself in multiple places, and this is what produces most of my results. Shouldn’t my curated articles, at least, receive a bit of Medium love?

Maybe platform engagement is down due to the coronavirus. But there seem to be a lot of new writers and a lot of people writing. I suspect that means many of us are reading, too.

I don’t often whine, and I am grateful to those who read my work. I’m also so thankful for this platform, which may not make me a lot of money but has made me a better and more consistent writer. The friendships I have gained are priceless, as is the knowledge these friends have shared.

But I love to read. So please, come on, Medium — show me my people! All of my 975 people, on occasion, and a few great new undiscovered ones, too.

Don’t leave out Ryan. I want to read his work. But I think he’ll be OK if I only read one or two a day. I need to find more great voices. I know they’re on Medium. Why doesn’t Medium?

Introducing Kim McKinney

I’m so happy to meet you

medium.com