Why Are Medium Owned Pubs and Editor’s Picks Filled With Articles I Don’t Want to Read Anymore?

Summary

The author expresses dissatisfaction with the lack of global diversity in Medium's curated content, particularly in Medium-owned publications and Editor's Picks, which they perceive as predominantly focused on American issues and perspectives.

Abstract

The author, an active Medium user, begins their day by checking for notifications and new content on the platform. However, they consistently find that the curated articles do not align with their interests or global perspective. Despite being engaged in various Facebook groups related to Medium's Partner Program, the author's own article comparing Medium's and Quora's partner programs was not curated, leading to disappointment. The author argues that Medium's content, while high-quality, lacks diversity and often centers around American topics such as racism in the US, the experiences of colored communities, and contributions from white writers expressing solidarity. They point out that global issues, such as those in India or other parts of the world, are underrepresented. The author questions whether Medium is intentionally an American-centric platform or if it can evolve to become a more democratic space that amplifies concerns from diverse regions and cultures.

Opinions

The author feels that Medium's curated content is too focused on American issues and lacks representation of global perspectives and topics.
There is a concern that articles about Medium itself may be disqualified from curation, as indicated by the author's experience with their comparative article on Medium's and Quora's partner programs.
The author values diversity and would like to see Medium feature a wider range of issues, including those from non-American contexts, such as nepotism in the Indian movie industry or conflicts at the Indo-China border.
Despite the disappointment, the author still holds hope that Medium can be a democratic platform that gives voice to a variety of global concerns and leaders.
The author is skeptical about whether their critique will be acknowledged or if it will be dismissed due to the presence of the word 'Medium' in the text, potentially triggering an algorithm to exclude it from curation.

A genuine concern, and a humble request to the authority

Diversity is the key (Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash)

There are a dozen Facebook groups for people who aspire to make some money out of Medium Partner Program, they act like self-help groups for alcoholics. They are also like market places for ‘reads for reads’, ‘claps for claps’, and ‘follow for follow’. I am a member of the top three groups with the highest followings. One group is particularly stricter than the rest. Once I asked a question on curation on that group, “Is it true that the articles written about Medium won’t get curated?”, and someone answered, “Well, it is a disqualifier”. I was disappointed because I had just spent two hours putting together an article that compared the Medium Partner Program and Quora Partner Program. It was well researched, with an analysis of real data. Anyways, the article did not get curated, but I earned almost a dollar till now from that one.

Even this article, unfortunately, is about Medium. But I don’t care, because I have something very important to say and I hope Medium is listening!

These days, I begin the day by opening the Medium app and looking for those green notifications with half-opened eyes. I wake up disappointed most of the days, but then I proceed to read some of the articles on Medium owned publications and from the Editor’s picks. Apart from the new articles from my network, everything else seems like the ones for a different audience. This has been happening for a month, so I decided to dig deeper, hoping that it is something to do with the settings. But…

But I realized that Medium is a truly American company, truly. I don’t want this article to get curated, but I would like the editors to read this and see it as an honest opinion from a loyal Medium user. As a human, I care for things happening around the world. I fall into the group of people who donate as much they can when a natural calamity affects ‘Haiti’. I follow Instagram pages that are dedicated to Sustainability and Wildlife Care. I love to read the stories on ‘Humans of New York’. I am aware of the racism issues in the US. I watch mostly American TV series and is well knowledgable about the US pop culture. But…

But, I am also an Asian. I am also an Indian. Racism in the US is not the only thing I care about. I don’t want to be bombarded with articles about ‘Girlboss’. Barack Obama is not the only leader I would like to see on this platform.

While I respect the Medium owned publications for the quality of their writings, I am disappointed to see the dearth of the diversity of topics on them.

They are mostly American. They are mostly about the oppression faced by coloured communities in the US, and profound articles from white people who say they care. They are great, well written and moving. But what about the rest of the world? Why do these publications follow the ‘Hollywood’ approach? When aliens attack the earth, it attacks the US. When a pandemic threatens the world population, the US comes to the rescue, but I think I don’t have to comment on the irony during these unprecedented times! But…

But what about issues I care for? What about issues that matter to the non-American followers of Medium? What about the Nepotism in the Indian movie industry that made a young actor end his life in his luxurious apartment in a posh location in Mumbai? What about the nasty cold-blooded fights at the Indo-China border? What about an elephant in Kerala that died after feeding on a pineapple filled with crackers? What about a lot of other relevant topics that affect the World and not just the US? But…

But I could be wrong, maybe Medium is, after all, a truly American platform. Maybe that was the idea throughout. If that is the case, this is a naive ranting from some guy in a developing economy in Asia. I am not a brown guy in the US, and therefore I don’t have personal stories to tell that would have maybe picked up by a Medium editor. But…

But I still would like to believe that it is a democratic space on the internet, from where people from all around the world can amplify their concerns. I want to believe that this platform continues to grow and more world leaders will join this platform, to stand in solidarity with their supporters on the problems that they care about. But…

But am I wrong? Am I stupid to think that this article would make any difference at all? Would it be automatically taken out from the curation queue by a pre-defined algorithm, because there are mentions of the word ‘Medium’ on it? Would it be read? I just want it to be read by someone. I just want someone to see this as a genuine concern. I so badly want this space to be truly democratic!

Why Are Medium Owned Publications and Editor’s Picks Filled With Articles I Don’t Want to Read Anymore?

A genuine concern, and a humble request to the authority