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The Problem With the Medium Algorithm
It feeds me stories I don’t like
Conceptually, Medium is a wonderful idea. Essentially, it’s an internet niche that gives wannabe writers a chance to make a living — or at least garner a readership and make a few bucks in the process. Let’s face it. Without a degree in journalism, it’s very difficult to pay the rent as a writer.
The program here is to read as much as you write on this platform. Interaction is key to whatever success you hope to achieve. This is a social medium.
As you read other writers’ stories, the algorithm picks up on what you’ve read before and feeds you that writer or others on the same subject. What the algorithm doesn’t take into account is how you felt about what you’d just read — especially if you think the read was a waste of time!
So let’s say a title looks interesting enough for you to click on the story and you begin reading. After a short while, it becomes obvious that you were seduced but not satisfied. Medium doesn’t know that. So what happens? It sends you the same author you didn’t like again.
On some platforms (notably Newsbreak), commenters can be brutal. It’s that internet hater syndrome. But on balance, Medium is a civilized place where people rarely “hate.”
