Medium Has a Negative Feedback Loop Problem
Why Medium claps and comments aren’t always indicative of good writing.
Medium has a negative feedback loop problem, and it’s not a good thing.
Writers make money on Medium through audience engagement. Comments, reads, and claps all feed into into an algorithm to determine writer payouts.
Medium has updated the algorithm a few times, most recently putting an emphasis on reader comments. The more that writers can entice and gather comments, the more that writers will make each month.
But here’s the problem. Medium makes no distinction between positive comments and negative comments.
So why is that an issue?
It’s a whole lot easier to gather negative comments than positive comments.
I can write a well-researched article on economics or finance, and one or two readers might comment on it with positive feedback. Or, if I’m really focusing on gathering reader comments, I can write an inflammatory piece on politics, religion, or another sensitive topic that will likely anger 50% of the population. I’d likely receive twice as many negative comments than positive comments.
Readers love to comment when they’re angry. That’s not necessarily a bad thing…
