How the Medium claps feature made my reading more mindful
I spend at least 50–90 minutes on medium everyday. That may sound like a lot, but is still less than my usage until a month back. If I had a free day and no inspiration to code, I would fire up medium and get lost in the articles or at least a couple of hours . However majority of it was passive reading in an amused state with little to no retention at the end of the day. Only recently did I begin to pay serious attention to what I was reading and why.I now read in short bursts spread throughout the day, with an aim of gaining something valuable out of every session. To aid this purpose I have maintained a habit of jotting down important points in a dedicated notebook which is half full by now.
With increased focus I enhanced my awareness about what article was really useful to me and what could be passed on. And everyday the time I spend on this platform is gradually decreasing. At the same time I feel I’m getting more value out of the articles that I read. Be it about productivity, JavaScript or lifestyle, the content that I consume seems to resonate more with me now than before.
How 👏 makes me feel more connected
Recently I’ve gained an unexpected ally in mindful reading, the new 👏 feature of medium. Previously, the only way I could physically react to the article was to note down the points that I liked or by pressing the 💚 icon. Moreover, after reading more than 3 articles, anytime I pressed the heart for subsequent articles, it felt like a boring chore.it feels mundane to finish reading an article and then liking it, being careful not to unlike it by hitting the heart an even number of times. Many deserving articles thus went without a like. It may not matter to big publication, but as a newbie blogger I know it holds much value to those with a low number of followers.
The new claps feature changes that. Now, I feel as if I’m applauding the author in real time every time I give his/her article a clap. When I understand a Javascript feature explained by Preethi Kasireddy or Brandon Morelli, I can clap to their article. They may not know what it meant to me, but I feel like I’ve thanked them for helping me understand. If I’m reading a long article on The Mission, like why degrees are losing their value , on each point I agree upon I can now applaud. It isn’t too different than listening to a speech on that subject and applauding every time you feel the speaker is making a valid point. Okay, there is no sound but you get the point.
Impending Changes to how 👏s work
Clapping is now also an integral part of the Medium Partner program. Which I feel is a great initiative. In case you’ve been living under a productivity rock, medium is gradually rolling out a program wherein you can help your favorite authors earn (real) money by clapping, as long as you’re reading the content as a premium user. All in all, this new feature is a welcome move in Medium’s user experience which can also potentially assist them in monetizing.
So that’s my impression about the new feature which seems to have divided opinions across the reader’s network. What’s your take ? Has it made any changes to how you use medium?
