Lon Shapiro
Aug 25, 2017 · 2 min read

I liked the opening lines, so I decided to throw caution to the wind and see how many times I could clap. I was stopped at 50, and found the exercise a little ridiculous, thinking people will now start wasting more of their time clicking the same virtual button, using almost as much time applauding as it took the read a one-minute article.

The other thing is, now that everyone potentially has bigger numbers, it’s harder to gauge the true quality of the article. 87 people recommending your article has more weight than 19 people clapping 50 times each.

The new system kind of reminds me of German currency circa 1931. The only difference is that if you don’t like the loaf of bread, you can’t take back your wheelbarrow full of money. Unlike the recommend, once you clap you can’t undo applause. Even a case of the clap is easier to remove. [I have been instructed on how to remove claps

Speaking of Benjamin P Hardy, his numbers are even more ridiculous. He posted the exact same article in two different months. (Is this the BPH secret to becoming a God of Medium?) This one from May got 3824 claps from 3741 people:

Then he posted this one in August:

It got 13,069 claps from 2065 people.

It’s the same old rehashed life-hacking/content-marketing “stuff” my favorite writers were mocking last year:

I think I’ll stick to cars and iphones.

Sincerely,

Your cranky luddite neighbor

)

Lon Shapiro

Written by

Father of two amazing men. Peak Performance coach for professional athletes. Ad agency creative director, writer & artist. Tireless research. Author of 5 books.

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