A Medium Amount of Research
Okay. I guess it’s about time I come clean. I guess, to justify what’s about to follow? Which I feel I have to do because this isn’t something I’d normally write about.
I’m using Medium for research. Specifically, for a class term project. Having just made it to 42 years of age, I decided to get off my butt and finally finish my BA degree in (Multimedia) Journalism. (Which might also explain my most viewed screed to date, which will also come up later.) One of the classes I’m in right now is Social Media Strategies. I’ve been more active on social media as a whole for that reason.
It’s also the reason I signed on here. One of our term projects was to research and present a fairly new social media tool or platform. Since one of my passions is writing, I chose this one.
One of the things I’ve learned so far? Man, people love to write about writing on Medium. Of course, people write about other things here (and we’ll cover them in a second), but I can’t remember the last time I checked my Twitter feed and saw a gaggle of tweets about how to maximize your tweets. Or Facebook posts about how to get the most likes/shares. Although there is a helpful one on this site that walks you through Facebook Birthday etiquette. But a significant posts on Medium are all about Medium. Self-proclaimed “One Hit Wonders”, comparing Medium to video games in so far as how to get followers, you name it, I’ve seen it all — and change.
I suppose if that was my goal — to become somehow popular and famous online by using a site like this — I would appreciate those kinds of things. It’s certainly interesting (if not somewhat befuddling) from a research aspect, leastways. I won’t lie — the “One Hit Wonder” story got me thinking about my own “hit count” for a second. The Ariel Helwani bit was the highest-scorer to date but those numbers still pale in comparison to the number of recommends I’ve seen other posts get. And I’m fine with that. Again, I’m doing this partly out of research and partly because I enjoy writing. If I don’t “become a viral sensation” or “grow an audience organically?” So be it. Not necessarily a goal.
If it was, however? I might have to get personal. Because that’s the second theme among posts I’ve noticed — personal stories get all the hits. The gist of the aforementioned “One Hit Wonders” story was about how a very personal story got that user the most hits they’d ever seen on the site — and how they never reached that number again. It’s tough to tell if people are getting personal because they feel the need to share, if they’ve discovered that’s how you get famous on here, if they feel no one (or everyone) will see it, or other reasons. Not casting aspersions (or “throwing shade,” as the kids like to say) at those who choose to for whatever reason they choose. I’ve admitted before it’s something I personally (heh) prefer not to do. But that’s my choice and mine alone. Nothing to do with anyone else. Except in terms of research.
This is what I’ve picked up in just under a month of being on this site. Interesting, to say the least. Of course, one of the biggest things about this research is examining the social aspect of the site. Still gathering data that I can analyze as far as that goes. So, obviously I’m not done. Translated: expect more on the issue.
