The focus on network is great, but so many networks aim to personalize, to surround you with people and ideas you’re already familiar and comfortable with. These viral loops we all want sort of bias towards non-confrontation.

And I’d love to see Medium be different.

Have your publication editors prompt and moderate debates, make sure it’s easy to get to responses in one swipe. Maybe encourage authors to read the responses and recommend some. Make it worth their while. Debates have never transitioned well to the web and I think they could here. We need more thoughtful debate.

I think you also need to give publications and people tools to grow their network. It’s a critical piece of the puzzle. This means ways to grow email lists, and presences elsewhere. Give them a way to grow individual networks and not just yours and as a return you’ll get loyal users that bring people along to join the party.