The Bits I Like, and the Bits That Need Improving

I’ve posted a couple of times on Medium to try it out and here’s what I think:

The bits I like:

• Super easy to use, clean interface and typography, very simple and uncomplicated. No fluffing around with formatting and plugins
• Readers can add your post into a different category if they like – extending your reach
• Medium tells shows you how long – in minutes – it will take to read a post. Great thinking
• Seamless integration with Twitter (unsurprisingly) – your profile is set up in a couple of clicks or less
• Commenting is in the form of Notes on each line of your post, rather than at the end of the post
• You can allow other contributors to review your post before it is published (this is also a quick way to get publishing access to Medium)

The bits that need improving:

• No way to search for someone who you know posts on Medium. You can follow a category but not a person – and no way of finding their past posts unless you find their Medium profile
• You can post something but unless you are very popular, it would be hard to get it to the top story in the category (top posts are voted up by clicking on the Recommend button).This means your post will get lost in the river of posts streaming past – a bit like Twitter really.
• Normal rules of SEO via Google do not seem to apply (no tagging functionality)
• The simple stats available to let you know how many have viewed, read, commented and recommended your post will fall short of people used to Google Analytics
• The lack of a support forum is surprising – assistance appears to be via FAQs or email.

As a reader, I’ve been loving Medium. I’ve been consuming new content and articles I wouldn’t have stumbled across before. I set up an RSS feed for the Editors Picks category which curates some of the best posts each day.

As a writer, I’ve enjoyed the simpler interface and uncluttered layout. It will be interesting to watch what happens over time as more and more writers are able to publish on Medium, and without a Follow function how this will impact the reach of the content you write.

A longer version of this post was also published over on my blog.