If You Are Going To Clap Once, Then Don’t Clap At All
A Medium norm every new writer should know about.
Imagine going to a broadway show or concert and clapping once at the finale. That’s what it feels like when you leave one measly clap on a piece someone may have spent a better chunk of their evening on. Let’s be real — I’d rather have no claps than one clap. That’s just me, though.
Before I found Medium, back in 2018, claps actually had a play with payment. The more claps you earned, the more money you made. But, really this model is flawed because clapping is subjective.
What if one reader really absolutely loved your piece, and found it so moving it actually redirected the course of their day-to-day lifestyle? And they thought it earned an award-winning clap. They really loved it, but wanted to clap once.
Then there is another individual that is a rampant clapper, clapping left and right for any story they can get their pointer finger on, ready to clap, clap, clap. This person claps regardless of quality, length, or topic. They just want to spread the clapping love, whether their motive is self-serving or not.
Nowadays, clapping does not have anything to do with earnings. It could perhaps affect how the algorithm perceives your story — how well-liked it is…I’m not…
