What I’ve Noticed About the Medium Algorithm
Clarity on How the Medium Algorithm Works
When I started writing on Medium, I had high hopes. This platform would be the perfect space to share my thoughts, connect with others writer, and earn money. But as I’ve learned over time, it’s not as simple as just writing and hoping people will read your article.
As I write daily, I dedicate myself to being heard on this Platform. Listening to it feels more real than ever, mainly when many writers compete for the same attention and engagement to earn money.
Understanding the medium’s algorithms, such as shifting pay structures and finding an audience that cares about what I am writing here, frustrated me.
For many of us, Medium has become less about passion and more about the frustrations of low visibility and unpredictable statistics.
One of the most confusing things about writing on Medium is understanding how earnings work. The algorithm deciding what to pay writers and how to promote our work is a mystery, as is how we can promote our articles on other platforms without getting revoked, aside from using the friends link.
It frustrates me that my engagement metrics have been reset. If I understand correctly, the stats graph in my country has a gap where it stops recording between 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Several readers engaged in my article during that time, but those engagements were not recorded. I don’t know what happened, or maybe I’m just interpreting it wrong. This could make it hard to accurately understand my article’s performance, especially if many readers are active during that time.
There’s no clear explanation for this; the medium should release a statement on how the algorithm works, and it often feels like you’re at the mercy of invisible forces that decide whether your article reaches people or gets buried.
Many writers on Medium have noticed this shift. Instead of focusing on authenticity and writing from the heart, people write just to earn money. Everyone wants to be the “author” who makes a living from their words, but not many are looking to read or connect genuinely.
It’s all about being seen but not so much about listening. As a result, it sometimes feels like we writers are shouting into a void rather than having a conversation.
There are days when I think working at a fast-food job would be better than putting in hours of effort for only a few dollars here on Medium. At least with a fast-food job, there’s a guarantee of getting paid for my work. My earnings from writing on Medium have been low, sometimes as little as $3 a day. It can be frustrating, especially when you pour your heart and energy into your articles.
But even though the earnings are small, I keep writing. Writing is more than just a job; it’s a passion. However, the struggle, though, is real. In a time when we’re all looking for ways to make ends meet, it’s hard to justify spending hours writing for very little return.
Another strange part of writing on Medium is that I often wonder if anyone is really reading what I write or if everyone’s just here to publish their own work. It seems like many writers are just posting their articles and moving on without engaging with other people’s stories or insights. Writing on Medium has turned into a one-sided conversation, with everyone wanting to speak but few wishing to listen. What I am trying to point out is that the medium lacks readers but has a lot of writers. compared to TikTok viewers more compared to content creators.
This creates a problem that goes deeper than just feeling ignored. It feels lonely to write for an audience that isn’t listening, and my purpose starts to feel lost.
Despite all these challenges, I’m still here. I still write because writing matters to me. It’s a way to process my thoughts, make sense of my experiences, and share a bit of myself with the world.
Is Medium the right platform for us writers?
There’s also something special about knowing that my words might reach someone who needs them. Even if only one person reads my article and feels understood, that makes the effort worth it. What I wish right now is for Medium to clarify how the earning algorithm works.
