Adaptive Media Assessment — Part 3
Medium
“Medium originated as a place where independent authors and professionals could publish content..”
Medium originated as a place where independent authors and professionals could publish content and begin discussions around specific ideas within “stories,” and could follow other members and/or topics. When looking at the overall platform, it is a blogging environment, with a news feed and social media aspect similar to Twitter, which is not surprising seeing as Twitter began the Medium project. Taking the opposite approach of Apple News or Google Amp, Medium initially prioritized independent publishers, which allowed them to do a lot of things well, and is now attempting to meet the business needs of larger publications, while still providing the positive reading experience that was part of their original vision. With this difference in approach, we can see how Medium has approached article authoring, social sharing, “favorites,” and advertising much differently than any other platforms that we are seeing, and how they are successfully doing each task, and where they need improvement.
Authoring
Medium’s focus is to give smaller publishers a voice, extend their audience, and offer an environment that is more engaging than a typical online magazine or blog. The first step to allowing people to publish their content however, is to provide a method to publish their articles or “stories.” Medium is unique compared to AMP and News articles because the design and authoring is completely dependent on their front-end system. While this limits the capabilities and freedom of publishers, it also has the advantage of ensuring that, aside from the content itself, any articles published to the platform meet a standard of design, and accommodates the platform’s goal of allowing people to focus on the content, and the discussions in the articles. In addition to authoring on their front-end platform however, Medium has also provided tools to integrate and import information to and from blogging and social platforms, Facebook Instant Articles, and Google AMP, which is something that we are still waiting for on other platforms.
Sharing
Like many other apps, especially newer platforms, the social sharing aspect of medium could be improved on all devices. The first area of confusion is the “recommend” button, that is currently implied by a heart icon. On platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook the use of the heart mean that you “like” or “love” the post. This meaning has become standardized across many interfaces. However, unlike other social media apps the use of the heart on Medium functions as more of a share button, because it recommends the article to your followers via their home-page feed and anyone who views your profile. While it may be small, the inconsistency of this element with standard practices and other popular online environments creates confusion for readers because they have been taught that while they may “like” an article, they do not have to share and promote it.
Additionally, the social sharing integrations could, and should be, improved to include other platforms within the browser, like it does on mobile platforms. Unlike Android, and other Apple apps, the desktop version of Medium does not have a bank of applications to provide options from. However, seeing as the platform is used by a more professional audience, making integrations with social media environments such as LinkedIn, would prove to be beneficial because it would give them the ability to promote their work for colleagues and potential employers. It goes without saying that Medium cannot integrate with everything, and that offering too many options would be overwhelming to consumers. With this being said, after revisiting the platforms that they integrate with, it would be wise to include a way to copy and promote stories via short-links to post on profiles, emails, etc.
Favorites
One advantage of Medium is the ability to filter the stories people are reading, based on their areas of interest. While a person’s home-page implies that the feed is based on these selections, it seems that the platform could further take advantage of the information that their readers give them, and expect to be implemented. This is not only seen in the articles that make their way to our news feed, but also in the navigation and sidebar. Currently, these areas give higher priority to general topics such as Culture, Business, and Politics, while placing the filters to view articles related to specific tags at the bottom of the side navigation. Based on the capabilities Medium gives publishers to build feature pages and tabs within their own publications, it seems that this could prove useful if Medium implemented a customized navigation element based on their likes or interests. This is also applicable within the mobile apps, where desktop navigation elements are replaced with cards on the home screen.
Advertising
If you ask most people, they will tell you that Medium doesn’t have advertisements, but that isn’t completely true. While the platform doesn’t have typical inline ads, they are currently in beta for publishers to earn revenue with advertisements as sponsored and promoted stories. This is effective, especially for members because rather than using advertisements as a way to distract and take attention away from content, they are making money by providing relevant content. This method enhances the experience of readers, because it still provides ads, but is not intrusive. Additionally, Medium is encouraging publishers to produce quality content and reducing clickbait that is seen on other platforms by increasing revenues for more captivating and engaging content and reducing revenues for those who look to be prioritize clicking and sharing. While this concept is great for the consumers, it will be interesting to see if this solution is profitable for publishers as is continues to be tested and developed.
“Medium has done a great job of prioritizing people’s needs over business.”
Conclusion
Overall, Medium has done a great job of prioritizing people’s needs over business. With that being said, the platform is still small and has a lot of improvement including how they integrate with other platforms, and how they use a member’s interests to customize that experience. As Medium rolls out their revenue for publishers, it will be interesting to see how successful their unique take on advertising is, and how the platform transforms as larger publications begin to use it.
