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Another Three Articles that Should Have Done Better
Figuring out the Medium algorithms
Most of us would like to know what kind of articles Medium readers prefer to read. Or maybe what the Medium algos prefer to show. Learning from our failures and successes should have us find more successes, right?
After spending five years of being on Medium, I am still a bottom writer. While this might be my destiny, I still would like to get a better performance. So, to get that better understanding, I have collated my articles into thirds: “below average,” “average,” and “above average.” The thresholds for each category are listed here:
Below Average: x <$0.80
Average: $0.80 < x < $1.60
Above Average: x > $1.60
When I look at my below average articles, I usually understand why some of them underperformed. In fact, I sometimes publish an article knowing that it is going to underperform. Take The TDG Could Use Some Helpers as an example. For many Medium readers, “TDG” has become an acronym to avoid. For such an article talks about an alternative democracy which requires we — the people, my readers — to build. For whatever reason, Medium readers do not like this kind of discussion. So, for sure, The TDG Could Use Some Helpers is not on the list of “should have done better.”…
