Does Boost (and Medium) Sometimes Get It Wrong?
A topic that keeps coming up in comments and private emails, so I want to talk about it out loud and public.
Let me tell you a story of disappointment. Maybe it will sound familiar.
A while ago, I wrote a piece I was really proud of. More so than most of my work. I’ll be honest, I kind of expected it to get boosted. I really thought it was that good.
And then? Nothing. No email saying your post has been boosted.
But to add to it?
Short time later I got a private message from the publication editor. She says omg, I’m so sorry. I nominated this and it was rejected. Didn’t want you to think I didn’t try. Because it’s a killer piece, and I did try. I’m so sorry.
Talk about salt in the wound. Because that’s the thing. A piece can’t get boosted if it’s not nominated. And there’s not really a way to know. I’d never put an editor on the spot like that by asking. Don’t want anyone to have to say I’m sorry I used up all my nominations. Or I’m so sorry, there’s stronger posts today. lol. Yikes. No.
So now I knew. It was nominated. And got a hard nope.
Not done with the salt shaker yet.
That post went on to get almost 5K claps and almost a hundred comments. Someone left a comment, said sure hope this got boosted. Sigh. Nope. It didn’t.
Some little voice inside of me saying, see? See? It was so good.
When that happens, easy to think Medium “got it wrong.”
I hear that a lot. In comments and in private emails. You guys. A LOT. People telling me they got it wrong. They got it wrong. Over and over. They got it wrong.
And I understand. Trust me.
Because the unboosted piece I started this piece with? Not the only time it’s happened to me. Happens to all of us. I wrote a review on Flowers For Algernon. That post got over 3000 views, 5,300 claps, over 70 comments. Declined for boost.
Trust me. I get it. The disappointment.
Trust me I understand. Feeling like they got it wrong. Horribly wrong.
But here’s the thing. And it’s a hard pill to swallow. Even for me.
The BNP (boost nomination program) isn’t about boosting all the good writing on Medium. Lots of really good stories don’t get boosted. Every. Single. Day.
Here’s what BNP is about.
Cleaning up what used to happen at Medium.
Because in the olden days before BNP? It was robots deciding what gets seen. Based on response. Which makes it pretty easy to manipulate for someone who cares more about clicks than honesty or scruples. As time went by, there was more and more shams, scams and money posts being shoved in our feeds. Membership took a nosedive. Kept sinking lower. And that downhill slide really had to stop.
So the point of having human curation is to make sure good stuff gets pushed to the top. As much as they can. Minimize the ick that had members leaving in droves.
Which is not to say ALL the good stuff gets boosted. It’s more like, let’s use humans to find good stuff to counteract what used to happen in the old robot days.
This isn’t from anyone official but personally? I don’t think it’s possible to boost all the good writing on Medium. There’s too much. Sure, there’s lots of garbage. But there’s an awful lot of really good writing, too. I could spend the whole day everyday nominating good stories. Except my clients would fire me. lol.
As the number of paid members grow, I suspect they’ll be able to boost more. Again, that’s my guess. But the fact is, once they boost a post, they have to dole out traffic.
So every day, real live human beings have to pick. And it’s not about deciding good or bad. It’s more like — which good stories are we going to boost today?
Maybe you’ve been around long enough to remember the old “distribution” days. For a while, so many posts got “distributed” it didn’t mean anything anymore. It was a badge to hug our tender hearts. Don’t know about you, but I don’t want a badge. I want readers. You know? So they have to pick “which” good stories get boosted.
And sometimes? They boost a story and it falls flat with readers. Doesn’t get the views you hoped for. There’s many reasons that happens, too. So getting boosted is not a guarantee. But that doesn’t negate that they can’t boost “all” the good writing.
It sucks when you wrote something really good and they don’t draw your card that day. It sucks when it happens to me, too. I hate it so much. Pokes me in the feels.
And even after saying all that — here’s what I know.
Next time I write a really good piece and it doesn’t get boosted?
I’m still going to feel like they got it WRONG.
Because logic and emotion— they don’t live in the same tent.
Love to know what you think.
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The way I look at it, there are people who like Poe and there are people who like Hemingway. If Hemingway submits an article on the day the curator who likes Poe is on duty, it's not getting Boosted. It's pretty difficult to write something that is going to be universally seen as brilliant. Some people don't like chocolate remember. I look at it all a bit like playing poker. You have to adopt sound practices (like folding an inside flush draw), even if there are instances where the sound practices seem to fail (you fold and the next card is the one you needed). Usually when I write something I feel is good and it doesn't get Boosted, I direct my frustration into writing something else. That's served me well.
100%. I was spoiled and being boosted three to five times a month. Lately though, my stories are being nominated, but rejected by the overlords. One rejected story is currently at 21,000 views and nearly 300 comments. Yes, it's made a decent amount, but I can't help thinking that my return would have been several thousand if it had been boosted. I'm discouraged. I really do write for the love of writing. I try to improve with each story, but I also need the additional income. Until I discovered Medium a year ago I was living on $950 a month. I thought I'd found the thing that would turn my life around, but the returns are chaotic. I'm not giving up.