I don’t know that that’s a fair assessment to make about them being unwitting pawns. Yeah, I can’t get there.

I think it is much more likely that they’re very aware of how the algorithms are basically working and are using it to their advantage, in essence using the platform as much as the platform is using them. The only real question there is whether or not they’re doing it solely to make money. I don’t believe so, but that’s a separate conversation.

I don’t think they’re in cahoots with Medium as some have claimed. That’s a bit too far and makes no sense. It’s pretty much straight up cray-cray, to use modern street vernacular. I don’t think they have a clear and concise, or mathematical (if you will), understanding of the algorithms. They just notice tendencies in human behavior and have a broad understanding of how the algorithms are supposed to work and write with that in mind, to their advantage.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with that. Seeing an opportunity and taking advantage of it is how we ALL advance in the end. It would be hypocritical of us to see evil in them doing the exact same thing we all do solely because they got there first in regards to Medium specifically. They have families to feed too, after all.

I also don’t believe the Medium leadership has a full and complete, mathematical, understanding of how the algorithms work. They know what they’re supposed to do. They know if they’ve been messed with, or tweaked. But. These algorithms are almost all 'flawed' in that they subtly pick up the biases of their creators and act manipulatively in weird but tangible ways, though ways that are hard to query, correct for, or root out or prevent.

In the end, Medium is a business looking to make money just like every other business. So yeah, Medium will promote authors who bring in money over those who don’t (duh)… which will inherently lessen the chances of others to be successful and drive the big earners to greater and greater heights until there’s an inevitable backlash. It reminds me somewhat of how the music industry worked prior to Napster and other file sharing technologies.

The primary purpose of the algorithm is to keep people engaged enough to continue making Medium money and to increase revenue in whatever way possible that also works. It doesn’t make moral judgements and it doesn’t make evaluative judgements. The algorithm does not exist for the elevation of “all" writers or the art form unless doing so would also bring in the most money.

Ah HA! Now we see the problem. The collective human brain isn’t interested in elevating the all writers or the art form either. It’s interested in preening and drama. Looks like the algorithm has picked up on that. Whoops.

Everyone on here is also using the algorithm in a symbiotic way; to get their stuff out there, right? A small audience is better than no audience. There’s no curation or gate keeping. Literally, anyone who can scrape together $5/month can participate. If you write well enough to make $5/month, it’s net free. We’re all using the platform to get around the barriers to traditional publishing. It shows in the quality, or lack thereof, of most of the content on the site. We all think our own work is as good as or better than that of the top earners, but for the most part we’re deluding ourselves. It’s not. It’s really not. Soooo many people on here need to learn to edit. Stat.

Speaking of which, I’m rambling.

My ultimate point here is I don’t think they’re mindless dupes or unaware puppets. I think they’re very aware of how the algorithm uses them and that they’re using the algorithm too. I think they’re more generally aware of that relationship between writer and algorithm than most people on Medium who seem to have convinced themselves that an algebraic formula designed for the purpose of making money had their personal best interests and promotion at heart; then when that didn’t come to pass (again, duh)… immediately labeled more financially successful writers as evil, charlatan cheaters and blamed them like it was all some sort of conspiracy or plot. In some sort of cahoots with math, but interestingly not with Medium leadership who actually do have some control or review of process capabilities of said math in action.

Uh huh. Sure. That makes perfect sense. 🙄