Based on my years of experience on Medium, academic content tends not to perform well. I have personally explored this and encouraged many academics to contribute, but their well-written and rigorous stories rarely received significant views. This may stem from algorithmic challenges or a lack of human curation.
When I nominated exceptional stories from scholarly writers with multiple postgraduate degrees—stories that exceeded the boost criteria—Medium curators rejected them outright. When I raised this with the boost program manager, I was told that stories written in a 'textbook style' were not chosen. I found this response to be inaccurate, misunderstood, and dismissive of the quality these writers bring to the platform.
This experience ultimately led me to resign from the program despite holding a privileged position. While the truth can be uncomfortable, it is necessary to acknowledge and address it. I admire your attempt and fully support your good intentions and effort. Your story is well-articulated and valuable from a process perspective.
However, until Medium curators recognize the nuances of academic writing and appreciate its worth, such efforts may remain unfruitful for scholarly writers. Many, like me and countless others, have faced disappointment. Most of the academics I invited to this platform eventually left due to a lack of recognition.
For instance, a talented scholarly writer like Dr. Ellen Clardy, PhD, an economy professor continues to struggle with only around 200 followers after years of contributing and her exceptional stories only get around 10 views due to algorithmic restriction or lack of network distribution. Whereas, AI-generated and sensational content about sex, money, or fame type content by teenagers amasses 200,000+ followers. Do you think this disparity is fair to scholarly writers? And do you believe it makes the platform appealing to thought leaders who can quickly discern inauthentic content? You interviewed a teenager and made her a hero but have you interview an scholarly person to introduce in your Medium blog? This is not a criticism but show your blind spot with respect and care.
