Thank you for these insights, Mrinal.

I believe at the end of the day, it is up to the users what we want Medium to be. It has put up a nice space to showcase our digital world in two dimensions with a nice and clean interface. For instance, the response space becomes my own post. It lends me a voice where I can welcome others. Within the existing Medium framework, we can build a great community. Medium can go ahead and build visual platforms on it using their technology. That would be wonderful if they do so. But that’s technology.

I have used Medium for over two years now. I have seen its various transition phases. First, it was an-invitation only platform. You’d only see reputed and recognised authors writing articles. This made for great readings. Then came collections, which are now publications. Then it ended up becoming free for all to write. Now we have this extra layer of baby social networking at the article idea level.

I have gained a lot browsing stories on Medium. I have discovered excellent writers and sharers of valuable thoughts. I suppose the next leap for Medium is to connect the isolated dots of islands of thought and break the silos.

Self aggrandisement and “selling” seems to be a universal phenomenon. It is pervasive. Plus our ultrashort attention span has made it worse.

I hope technology can help us break this impasse. May we dream of a state where people will take care of each other’s creations and be thoughtful about them. I don’t think we can get there by clever algorithms. It will need thoughtful inputs and empathy from each creator to another. Then, technology enablers such as Medium need to play their roles. There is a case to go beyond self promotion, not just in Medium, but everywhere I suppose.

Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Environmental Health at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. Also in: https://refind.com/arinbasu

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