The two kinds of clappers on Medium
Plus a rough idea of how clap payment works for locked posts
I’m getting better at figuring out stuff on this platform. Maybe I should start an online course called Medium for Starters (just kidding). The purpose of Medium is not to earn, rather it is a platform for expression. People who impact the most on other people earn more and sometimes earn big. I read something about this platform a while ago that is very interesting. It basically said; a post you prepare for, carefully craft and wrote beautifully may not get any reasonable view counts, but a random thought in your head you just put into writing in a few minutes can get 1k views in just a few hours. This is not a rule, it is just an expression of the randomness of significance of Medium.
I have experienced something like that once. A random post that I just wrote off my mind, didn’t even add any picture and was even a locked post, got a number of claps I was not even expecting. See the post here (it’s locked).
Perfection isn’t so important here. In fact, the appropriate term for what thrives here is; beautiful imperfection. It is almost a mantra here that the less you try to impress, the better your article does. Of course, things like editing should be taken seriously but trying to impress people almost never impresses anyone here. This brings us to the issue of claps.
In a previous post, I shared that people often clap for what they agree with. Someone actually commented that she has clapped for write-ups she disagrees with if she feels the writing style, communication or argument is something commendable. So, there are those who can clap for what they disagree with if they find some other elements. But most of the time, most people clap for what they agree with or a content they can bond with.
The first kind of clapper does only 1 clap. Always +1. No matter how impressed they get, they just do +1. Occasionally when they get very impressed, they can do +2. This is their style. Such people also clap so rarely. The writeup has to really impress them before they give the +1. I might be in this category. I give +1 easily but have only given +2 in very few cases. Not sure if I have gone beyond +2.
The second kind are those who press the clap button and hold it until their mind is satisfied. These are people who give +12, +50, etc., so easily. When they want to clap, they do it at length. If they don’t want to, then don’t. They rarely give +1 or +2. Their range often begins from +5. And of course, there are the hybrids; some days they fall into the first category, other days they are in the second category.
Before you assume the second category of clappers are the best, let me give you an interesting fact. For Medium Partner Program, you know your pay is measured (majorly) by the number of claps you get. Here is how writers are paid per clap (it’s a rough idea). Each Medium member has $5 to spend in a month. If the member gives a total of 102 claps in that month, the value of each clap by the member is (supposedly) 5÷102. So, how much you are paid for the claps this member gave you is (5÷102) × the number of claps you got.
The interesting fact is, the second kind of clappers often clap for many articles and plenty times. And so at the end, their divisions are quite small. The 50 claps you got can be worth $0.28. But the first category of clappers often do not clap for many articles. Their total clap in a month can be as small as 5 or even less. But imagine if you got 2 claps from that 5, that’s $2!
Therefore next time you see 1 clap, whether from a member or a nonmember on either a free post or a locked post, don’t feel bad. Remember that there are 2 kinds of clappers. Cheers!
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