Why I give lots of claps/likes on Medium/Social Media

Or: How Abbi will always want to hype people up

Medium allows you to write, and support other writers, while also learning information and bettering yourself. You can “clap for” an article, which is a method of “liking” the post. This is similar to every social media site, where you can like and engage with the content that has been posted. The clapping is the same as “liking” with one key difference. Please note, for the purpose of this article, I do speak at length on the reasons I clap many times, using Medium’s clapping feature; this advice, however, also applies to “liking” or “loving” any post I see on any social media, which I do, for the same reasons you will see below. 

With Medium’s “clap” method, you are given the option to clap up to 50 times. One would assume this means that you can show, via claps, how much you love an article you just read. One can clap once, twice, thirty times. You can click each clap individually or hold down the button, and the counter that tells the writer and the world how many claps the article has received, goes up by the number of claps you gave. It also indicates how much of the pennies earned from your reading, will go to this article. The more claps, the more of your subscription fee goes to that writer. For anyone who reads Medium articles regularly, I myself read 5–10 minimum a day, so it’s not like my reading or clapping gives any one writer more than a small percentage of pennies, so the money allocation isn’t as big of a deal here, nor will I focus on it much for the purposes of this discussion, just keep it in mind, when I discuss the benefits of clapping, as well. The average Medium reader, according to Medium only read about eight articles a month.

In the world of writers, we don’t often get a ton of attention, much less positive attention. People don’t even cheer for the shows the watch instead of reading, so safe to say, it can be demoralizing, at times, to be a writer. It is ALSO a great time to be a writer, because now more than ever, can a writer successfully support themselves as a writer. With the rise of social media, and the ever changing times, more and more people are able to break away from the usual 8–5 job, create a brand for themselves, and change their path. Even non writers are making “writing money” by including it as a part of their “online content”.

In a world where less and less people are reading, writers can somehow still make money, more now than ever before. Blogging, freelance writing, Medium articles, copy writing…All of these open of streams of revenue, more when you add sponsorship’s, affiliate and partner programs, and other paid engagements. Finally, writers can write, and even better, they can also carve out a modest income and pay their bills. Writers can wake up, and work, all day, and pay their bills. Sure, many need to also manage lots of social media to earn more readers, and yes, it is a constant grind, but people can make money writing.

They can’t always make ego’s doing it, however. You need feedback to get that, and that’s where my clapping policy comes in.

I clap in intervals of 10, with 50 being “I love it, great job!” and ten being “I finished it, and I think that mere fact that you wrote something matters!”

Why?

Because if I love something, I LOVE it, and if I don’t, someone DID still spend time writing it, and I did, after all, spend time reading it.

If I am reading the article, and something strikes me, I start clapping for it, and I continue to do so all the way down. If the reading struck me, and all I could do was hold on and keep reading, I clap all 50 at the end. If I get to the end, and have clapped 20 times, but enjoyed it, I will clap another ten to thirty times, depending on how much I enjoyed it.

This helps the writer feel that they have done something wonderful, and they have made some one happy with their writing. That is a pure feeling, and I can give that to a fellow writer. THIS ALONE is enough of a reason, to me, to do this. But, considering how social media works, I also know that my clapping, ten to 50 times, all help other readers be drawn to the article, which means other readers find it.

So another reader, one who is maybe meant to read a piece that I only vaguely liked, can find it, because someone like me gave it at least ten claps, a reader who desperately needs to hear those words, or at very least will LOVE those words, and give it fifty full claps, will find it.

Maybe I loved the article and gave it fifty, someone who would have maybe never considered reading a satire piece on Medium gives it a try, and finds their new favorite author.

What does it hurt? What does it cost? Nothing, on both counts. Worst case scenario, it takes a small amount of time to clap that many times, and to that I suggest clapping as the article pleases you, so you have less clapping to do down below. Clap for every article you like, clap for the authors you want to support, and feel good that you are helping other writers feel valid. If enough of us do this, more of us feel validated. I also firmly believe that engaging in this way will earn you more followers, more potential readers, more potential claps. Why not make the small amount of effort? You can introduce a new reader to a new favorite writer. You could make a fellow writers day. You could help everyone earn more money.

And maybe, just maybe, the writer just smiles a little, and feels a little validated. That is more than enough for me.

(Please note- this article is NOT asking for claps, as that asking for claps and likes is banned by Medium. This article is in fact, very pointedly asking you to consider clapping for other articles. Screw clapping for this one, why are you still reading this? Go find a new article, a new writer, go clap and cheer for them- they need it, and you may too!)

.

.

.

❤

Abbi

Feel free to follow me on all the social medias: @AbbiGrasso on Twitter, Instagram, Speekin’, LinkedIn, Pinterest, WordPress, Medium, YouTube, WeedTV, and any place else I have forgotten.

*originally posted to Medium.com which is probably obvious if you read this far.