{"id":21101,"date":"2020-01-30T15:06:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-30T15:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/glosario-digital\/medium-social-network"},"modified":"2026-09-28T22:31:35","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T22:31:35","slug":"medium-social-network","status":"publish","type":"encyclopedia","link":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/medium-social-network","title":{"rendered":"Medium Social Network"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"boxpad wp-image-14612 size-full alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/medium-1.jpg\" alt=\"Medium platform for publishing and reading articles\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" style=\"margin-top:0;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/medium-1.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/medium-1-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><strong>Definition:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Medium<\/strong> is an online publishing platform where people and organisations can write, read and distribute articles. It combines tools associated with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/blog\">blog<\/a> with profiles, followers, recommendations and interaction between writers and readers.<\/p>\n<p>It is neither a general-purpose social network nor a hosting system controlled by each writer. <strong>The platform<\/strong> manages the infrastructure, rules, distribution and part of the audience relationship, while each author remains responsible for what they publish.<\/p>\n\n<h2>What Medium Is and How It Differs<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Medium was launched<\/strong> in 2012 by Evan Williams, a co-founder of Twitter. Its proposition centres on writing and reading articles in a consistent presentation. According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/about\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">official description<\/a>, anyone can share knowledge and ideas without first building a mailing list or following.<\/p>\n<p>The term <strong>social publishing<\/strong> describes its operation better than the idea of a conventional social network. Users can follow writers and topics, recommend content and interact with it, but the article is the principal unit rather than a stream of short messages.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike an owned website, Medium determines the design, features and access conditions. A profile can provide an author space, but it does <strong>not necessarily replace<\/strong> a website or blog controlled by its owner.<\/p>\n<h2>How Medium Works<\/h2>\n<p><strong>An account<\/strong> allows a user to create a profile, draft stories with the platform editor and publish them with topic tags. Each text receives a Medium URL and may appear to followers, topic readers, publication subscribers or people to whom the system recommends it.<\/p>\n<p>The experience combines <strong>open access<\/strong> with content subject to the current membership conditions. Reading or writing does not automatically require a paid subscription. Some eligible writers may also apply to Medium&#8217;s remuneration programme, whose requirements and criteria can change.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>available interactions<\/strong> help interpret audience response:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Follows:<\/strong> connect readers with writers, publications or topics of interest.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Claps:<\/strong> allow readers to express an assessment within the platform.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Responses:<\/strong> add conversation or context to a published story.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Highlights:<\/strong> enable passages to be saved or marked while reading.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Lists:<\/strong> group stories for later consultation or sharing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These signals may contribute to a story&#8217;s circulation, but they <strong>do not guarantee<\/strong> reach. Distribution also depends on quality, topical interest, existing relationships and Medium&#8217;s recommendation systems.<\/p>\n<h2>Profiles, Publications and Distribution<\/h2>\n<p>A writer publishes from a profile and retains a page containing their stories. A <strong>Medium publication<\/strong> is a shared editorial space that may have its own name, editors, contributors and submission criteria. Submitting an article does not mean it will be accepted.<\/p>\n<p>Stories can reach readers through followers, topic pages, publications, external links, search engines and internal recommendations. Medium may also select particular texts for additional distribution. <strong>Visibility<\/strong> is not an acquired right and may vary while content remains published.<\/p>\n<p><strong>This model<\/strong> includes elements of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/social-media\">social media<\/a> but prioritises reading. Writers can build a reputation within the environment, although the audience, available data and contact channels remain subject to the platform&#8217;s features.<\/p>\n<h2>Uses for Writers and Organisations<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Medium<\/strong> can be used for analysis, professional experience, documentation, opinion or storytelling. An organisation may use it as an additional thought-leadership or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/branded-content\">branded content<\/a> channel, provided the text offers information rather than merely reproducing a promotional message.<\/p>\n<p>Before publishing, it is useful to define <strong>one objective<\/strong>: reaching an existing community, testing a subject, presenting specialist knowledge or redistributing an owned article. Reading and interaction metrics should then be distinguished from outcomes such as registrations, opportunities or sales.<\/p>\n<p>If content already exists on an owned website, <strong>republication<\/strong> requires a review of attribution and the canonical URL when the platform&#8217;s options allow it. From an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/seo\">SEO<\/a> perspective, copying an article without deciding which version should represent the content can divide signals and complicate measurement.<\/p>\n<h2>Advantages and Limitations of Medium<\/h2>\n<p><strong>The principal advantage<\/strong> is that Medium reduces the technical work required to start writing and provides a familiar reading environment. It also helps users discover writers, participate in topic publications and test content without developing an editorial system from scratch.<\/p>\n<p>Using Medium has several <strong>important limitations<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Limited control:<\/strong> the platform owns the design, features and rules.<\/li>\n<li><strong>External dependency:<\/strong> distribution may change because of editorial or algorithmic decisions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Partial data:<\/strong> analytics and audience information do not equal those available through an owned channel.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Indirect conversion:<\/strong> reading on Medium does not ensure visits, registrations or customers elsewhere.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Duplication:<\/strong> republication requires coordination of versions, links, attribution and measurement.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Medium can therefore complement an editorial strategy, but it does <strong>not replace<\/strong> owned assets by itself. The decision should consider audience, control, resources, objectives and the risk of depending on another company&#8217;s platform.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Medium is a social publishing platform for reading, writing and distributing articles. Learn how it works, its main features, benefits and limits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":81019,"template":"","encyclopedia-tag":[1338],"class_list":["post-21101","encyclopedia","type-encyclopedia","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","encyclopedia-tag-blog-publishing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia\/21101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/encyclopedia"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"encyclopedia-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia-tag?post=21101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}