Blame Flipboard for Making Me Look at Comments Differently

All of these are “comments.” On Medium, all comments are Stories. Which ones look better in an RSS feed reader? If you’re stuck with them possibly being part of your online “portfolio,” you might not want to do too many super-short and sweet-but-saying-little sorts of comments in a row.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with just saying “I loved this!” (who would object to getting a comment like that?), but what if someone saw a screen like the one I captured from Flipboard, above — which ones might be worth a look, and maybe a follow? Is it too self-serving to consider that comments might be…self-serving, too? At least a little bit?

I do not think they should be eligible for earnings. That would lead to people writing irrelevant posts (rather than comments) masquerading as comments (not genuine discussions on the original post). The only “self serving” element here is whether it shows off your own thoughtfulness as a reader or your ability to write reflectively on something you’ve read.

That said, I love all comments. So I really hope no one takes what I’ve said here as “pressure to perform” on my posts, or anyone else’s. Just consider, if you’re writing a “meatier” comment, that you may be missing an opportunity if you don’t also treat it as a Story. Because whether you want it to be one or not, Medium treats it as one.