Believe me, I hear you. It's incredibly frustrating the way that merit here isn't rewarded. I think sometimes that Medium is at least taking a step in the right direction. The Boost system was the right idea at first, but I haven't loved the direction I've seen it been going lately.

When I first began on Medium, it was one nice comment someone left me that inspired me to keep writing here. And then a little afterward, I saw a post for a "read for read group" that someone was starting, and decided to join. It was flawed in many regards, but it did give me a glimpse into the idea that there is something to be said for community. I made a lot of connections that fell apart when we realized we didn't love each other's work, but some that have lingered for over a year now.

For most of my time on Medium beyond those early months, though, I've taken more of a writing-based approach. I tried to publish a piece on a near-daily basis, and let reachout to others fall by the wayside. Entire weeks went by where I didn't read another's article, and I think the average engagement I received on pieces really suffered as a result. But at the same time, it helped me to build a portfolio and to improve as a writer far faster than I ever would have leaving swaths of inane comments for people in hopes of being reciprocated. It can be frustrating to watch people game the system by taking this "engagment first" method, but they're not playing a long game.

On the other side of the spectrum, though, there are a lot of great and thoughtful people writing on Medium. It can be pretty rewarding in those occasions where you actually do establish relationships with likeminded writers and become a part of the community here.

I'd love to add you as a "Thought Thinkers" writer if you're interested! I can't promise any day and night changes, but it's a pretty open-minded group of people. We also just created a Discord server recently, which has turned into a really useful resource for comparing notes, sharing articles, and just friendly banter. Being in a few different of these servers has brought the Medium experience to life in a lot of ways for me.

Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, and hope some of this is helpful!