How Highlights on Medium changed publishing forever

How Highlights on Medium changed publishing forever

In the world of online publishing, Medium has made a significant impact with its innovative feature called Highlights. This feature, which was slowly improved over time, has garnered praise from both readers and writers, and has positioned Medium as one of the leading online publishing platforms. But what exactly makes Highlights so special?

Unlike traditional vanity metrics like views or clicks, Medium's Highlights focuses on depth and engagement. It allows readers to interact with each other through the act of highlighting passages, quotes, or phrases that resonate with them. This not only enhances the reading experience but also creates a sense of community within Medium.

The idea for Highlights came from Medium's Notes feature, where users could leave notes in the margin of a post. The team also took inspiration from the Recommend Notes feature, which allowed users to write something they liked about a post. By combining these ideas and analyzing how users were utilizing the platform, Medium was able to create a feature that truly added value to the user experience.

One challenge the team faced was how to make Highlights relevant for users who were not following anyone on Medium, as well as for users who already followed many others. Without surfaced Highlights, the former group wouldn't gain value from the feature, while the latter group would encounter a flood of blue highlights. To address this, Medium introduced filtering options to ensure that users would only see Highlights that were relevant and meaningful to them.

For readers, Highlights make the reading experience more social and interactive. It allows them to engage with the content in different ways, such as sharing passages on other platforms, capturing ideas for later, or even commenting on statements they disagree with. This level of engagement is invaluable for writers, as it provides them with direct feedback from their audience. It helps them understand which parts of their posts are most engaging and valuable to readers.

Moreover, the presence of Highlights on Medium has attracted the best writers to the platform. The high readership and engagement they receive through Highlights serve as a form of validation and reward for their work. This, in turn, has contributed to Medium's position as one of the largest writing platforms on the web, with millions of monthly readers and millions of dollars in payments made to writers.

The success of Highlights and its impact on Medium's growth can be attributed to several key lessons. First, it's important to prioritize depth of discussion over shallow metrics. Vanity metrics may give a false sense of success, but true value lies in meaningful engagement. Second, when developing new features, it's crucial to consider how different users will interact with them. Not everyone uses a product in the same way, and understanding these nuances can make all the difference. Finally, user feedback and learnings should always inform product development. Incorporating real user experiences and insights can lead to more effective and impactful features.

In conclusion, Highlights on Medium have revolutionized the publishing industry by prioritizing depth and engagement over vanity metrics. By creating a platform that fosters meaningful interactions between readers and writers, Medium has established itself as a leading online publishing platform. To leverage the power of Highlights and enhance user engagement, here are three actionable advice:

1. Evaluate your metrics: Assess whether your current metrics truly measure engagement and value for users. If not, find a metric that better reflects the value users derive from your product.

2. Prioritize features based on impact: Rank your product roadmap based on the estimated impact on your chosen metric. This will help you prioritize features that truly enhance user experience and drive meaningful engagement.

3. Incorporate user feedback: Actively seek and incorporate user feedback into your product development process. Listening to your users and learning from their experiences can lead to more successful and impactful features.

By following these advice, you can leverage the power of user engagement and create a product that truly adds value to your users' lives.