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 initially launched over a year ago, has not only garnered praise from readers and writers but has also positioned Medium as one of the leading online publishing platforms.

Unlike traditional vanity metrics like views or clicks, Highlights focuses on depth and engagement, recognizing that these factors are more important than simply reaching a larger audience. Medium is not just a blogging platform; it is a community where people interact and learn from each other. With Highlights, Medium saw an opportunity to make sharing writing easier while also enhancing the reading experience.

The concept behind Highlights was inspired by Medium's Notes feature, where users could leave notes in the margin of a post. Additionally, there was a feature called Recommend Notes, which allowed users to write something they liked about a post. By analyzing user behavior and experimenting with ideas, the product team at Medium was able to develop new features that resonated with users.

However, one aspect that the team initially overlooked was the user experience for individuals who were not yet following anyone on Medium or for those who already followed many others. Without surfaced Highlights, the former group would not gain value from the feature, while the latter group would be overwhelmed by an abundance of highlights. This realization prompted Medium to introduce filtering options to enhance the user experience.

For readers, highlighting provides a more social reading experience. It allows them to engage with the content in various ways, such as enjoying a quote or passage, resonating with an insight, sharing a passage on another platform, capturing an idea for future reference, or even disagreeing with a statement and leaving a comment. This level of engagement is invaluable for writers, as it provides them with direct feedback from their audience.

The feedback received through Highlights helps writers identify the most engaging parts of their posts, enabling them to refine their writing and deliver more worthwhile content. This, in turn, attracts high-quality writers to Medium, as they recognize the platform's ability to reach a wide readership and potentially earn financial rewards for their posts.

Medium's commitment to enhancing the reading experience is further evident in the addition of Text Shots, a tool that allows users to share Highlights as screengrabs on Twitter. This feature prioritizes depth of discussion and encourages users to engage more deeply with the content.

Lessons learned from Medium's success with Highlights:

• 1. Rethink Vanity Metrics: Instead of focusing on metrics that may not accurately measure user engagement, identify one metric that truly reflects the value users derive from your product. This metric should guide your feature prioritization and product roadmap.

• 2. Seek User Feedback: Real user feedback is invaluable in understanding how users interact with your product. Actively listen to your users, both inside and outside your company, and incorporate their insights into your product development process.

• 3. Embrace Unique User Experiences: Recognize that not all users will interact with your product in the same way. Take into account the diverse needs and preferences of your user base and tailor your product features accordingly.

In conclusion, Medium's Highlights feature has revolutionized online publishing by prioritizing depth and engagement over vanity metrics. By incorporating user feedback and constantly iterating on their product, Medium has created a thriving community of writers and readers. The success of Highlights serves as an inspiration for other consumer products, emphasizing the importance of thoughtful conviction, understanding latent consumer needs, and defying naysayers to create something truly exceptional.