Interesting Post. My figures remain steady.

I have never seen Medium as a social media site. To me, it's a content writing site, and I have been on many since I started writing on the web in 1999.

I first arrived on Medium when it opened in 2012, but only started paying three years ago. I have also never 'engaged' with other writers. If a publication or a professor tells you that you have to engage with other writers in order to get readers, they are, essentially, telling you that there aren't enough readers. They may also be telling you that your work doesn't catch the attention of readers.

There is a quite a difference between readers and writers. Readers read for a variety of reasons - to be entertained, to find new data, or to catch up with the news. Generally, if they like a story, they will give one clap. I am thrilled when I get one clap. That means I have a genuine reader. I also generally check - Readers haven't written anything.

Medium is in business to make a profit - not to groom people who want to be writers. They are not interested in how much one's writing has improved, or who much effort one puts into it. They are only interested in the sort of writing that draws in readers from Google's traffic.

So, yes, they do pay according to the length of time people read your story. I have no issue with that. As an experience writer, I'm well aware that some pieces I write will fail miserably and some will gain traction. That's the name of the game.