Why Medium is Integral to Building Blockchain Awareness

May 16, 2018 at 18:53 // News
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Medium is an online publishing platform, meant to provide an alternative to standard blogging formats. It has established itself as a go-to place for writers to display their thoughts and ideas in a way that’s accessible to everyone. Writers can publish just about anything, but Medium works to ensure that readers only see the most relevant content (and every article notes how long it will probably take to read, which is nice for more impatient visitors).

Medium’s nature is democratic, giving people voices even if they do not have thousands of social media followers or high-powered blogging connections. This structure is especially beneficial for blockchain companies, who are attempting to push blockchain technology into the mainstream and convince the public that the crypto landscape is not supposed to be an esoteric space.

Not long after Medium’s launch in 2012, entrepreneur Anil Dash spoke about what makes the platform special: rather than operate like a typical blog where posts are displayed from most recent to oldest, Medium organizes content similar to YouTube via “channels” or “collections.” Dash elaborates:

“The abandonment of reverse chronology has the effect of undoing a core tenet of blogging: ‘the social contract.’ Blogs have had prominent timestamps on each post since the turn of the century, and the newest content has always sat on top of a stream since the form was born. As a result, even causal readers understand an implicit promise from the blogger that more content will appear in the future, and the expectation changes the nature of reading what’s written.”

Blockchain companies are not here to post daily lifestyle articles, though. They are here to educate and market, and the pace of doing so fluctuates. For companies hosting initial coin offerings, token sales come in stages that require content to evolve. Further articles about an ICO’s fundraising will be unnecessary once it becomes active. Marketing will always require consistent engagement and updated content, but the social contract Dash describes does not particularly serve blockchain companies’ interests.

Telegram has established itself as a blockchain-friendly platform where many crypto companies congregate to discuss their ventures and news. Medium is equally useful, though; its ability to reach large audiences (it has over 30 million visitors each month) and unique organization makes it a beneficial platform for raising blockchain awareness.

Who uses Medium?

One company taking advantage of Medium is Fr8 Network. The trucking industry is remarkably inefficient, so vehicles drive nearly 30 billion miles every year empty or partially full. Fr8 Network created a blockchain-enabled platform that decentralizes the flow of information amongst carriers, suppliers, and brokers, helping the industry utilize full capacity and save billions of dollars (as well as time and gas).

Not everyone is aware of the benefits of blockchain technology, though. To the general public, the terms “distributed ledger” and “peer-to-peer network” make it sound like blockchain is still only for tech-savvy Bitcoin millionaires. People in the blockchain space know this is not true, but convincing people that the technology is easily understandable and applicable to many other scenarios require a significant amount of educating.

To attest to blockchain’s ability to revolutionize the shipping industry, Fr8 Network took its content to Medium. The blogging platform allows Fr8 Network to discuss problems in the shipping industry in-depth, which people may be unaware of in the first place, as well as detail how the company’s system decentralizes the flow of information. All of Fr8 Network’s posts are compiled into a personalized channel, ensuring that nothing is lost amongst the sea of other bloggers’ content. Medium is a trusted site as well, so using it establishes due legitimacy.

Another blockchain company using Medium is AI Gaming. AI Gaming enables people to learn artificial intelligence development and create “bots” that compete against each other in online puzzles. This concept is not easily chronicled on Facebook or Twitter. Medium allows for long-form pieces that fully explain the company’s mission, so AI Gaming even published its whitepaper on the blogging platform, making it accessible to a high number of Medium’s visitors (rather than AI-interested people deliberately seeking it out).

How can other companies leverage Medium?

It’s true that blockchain companies do not control Medium the way they would personal blogs. However, KissMetrics mentions:

“Medium puts your content in front of the eyes of your target audience. Because it centers on sorting stories into themed collections, it’s safe to assume that a good portion of the people reading content from a specific collection will be interested in what your company has to say (as long as it’s relevant).”

When people are frustrated with an economic or societal problem, odds are they will want to know what other people have to say about it. If someone wishes to learn more about the trucking industry’s inefficiency, Medium makes it a lot more likely they will encounter blockchain’s potential solution thanks to Fr8 Network’s presence on the platform.

Publishing dates have little importance to Medium, so informative articles do not get pushed back into obscurity. This feature is beneficial for blockchain evangelists: rather than searching through an extensive archive of old posts that are hard to navigate, anyone hoping to advocate for blockchain’s usefulness can link their uneducated friends to a particular channel or cluster of articles.

Many people love to learn, but they are often discouraged when resources are scattered throughout the internet. By compiling a wealth of detailed, educational, and trustworthy information in one place, Medium has established itself as an integral platform for spreading blockchain awareness.

Disclaimer. This article is paid and provided by a third-party source and should not be viewed as an endorsement by CoinIdol. Readers should do their own research before investing funds in any company. CoinIdol shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any such content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

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