Ignore the Algorithm: These Are the Stories You Should Be Reading

Trust me on this

Photo by Jonathan Kemper on Unsplash

Since the Medium overlords took away the profile bobbleheads of my favorite authors several months ago I have tried various methods for keeping up with the best stories on this site. I’ve been here for two years now, and somehow Medium still thinks I care about cryptocurrency, how reaching 10k followers will make me rich (I already did, and it didn’t), and (for reasons even the algorithm could not explain) the latest ramblings of Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. Clearly, I’m on my own.

I have kept a list on paper, on a spreadsheet, and finally on stone tablets like Moses; this proved unwieldy, especially when I had to chisel new names into the rock. I’ve subscribed to author e-mails, but they either drop into my spam folder or get lost amid the car warranty and car insurance offers. For a brief, stupid moment I even tried just keeping everyone's name in my head. Ultimately, the most successful method I’ve found is going back to a piece where I tagged a boatload of people and clicking on each author’s name every morning.

While these may work to varying degrees for me, and while you may have a method that works for you, one thing I can do is point you to the best articles I’ve read this month. If you’re reading this, I would hope you trust my…