{
    "version" : "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1",
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    "title" : "Is It Time to Try Medium? New Federal-Friendly Terms of Service |Digital.gov",
    "description": "Is It Time to Try Medium? New Federal-Friendly Terms of Service",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/07/17/is-it-time-to-try-medium-new-federal-friendly-terms-of-service/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"Is It Time to Try Medium? New Federal-Friendly Terms of Service","summary" : "What is Medium? Good question. Is it a publishing platform, a social network, a distribution channel, a 21st century version of the op-ed page, or something else? With a continuously evolving feature-set, Medium defies simple classification. Perhaps it is best to think about Medium in terms of what you can accomplish with it. With a","date" : "2015-07-17T11:10:08-04:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","authors" : {"dana-allen-greil" : "Dana Allen-Greil"},"topics" : {
        
            "social-media" : "Social media",
            "terms-of-service" : "Terms of service"
            },"branch" : "bc-archive-content-3",
      "filename" :"2015-07-17-is-it-time-to-try-medium-new-federal-friendly-terms-of-service.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2015/07/2015-07-17-is-it-time-to-try-medium-new-federal-friendly-terms-of-service.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2015/07/2015-07-17-is-it-time-to-try-medium-new-federal-friendly-terms-of-service.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2015/07/2015-07-17-is-it-time-to-try-medium-new-federal-friendly-terms-of-service.md","slug" : "is-it-time-to-try-medium-new-federal-friendly-terms-of-service","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/07/17/is-it-time-to-try-medium-new-federal-friendly-terms-of-service/","content" :"\u003ch2 id=\"what-is-medium\"\u003eWhat is Medium?\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGood question. Is it a \u003ca href=\"http://lifehacker.com/whats-with-new-blogging-platforms-like-medium-should-1518292181\"\u003epublishing platform\u003c/a\u003e, a \u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@colinwalker/being-a-network-84213744966e\"\u003esocial network\u003c/a\u003e, a \u003ca href=\"http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2015/06/medium-betting-email-podcast/\"\u003edistribution channel\u003c/a\u003e, a \u003ca href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2015/07/02/can-medium-replace-the-op-ed-page/\"\u003e21st century version of the op-ed page\u003c/a\u003e, or \u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/the-story/creating-conversation-bac37bac2bcf\"\u003esomething else\u003c/a\u003e? With a continuously evolving feature-set, Medium defies simple classification. Perhaps it is best to think about Medium in terms of what you can accomplish with it. With a new \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/federal-compatible-terms-of-service-agreements/\"\u003efederal-friendly terms of service\u003c/a\u003e being rolled out this week, now is a good time to reconsider Medium’s use (and usefulness) in government.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"why-use-medium\"\u003eWhy Use Medium?\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI talked with a handful of government agencies to better understand why and how they use (or intend to use) Medium. The attraction seems to coalesce around three key areas: content discovery, simple design, and features that foster conversation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"content-discovery\"\u003eContent Discovery\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEven if you’re not a regular Medium user, chances are that you’ve stumbled upon the site since its launch in 2012. Remember January’s viral hit “\u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/backchannel/a-teenagers-view-on-social-media-1df945c09ac6\"\u003eA teenager’s view on social media (written by an actual teen)\u003c/a\u003e”? Or perhaps you noticed when President Obama broke with tradition and shared a sneak peek of his \u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@WhiteHouse/president-obamas-state-of-the-union-address-remarks-as-prepared-for-delivery-55f9825449b2\"\u003eState of the Union remarks on Medium\u003c/a\u003e? These examples show that, with the right content, Medium can be a powerful place for attracting attention. Medium was \u003ca href=\"http://www.wired.com/2015/04/ev-williams-rules-quality-content-clickbait-age/\"\u003elast reported\u003c/a\u003e to be averaging 25M unique visitors per month. That’s a lot of potential eyeballs.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOutreach to New Audiences: Tech-Savvy and Engaged Readers\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMedium offers an opportunity to reach people that may not be engaging with you on other platforms. Jared Benoff at the Department of Labor says Medium helps the agency expand its footprint and, specifically, reach a tech-savvy audience that is very engaged online. It is less about the total number of potential readers Medium offers and more about their readers’ tendency to stick with content and engage with it. At the Peace Corps, Erin Ruberry says the organization chose to showcase its in-house experts—such as \u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/career-center/job-seeking-ditch-eq-and-pitch-grit-dd8a8fc53dd5\"\u003ecareer services\u003c/a\u003e and digital innovation—who don’t often get the spotlight. Medium offers an opportunity to reach people who might not otherwise have the Peace Corps on their radar.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eContent Strategy: Quality vs. Timeliness\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf Medium is a “place to tell stories” it makes sense to prioritize narrative content. At Labor, content is selected for publishing on Medium based on its storytelling quality—in terms of both text and images. Some agencies focus on feature article and special reports (“things you’ve already worked hard on” as the National Science Foundation’s Jessica Arriens says) while others post more frequently and with looser criteria. As more organizations begin sharing content on Medium, it will be interesting to compare notes about what content performs best and why.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA differentiator for Medium compared with other social sites is that “high quality content” is prioritized over the date a story is published. Medium’s editors select content to be featured on the main page and engagement is measured through “total time reading.” Interestingly, how long a story takes to read is sometimes easier to spot than the date the piece was published.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@HHSGov/the-promise-of-precision-medicine-cf609de67235\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2015/07/600-x-378-HHSgov-TOS-1.jpg\"\n    alt=\"This post by the Secretary of Health and Human Services is a 4 minute read. Click to read.\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBang for the Buck: Cross-Posting\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt Labor, \u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@USDOL\"\u003econtent that is published to Medium\u003c/a\u003e is also cross-posted on \u003ca href=\"https://blog.dol.gov/\"\u003ethe agency’s own blog\u003c/a\u003e. The Peace Corps has a similar \u003ca href=\"http://passport.peacecorps.gov/2015/07/13/job-seeking-ditch-eq-and-pitch-grit/\"\u003ecross-posting strategy\u003c/a\u003e. Publishing in both places means you can compare performance metrics on each platform. If you cross-post, don’t forget to link from one channel to the other to help grow readership. Bonus: Should Medium ever go away, your content is safely housed on your own domain.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"simple-design\"\u003eSimple Design\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“A better way to tell a beautiful story.” This is how Labor’s Jared Benoff describes the key benefit of Medium. Notice there are two sides to this selling point: the reader experience and the authoring process.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMinimal Formatting Makes Images Pop\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eErin Ruberry says the Peace Corps was inspired by the First Lady’s \u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/let-girls-learn/the-first-lady-s-travel-journal-experiencing-kyoto-s-beauty-and-history-34ae0e69ed89\"\u003euse of Medium as a travel journal\u003c/a\u003e peppered with bold, full-screen images. She points to the platform’s “clean” and easy to read interface. Medium’s simple (almost stark) black-and-white design pairs well with large, bold images to make your story pop. Although formatting options are limited, Medium’s modern image layouts (such as a parallax blur effect) can be hard to replicate on the older blog platforms that government agencies have adopted. Labor worked in collaboration with Medium editors to craft content for the \u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/aspen-ideas/your-role-in-building-a-conscious-capitalism-movement-740c25f791b5\"\u003eAspen Ideas festival\u003c/a\u003e, including how to use large images for maximum impact and make points of emphasis stand out.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@GinaEPA/the-economic-case-for-fighting-climate-change-fa6da3ef5e1e\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2015/07/600-x-588-Medium-TOS-2.jpg\"\n    alt=\"“The Economic Case for Fighting Climate Change” by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Gina McCarthy takes advantage of Medium’s visual layouts to make key points. Click to read\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStreamlined Content Authoring Tool\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMedium’s authoring tools are also dead simple. Text formatting in the WYSYWIG editor is a snap and it is just as easy to format a pullquote, upload and place an image, and embed a video or even a tweet by simply pasting a link. Authors can publish individual stories or contribute to multi-author \u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/help-center/publications-d23372baede0\"\u003epublications\u003c/a\u003e (which have the added benefit of access to the \u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/the-story/introducing-letters-f105abb6734f\"\u003eletters\u003c/a\u003e feature—essentially email notifications to a publication’s followers).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2015/07/600-x-145-Medium-text-formatting.jpg\"\n    alt=\" To format text on Medium, simply highlight it and choose from the limited set of options that appear.\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003ch3 id=\"conversation\"\u003eConversation\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@erinblasco\"\u003eErin Blasco\u003c/a\u003e at the National Museum of American History has high hopes that Medium could provide “real conversation” and not just generate spam. “If I really want to spread and spark a conversation,” she says, “it seems like Medium is a better fit than a longer-form post on my organization’s blog.” But why? What is it about Medium that could help foster dialogue?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNotes, Highlights, and Responses…Oh My!\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMedium’s built-in community features make it an intriguing platform for activating your organization’s content. Through \u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/about/why-medium-notes-are-different-and-how-to-use-them-well-5972c72b18f2\"\u003enotes\u003c/a\u003e, readers can comment on specific sections of a story that resonate with them (look for the floating plus sign inside a speech bubble). Readers can also \u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@e/highlights-have-come-to-the-medium-app-this-is-going-to-be-big-822960e8653d\"\u003ehighlight\u003c/a\u003e a word or phrase to draw others’ attention to it. Instead of comments that live only at the bottom of a story, \u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/the-story/medium-responses-fd6086781625\"\u003eresponses\u003c/a\u003e actually become their own stories that publish to the user’s own channel (increasing both visibility and accountability). Some of these features are subtle and many have not necessarily reached their full potential in terms of use. However, they provide interesting opportunities to foster an increased level of engagement with more complex or nuanced content.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/about/why-medium-notes-are-different-and-how-to-use-them-well-5972c72b18f2\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2015/07/600-x-90-Medium-notes-context.jpg\"\n    alt=\"This story explains how notes work. A user added a note to the story. Meta. Click to read.\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMedium’s features change often. Follow \u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/the-story\"\u003ehttps://medium.com/the-story\u003c/a\u003e for updates on the platform itself.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"how-to-encourage-more-conversation\"\u003eHow to Encourage (More) Conversation\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile conversation-focused features like notes and responses are baked in to Medium’s platform, that doesn’t mean writers are seeing a lot of interaction on their stories. Why not? Medium’s Matt Higginson says that “just like any community, the more active you are the more meaningful interactions you will experience.” (\u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/the-story/how-politicians-and-political-campaigns-can-win-on-medium-cb1a78e101a3\"\u003eSee more advice from Matt on encouraging conversation\u003c/a\u003e.) Explicitly inviting people to leave notes, comment, and highlight could be a good first step towards fostering more interaction with your content. If conversation is a key goal, you might also consider focusing your content strategy on crafting stories that are well-suited to discussion or debate.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"what-do-you-think\"\u003eWhat Do You Think?\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat do you think are Medium’s core strengths? What areas of opportunity are you hoping to explore for your organization? If you’re already using Medium to publish, are you seeing readership or engagement metrics that justify your efforts?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGov accounts to check out on Medium\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@USDOL\"\u003ehttps://medium.com/@USDOL\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@LaborSec\"\u003ehttps://medium.com/@LaborSec\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@GinaEPA\"\u003ehttps://medium.com/@GinaEPA\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@PeaceCorps\"\u003ehttps://medium.com/@PeaceCorps\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@HHSGov\"\u003ehttps://medium.com/@HHSGov\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@StateDept\"\u003ehttps://medium.com/@StateDept\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@arneduncan\"\u003ehttps://medium.com/@arneduncan\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@USDigitalService\"\u003ehttps://medium.com/@USDigitalService\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@PresidentObama\"\u003ehttps://medium.com/@PresidentObama\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@FLOTUS\"\u003ehttps://medium.com/@FLOTUS\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@usnistgov\"\u003ehttps://medium.com/@usnistgov\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
  ]
}