Nobody really knows how the distribution system works, but curation certainly doesn’t do what it used to do.

I suspect, however, that there are different levels of distribution, and that being curated in topics is not the be-all end-all of human intervention in Medium distribution.

For example, I had a story that was doing pretty well for a couple of days, and had been distributed topics. Then on the third day, it blew up. It wasn’t a gradual rise, but an instant, explosive one.

I don’t know this for sure, but I suspect somebody at Medium did something to increase exposure.

That said, your point about powerful titles is certainly important. I read your article, by the way, and I didn’t think of the title as click bait. I think it was accurate enough to qualify as powerful without being exploitative.

But since it was an article about Medium, it was pretty much guaranteed not to be distributed in topics anyway.

I certainly endorse your major point. Great titles are way better than being curated in topics.