Right. You are getting at the nuance of how this conversation is a shade off.
People who like Medium almost always say they like it for the distribution.
So people who say you should host your own blog should be more clear about where you get distribution from.
Almost always, you are going to get distribution by trying to siphon readers away from other walled gardens. But you are almost always working with these massive systems you don't control. Google SEO, Twitter & FB followers, etc.
And even if you manage to siphon away a user and get their email address, you still have to deal with GMail's spam filters. You're never really in control, that's a pipe dream.
People who like Medium almost always say they like it for the distribution.
So people who say you should host your own blog should be more clear about where you get distribution from.
Almost always, you are going to get distribution by trying to siphon readers away from other walled gardens. But you are almost always working with these massive systems you don't control. Google SEO, Twitter & FB followers, etc.
And even if you manage to siphon away a user and get their email address, you still have to deal with GMail's spam filters. You're never really in control, that's a pipe dream.