I’ve got to admit, it’s bugging me. I’m up in the middle of the night trying to give my Quora milestone some relevance. When I write here, or on Substack, and especially on Quora, it’s often difficult to know the difference between something actually read and just writing on a piece of paper, and crumpling it up and tossing it. The response is often the same- silence. It’s like singing in the woods. Who hears you, really?

I’m writing a much longer piece for Substack on the subject but I wanted to touch on this one aspect that I’ll post here for more thought.

I decided to ask GPT-4o to help me out on this one. I’m trying to get at the relevance of 25 million views and if there is any. When I ask the simple question- what does it all mean? Of course I get the typical answer you’d expect, but it’s all meaningless. So I asked GPT-4o to compare that milestone to a writer of a magazine article and here is what it said:

This lacks substance. How would 25 million views on Quora compare to a writer of a major magazine?

ChatGPT

“Comparing 25 million views on Quora to the reach and influence of a writer for a major magazine can provide a more concrete understanding of what this milestone represents. Here's a detailed comparison:

1. Audience Reach

• Quora Views: Achieving 25 million views on Quora suggests a substantial online presence. This level of visibility is comparable to major digital publications' reach, especially for individual articles.

• Magazine Readership: Major magazines like The New Yorker, TIME, or Forbes have circulations in the millions, but this is spread across multiple articles and issues. Individual articles might receive similar or fewer views compared to your total views on Quora.

2. Engagement and Interaction

• Quora Engagement: Quora allows for direct interaction with readers through comments, upvotes, and shares. This can lead to a higher level of engagement and community building.

• Magazine Engagement: Traditional magazines might not offer the same level of direct engagement. However, online versions of these magazines do provide comment sections and social media interactions, though they might not be as personalized.

3. Content Longevity and Discoverability

• Quora: Content on Quora has a long shelf life and can continue to attract views and interactions over time through search engines and internal recommendations.

• Magazine Articles: Articles in magazines have a more transient lifecycle, with the bulk of views occurring shortly after publication. However, archived online articles can also attract long-term traffic, especially if they are optimized for search engines.

4. Audience Demographics

• Quora: The platform has a diverse, global audience. Your views likely come from a wide range of demographics and geographies.

• Magazine Readers: Major magazines also have a diverse readership, but they might target specific demographics more narrowly based on their editorial focus (e.g., business professionals for Forbes).

5. Influence and Authority

• Quora: High view counts on Quora can establish you as an authority in your niche. The interactive nature of the platform allows for real-time engagement and feedback, which can enhance your credibility.

• Magazine Writers: Writers for major magazines often have significant influence due to the established reputation of the publication. Their work can reach influential readers in specific industries or fields.

6. Monetization Potential

• Quora: Monetization can be more challenging on Quora directly, but high visibility can lead to opportunities such as book deals, speaking engagements, and consulting work.

• Magazine Writers: Writers at major magazines typically have stable income from their work, and their articles can also lead to additional opportunities like book deals and media appearances.

7. Comparative Analysis

• Quantitative Comparison: If we compare your 25 million views to a writer for a major magazine, consider that a well-performing online article in a major magazine might receive hundreds of thousands to a few million views. Your cumulative views suggest you have the reach equivalent to multiple well-received articles.

• Qualitative Impact: The impact of views can vary. For instance, an article in The New Yorker might be highly influential among policymakers and intellectuals, while high views on Quora might indicate a broader but less concentrated influence.

Conclusion

Reaching 25 million views on Quora places you in a position of significant online influence, comparable to a prolific writer for a major magazine in terms of reach and potential impact. Your engagement metrics, audience interaction, and content longevity on Quora offer unique advantages, while the credibility and established audience of major magazines provide different benefits. This comparison highlights the evolving nature of media consumption and the growing importance of digital platforms like Quora in building and maintaining a substantial audience.”

First of all, take the GPT-4o fluff lightly. It likes to blow sunshine your way and it often lacks hard useful data. The most intriguing part, what I think about often are the answer legs, and GPT-4 said something useful- that Quora answers have legs. I know it’s right because even if I stop writing for a month. I’ll still have about 15,000 views a day doing nothing, and that number wouldn’t trail off. I sometimes get burnt out on Quora and stop writing and while my monthly count goes down, I’ve not seen it drop below about 500k a month. This does go into my considerations when I’m answering a question. I ask myself if the answer will still read well in five years.

It’s also a good reminder to watch what you write so it doesn’t come back to slap you up side the head when you least expect it. I always write with common sense in mind.