This is why I write this kind of discussion posts - thank you Ruby! You gave me a lot of insights starting with the Friend of Medium which I am still trying to figure out - as in should I hop on or not

It's great that you are a niche writer as well - there is a big diff imo when you niche down - at the end of the day, it doesn't matter which tags you write on or the number of followers - it is building a loyal readership that truly matters (again my opinion and experience) and you can't do it without creating interesting & quality content