The short answer is that if you write quality articles, develop a good relationship with editors at Boost Pilot Program publications and target niche publications specialising in your area of interest/expertise, you can get perfectly decent distribution and earnings.

I can see that in the early days of the Boost Pilot, before it had been more extensively rolled out, there were many gaps through which individual writers and articles might fall. I felt that myself, and became frustrated. It seemed quite hit and miss. Partly that was poor strategy on my own part - I was sending most pieces to a high volume, general interest pub, not giving them the best chance to be boosted, and hence to prosper.

But someone with the natural advantage of a large follower base - though the impact on distribution of those tens of thousands of anonymous followers is only slight anyway - with a long time on the platform, and who produces quality writing should have no problem finding an audience and achieving reasonable earnings.

I have been here a year, have established my little network of boosting pubs I contribute to, and am doing fine. Non-boosted pieces struggle, yes. But getting boosted is not hard if you write well, target well, and develop a relationship of mutual trust with editors. It's really not that hard.

Frustrating sometimes when what you think is a great piece doesn't land. Certainly not handed on a plate just because a writer has been around for x years and accumulated y followers. Nor should it be.

Yes, there is a social media aspect to this. Or to put it another way, a sense of community. A platform that pays you for posting quality content while interacting with and discovering fellow writers and readers who have shared interests? That will do me.

I honestly don't get what the griping is about.

As they say in the gaming world, git gud!

(My apologies - that wasn't a short answer at all, was it?)