How to Get Top Medium Writers for a Given Tag

(Using JavaScript)

Medium is a platform bustling with incredible writers covering a wide range of topics. Whether you're looking to identify thought leaders, collaborate with influencers, or simply follow engaging content, knowing who the top writers are for a specific topic can be invaluable.

This guide will walk you through how to fetch the top Medium writers for a given tag using the "medium-api-js" package. By the end, you'll have a list of the top writers for any tag of your choice.

Prerequisites

Before diving into the code, ensure you have the following setup:

• Node.js Installed: Make sure Node.js is installed on your system.
• medium-api-js Package: Install the Medium API JavaScript package by running:

  npm install medium-api-js

• dotenv Package: To securely manage your API key, install the dotenv package:

  npm install dotenv

• RapidAPI Key: Obtain your RapidAPI key for accessing Medium's API services. You can find this by signing up at RapidAPI.
  How to Subscribe to Medium API and Get Your API Key from RapidAPI Platform
• Environment File: Create a .env file in your project directory and add your API key:

  RAPIDAPI_KEY=your_rapidapi_key_here

Code Breakdown

1. Import Necessary Modules

import Medium from 'medium-api-js';
import dotenv from 'dotenv';
dotenv.config();

• Medium: This is the Medium API wrapper for fetching data.
• dotenv: Used to securely load environment variables from a .env file.
• dotenv.config(): Initializes the dotenv library to access environment variables.

2. Initialize the Medium API

const medium = new Medium(process.env.RAPIDAPI_KEY);

This creates a Medium API object to make requests.

3. Specify the Topic and Writer Count

const topic = 'technology';
const count = 10;

• topic: The tag for which you want to find top writers.
• count: The maximum number of top writers to retrieve.

4. Fetch Top Writers

medium.getTopWriters(topic, count)
    .then(data => {
        console.log('Top Writers:', data);
    });

• getTopWriters(topic, count): This method fetches the top writers for the given topic and count.
• then(data => ...): Handles the successful API response and logs the result.

Running the Code

To execute the script, use the following command in your terminal:

node getTopWriters.js

Output and Explanation

Upon running the script, the output will list the top writers for the specified topic (in this case, "technology"):

• top_writers: An array containing the unique IDs of the top writers for the specified tag.
• Each ID corresponds to a Medium writer’s profile, which can be further queried to get detailed information.

Potential Use Cases

• Content Discovery: Identify influential writers to follow for insights into specific topics.
• Collaboration Opportunities: Reach out to top writers for potential collaborations or interviews.
• Personalized Feeds: Create a custom feed highlighting content from top writers.

Summary

By following this guide, you can effortlessly retrieve the top Medium writers for any topic of your choice. This not only helps in identifying key influencers but also opens doors for collaboration and enriched content discovery.

If you have any questions or need assistance with the Medium API, feel free to reach out to me at nishu@mediumapi.com.

Happy coding and content discovery!