it is my morning ritual too. I enjoy reading Medium stories, sometimes comment but I did not know about the money making side of it until I came across some articles that explain these things, - commenting, highlights, etc. I'm still not sure about the relative $$ value of these actions: views vs reads vs comments vs highlights but I do what makes sense to me: I read those article, which catch my attention (for different reasons), comment on those, which I find insightful or captivating or moving, and highlight what resonates with me, again for various reasons. I guess by doing these things we eventually form mini-communities of like-minded people, and within those communities I would expect to see more reciprocity than outside of them. I think randomness plays a role here too