I have another theory. Some boost nominators prefer to nominate newbies to encourage them. It's a strategy that has been openly admitted by Medium, I've heard, and one editor expressly stated that she'd prefer to boost newbies.

I get it. It's hard to get traction. Giving them a leg up helps. But for those of us who got through the start the hard way, without any leg ups, without any bonuses, without any assistance, it would be nice to feel it was a level playing field.

I also think, since they took money from the big players to pay the small players more, it's easier for newbies to make money.