You're right in that it doesn't work every time, but sometimes a good piece gets recognised. Not usually my best pieces, admittedly. Good titles definitely help, in theory. Most of it's down to the algorithm I think. Nothing will do well if the distribution isn't there.

Also, Tony WANTS people's experiences on Medium to be about great stories and top quality writing, so they stay and read. So he's trying to get us to focus on that... so people naturally want to stay and read. But I know what you're saying - in practice people read those who interact with them the most.