Here's a perfect example from today:

I've known and appreciated the work of Peggy O'Mara for longer than Medium or the internet has existed. (She was the publisher of Mothering magazine). I posted something about birth today that I think she'd like to read, and I would have liked it if I could have texted her in some way about it. Perhaps we could have an optional text button in the bio if we were open to receiving messages. Alternatively, messages could be public -- perhaps a better option for people concerned about harassment that could come from private messages. It would be nice if this were integrated into the platform. Right now, you can only message people privately within a specific story, or you can leave a comment for all to see after a story. But many of us on here like getting to know our fellow readers and writers. I'd like to be able to have conversations that aren't specific to a post. I can imagine telling other Medium members, "You've been killing it with your political pieces lately! Have you thought about writing a piece about X?" or "Hey, I notice you haven't been posting lately. Hoping you're doing well" or "I'd love for you to write for my pub. Here's the relevant info."

Sometimes I leave messages after a specific story, asking someone to email me and leaving my email address. But you never know if they saw it. There's a member who has mentioned she lives in my small town, but I don't like to mention my specific place of residence. I'd like to let her know I'm her "neighbor" without making my location too obvious. If I could message her, I would.

From what I can see, there's a debate on whether Medium qualifies as social media. I think in some ways it does, and I think this could be enhanced. I'd love to know if there are any plans to do this. And hopefully we can do it without drawing the ire of a certain billionaire who has made trouble for a certain other platform.