image: themirror.co.uk
Today I have 1000 followers.
It looks good, but I wonder about most of them. On average I get about 50 hits a day and anywhere from five to thirty likes per post, most of them from the same loyal readers. So who are these 1000 followers?
At first I was excited every time I got a new follower, but it seems that over time the number of what I call bullshit followers grows exponentially and I only occasionally get a new follower who actually follows my blog.
The vast majority of my “followers” seem to be folks who just want me to check out their own blog because they are selling something. I find it annoying and I wonder how effective it is as a marketing technique, but to each his own. You’d think, though, that at some point these folks would unfollow me.
I really wish they would, and that my list of followers more accurately reflected the number of people who at least occasionally check in. Then 1000 followers would actually mean something.
Maybe this is a question for WordPress: Can we get the ability to throw people out? Like spam comments, we could have spam followers?
Does anyone else have this problem?
Resident Alien -- Being Dutch in America 
Congratulations on your 1000 followers, I am still such a newby I have about 87 and was looking forward to reaching 100. I do agree that the ones trying to sell you something or get free advertising are annoying.
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So about how many do you think are real? I know that when I had under 100, I had much more real followers than I do now.
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I have no idea, I guess some follow others to expand their own followers, which is understandable a bit like networking. I still find it amazing that people want to read my rumblings.
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I love your rumblings.
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Thank you Barbara, you are very kind. I enjoy your writing too.
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Although I don’t have nearly the following you have, many of my first followers were only trying to up their numbers. And after being hacked 3 times, I’m reluctant to follow people back. Maybe someone knows how to tell if they are legitamite BEFORE you click on them?
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There’s no way to know for sure, but if the follower is called “Pretty Girls” or “DirectPayBiz01” or the title in some other way suggests they’re pushing something, I don’t even bother checking them out. I don’t understand how it ups their numbers. What numbers? I think most people won’t follow them because of the annoying way they push themselves rather than showing a genuine interest in your blog. Anyway, good luck with that. I didn’t know they could hack you if you checked them out. Just another reason not to, I suppose.
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Congratulations! And yes, same problem here…everywhere there’s a commercial these days (sigh)
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I don’t see any point in a follower if that’s the last you hear of them! 😛 But yay! 1000! 🙂
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I am one of the 1000….no blog of my own or anything to sell you. I enjoy your blog!
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Well, good. Welcome and enjoy!
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Congrats, Barbara, and although I know it’s tempting – not to mention sometimes revealing in what topics folks are interested in – I try my best not to look at my site stats too often. I think for the most part, the “followers” number is only meant to spur me on, but has little validity to it.
We write because we must.
I read you because you’re interesting. 😉
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Thanks!
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I am often baffled by the addition of new followers to my blog. I am mostly on WP to read, and blog infrequently. Once in a while It’s someone whose blog I followed first, and that’s cool. Those out to sell something are annoying.
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Yes I have the same problem. When I first started getting followers who were quite clearly only here to try and sell me something, I assumed I could just delete them and was really surprised that there was no facility for that. It’s good to read that it’s just not me that has the problem.
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