January62010
Nobody Has A Million Twitter Followers
[ I need your help! If you landed here by following a link, would you please take a short moment to leave a comment about whether or not you find my posting format (abstract w/link to full article) of value to you, and what, if anything, you would change about this technique? Any other comments are always welcome. I appreciate your feedback, thanks! -@93octane ]
Does that mean Twitter’s follower counts are lying? No. Instead, Twitter accounts that have over half a million followers listed actually represent (at most) a few hundred thousand people who’ve chosen to become organic followers of someone, along with millions who are passively along for the ride. Some of them are inactive users, some are spammers, some just ignore the noise of the accounts that don’t interest them, like spam in an email inbox. But they can’t count as “followers” in any meaningful sense. A few people have asked what my goal is in writing about the experience of being on the [Twitter’s suggested user] list…Well, perhaps the best way to articulate it is that I think the list is being used as a useful fiction for distorting the value and promise of this new medium. (full article…)
Anil Dash | Nobody Has A Million Twitter Followers
