Now We're FOLLOWERS? You've GOT To Be Kidding!!!!

1. 82

   manlypoetrymanposted 14 years ago

   Warning Signs that you should not follow:
   
   

   replyreport
2. 92

   habeeposted 14 years ago

   I vote for "subscriber." Maybe "worshipper" would work, too. lol!

   replyreport
3. 80

   Bard of Elyposted 14 years ago

   I was trying to work out why this has happened! So many of these sites become so similar and it's a shame to see that this one is following Twitter and elsewhere!

   replyreport
4. 92

   habeeposted 14 years ago

   Wait...let's go with disciples.

   replyreport
5. 61

   Jane@CMposted 14 years ago

   We could go one step further and have our followers categorized!
   
   a) Forum Follower, is only your follower because they like you in the forums, but don't read your stuff
   
   b) Fake Follower - this would come under the old title of "fanning" in hopes you'll follow them back
   
   c) Disciple Follower - for those who only post in religion forum
   
   d) Follower for Sex - you know who you are :lol
   
   e) Subscribed Follower - those who follow you for your actual writing ability, witty humorous hub, amazing poetry & well thought out articles.
   
   

   replyreport
   1. 82

      manlypoetrymanposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Way to Good...Jane@CM!

      replyreport
   2. 74

      myownworldposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      love it!!

      replyreport
      1. 0

         bloodnlatexposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Sounds good to me!

         replyreport
6. 61

   Ron Montgomeryposted 14 years ago

   
   
   Extreme Follower

   replyreport
7. 74

   myownworldposted 14 years ago

   hey blood, can I be your follower for life?
   (not sure which category that is!)

   replyreport
   1. 0

      bloodnlatexposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I would be honored!  I shall lead us into some of the finest messes you've ever seen.  Then we will write about them!

      replyreport
      1. 74

         myownworldposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         sounds like a dream I DO want to follow!

         replyreport
         1. 0

            bloodnlatexposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            I feel the same way!

            replyreport
8. 60

   Betty Reidposted 14 years ago

   I don't really mind saying I follow someone's writing.  It's like follow the news.  It just confused me when wanted to sign up to be a fan and that was no longer an option.

   replyreport
9. 63

   SandyMcCollumposted 14 years ago

   Ron, that's too funny!
   
   I hate being a follower!

   replyreport
   1. 61

      Ron Montgomeryposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      If you're not the lead dog, the view's always the same.

      replyreport
10. 59

    SoftCornHippoposted 14 years ago

    Yeh, well if yu wanna follow me aroun, go right ahead!  It won't be purty! an' I'm kinda hard to see through, but I can promise you fun and a unique experyunce!  I preferred fans, because it gets hot in this hippo suit -(little joke) I acshully liked the term "fans" alot cuz it lets me fantasize about being a big media star (not a singer, can't sing, but maybe in the movies?) - but who cares what they call y'all! long as you're havin' fun.

    replyreport
11. 61

    Siotoshposted 14 years ago

    Following is better than fans because there are so many clashes. If we all follow each other we'll be facing each other. Therefore if we are facing each other, we might start kissing and spread love LOL
    <snipped - no links please>

    replyreport
12. 79

    Tom Cornettposted 14 years ago

    Rhymes with "Follower"  Swallower, Wallower....any more? 

    replyreport
    1. 0

       Ghost32posted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Hm.  Hollow...Hollower...Hollowest.

       replyreport
13. 60

    Jason Menayanposted 14 years ago

    Thank you for all the comments.  We are reading them. We have some features that are going to be released soon that we thought it made more sense to use the term follow since there is more familiarity with the term follow on the web (with Twitter and Google Wave, for example) than fan.
    
    We wanted one term that works for topics and people.  As an example, we felt it was better to follow the topic bladder cancer than to be a fan of bladder cancer. 
    
    Thanks again for all the feedback.

    replyreport
    1. 75

       barryrutherfordposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       If someone is going to be silly enough to call themselves bladder cancer I think they deserve the aspersions that are likely to follow !

       replyreport
    2. 0

       zampanoposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       The term "fan" applied to Hubbers (virtual physical persons) is most adequate, as reader also is.
       If there are new features coming, I'd suggest that the choice of being fan or "follower" or whatever should remain.
       Jason, change your avatar to Santa Claus and leave us the choice.

       replyreport
14. 0

    Scott.Lifeposted 14 years ago

    Just when you thought you were being paranoid, turns out you really are being followed. I'm going to need some kind of meds for this confirmation of my delusional world.

    replyreport
    1. 69

       Cagsilposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       

       replyreport
    2. 80

       H.C Porterposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       LMAO- i knew something was up with that black van...i thought the insomnia had finally taken its toll on my mind ( maybe i should have read the forums before i took all those meds ?)

       replyreport
       1. 69

          Cagsilposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          

          replyreport
          1. 80

             H.C Porterposted 14 years agoin reply to this

             if not fans...why cant we have admirers or something of the sorts? followers is a little stalk-ish or commune sounding... if someone asks me to drink the kool-aid first, i'm so out of here...

             replyreport
       2. 0

          Ghost32posted 14 years agoin reply to this

          Black vans?  What about the black helicopters?

          replyreport
          1. 67

             Hmrjmr1posted 14 years agoin reply to this

             I was a controller for the black helicopters now I'll have to have them follow you..

             replyreport
             1. 0

                Ghost32posted 14 years agoin reply to this

                No problem.  Just have them relieve the squadron already on Ghost Watch.

                replyreport
                1. 67

                   Hmrjmr1posted 14 years agoin reply to this

                   Might have to change their call sign from "Night Stalkers" to Fan Followers...

                   replyreport
15. 67

    jayjay40posted 14 years ago

    I know it's only a word change but somehow I don't like follower I much preferred fan. I know it's the phrase they use on Twitter but I thought we were producing articles with more substance than they do on Twitter and therefore it's good to be a fan of someones writing style.

    replyreport
16. 60

    Dao Hoaposted 14 years ago

    Jason has a good explanation, but I thought we want to be different, to stand out from the crowd.
    
    Thanks everyone for the laughs. I laughed so hard at some of your posts.

    replyreport
17. 75

    janiek13posted 14 years ago

    Why can't we all just be "friends"?
    
    Actually, I had to go to my profile and look, I didn't even notice.

    replyreport
18. 74

    Research Analystposted 14 years ago

    Sometimes I feel like there are all these people following me, maybe I am just paranoid! No they really are following me, Gosh!

    replyreport
19. 60

    Dao Hoaposted 14 years ago

    Don't you need it for your meds?
    
    I like "admirers" too. It sounds so grand!

    replyreport
20. 0

    Ghost32posted 14 years ago

    ANYTHING but "follower".  I'd be a SIDE-BY-SIDER, maybe...an ACKNOWLEDGER....
    
    Agh-h-h!

    replyreport
21. 61

    ragnaworksposted 14 years ago

    I still vote for the term "subscriber". It feels the most appropriate I think.

    replyreport
22. 59

    Pr0metheusposted 14 years ago

    Fans > Followers... but is it worth getting this pissed off about?

    replyreport
    1. 60

       Dao Hoaposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Are we that transparent?

       replyreport
23. 72

    EYEAM4ANARCHYposted 14 years ago

    I don't think it's a big deal, but fan is much better than follower.

    replyreport
24. 63

    darksideposted 14 years ago

    Fans or Followers, it doesn't really matter. They both mean pretty much the same.
    
    And then there are those that make it meaningless, because they think that famming (fan spamming) is a 'thinking outside of the box' whiz bang amazing promotional technique. But it's not.
    
    And then there are those that take it far too seriously. They bask themselves in the adoration of their swelling fan base, thinking that they're all that but due to the fact that the fammers have made it into a dogs breakfast, not to mention the sockpuppets who fan themselves, it's not all that important.
    
    Maybe I'm being an optimist when I say that one in ten really care about what you've written.
    
    Subscribers might be a more appropriate term, but people subscribing RSS feeds might cause some confusion if it were used.
    
    So fans or followers, it's really no big deal.

    replyreport
25. 87

    livelongerposted 14 years ago

    I suppose "follower" conjures images of mindless zombies ready to drink Kool-Aid at their master's behest. For some.
    
    For others, you can follow someone's online output like you would follow a particular sport. Quite a different connotation.

    replyreport
26. 0

    Nelle Hoxieposted 14 years ago

    No it really doesn't matter. But I really don't want to end up in a place that feels like twitter or facebook. That's not a plus for me. I liked HubPages because it felt much less juvenile then a lot of places on the internet. It's one of the reasons that I decided to participate in the forums - which is an internet first for me.

    replyreport
27. 68

    cindyvineposted 14 years ago

    Who really cares?  Fan is short for fanatic and a follower is someone who is not a leader, so whether we are fanatics or sheep, hey, maybe we can be fanatical sheep?

    replyreport
    1. 0

       zampanoposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       
       that was a good one.
       Maybe we're very concerned about what we'd like to look like instead of concentrating in what we should really be. Humans, you know...
       But the choice of the word that will define a hubber who's interested in your work somehow and cares to show it by leaving a visible sign, should be carefully weighted.
       Afterall, in a community of writers, words and semanthics count a lot don't they ?
       Maybe I'm wrong, but the connotations I find for "follower" are negative unless you're sailing in a ship convoy.
       Furthermore, connotations that imply strong leadership like in a sect should be avoided. "follower"... bah !

       replyreport
28. 0

    Crazdwriterposted 14 years ago

    I signed up to hubpages not twitter. Followers? Yea no I don't think so. fans was so much better and i hope that you guys change it back

    replyreport
29. 70

    ThoughtfulSpotposted 14 years ago

    I don't mind "following" someone... as someone mentioned, there are artists whose work I follow, there are certainly sports and teams I follow... Its the term "follower" that I think irks me.  I follow football, but I am not a followER of a particular player.  Saying people "follow" my hubs makes me feel sort of warm and squishy and smiley.  Saying I HAVE FOLLOWERS makes me feel weird and uncomfortable.
    I know its just a word, but really, perhaps we're all so sensitive to it because that's why we're here.  We put a lot of stake in words.

    replyreport
30. 68

    lmmartinposted 14 years ago

    I had a big guffaw when I noticed I now had "followers." I didn't mind having fans, but I'd rather not have followers, thank you very much. Sounds kind of cultish and new-age. Can I please have my fans back?
    
    p.s. The term brings to mind a scene from the "Life of Brian" where Brian turns to his followers and pleads, "Stop following me. Think for yourselves. You are all individuals."
    
    And the crowd chants in unison, "We are all individuals."

    replyreport
    1. 82

       manlypoetrymanposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       " That was hilarious!"

       replyreport
    2. 70

       ThoughtfulSpotposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       HA!

       replyreport
31. 61

    Siotoshposted 14 years ago

    If everyone  is a fan, then who are the superstars

    replyreport
32. 85

    rebekahELLEposted 14 years ago

    even google uses the term, 'follow', with their friend connect application. if you have blogs, sites, etc., it says google follow.  many people use it.

    replyreport