Why do people unfollow/

1. 83

   GwennyOhposted 11 years ago

   Just curious, it's not the end of the world... but one person un-followed me today.  It's easy to tell as I am fairly new here and didn't have a lot of followers to begin with.  What might be some reasons anyone would unfollow?

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   1. 59

      Dale Hydeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I have had the same happen.  I feel at times a person is not interested in what I may be publishing overall as a whole.  I would not worry about it however.  Just keep writing and the followers will continue to come.  
      
      Some will stop following individual hubs after commenting and getting a response from the author simply because if one continues to follow it, they will keep getting notifications when someone else, or the author comments on the hub.

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   2. 86

      WryLiltposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      80% of people follow in the hopes that you'll follow back, under the delusion that it will bring them traffic or money. Silly duffers.

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      1. 0

         ClusterCritterposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         A habit their bring over from twitter, I guess.

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   3. 78

      Marcy Goodfleischposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Hi, Gwynny!  Welcome to HubPages!  Several things can cause someone to stop following.  The number of followers you have will go up and down, just as other numbers do (views, Hubber score, etc.).  Some people start a new job, have a baby or whatever and need to cut back their hubbing and email traffic.  Some people leave the site.  Some people find a way to read your work without getting notifications.  And some people just decide they're not as interested in someone's topics as they might have thought.
      
      Don't worry about it - just keep writing, and read and comment on the hubs of other writers, and you will build followers quickly.  And, the more you write in searchable topics, the more traffic you'll get from Google, which is a good thing.

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2. 84

   sparkleyfingerposted 11 years ago

   I make the decision to follow someone after quite a bit of thought. I know how disappointing it can seem if i un-follow someone, so i try to make sure i like their writing style etc first. Unfortunately, Wry is correct, and most people mass follow just to get followers back. Just write more good quality hubs, and the followers will grow

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3. 0

   Lesleysherwoodposted 11 years ago

   Sometimes we think its an unfollow when it is someone closing their account. 
   As sparkleyfinger said people follow to gain followers. 
   A lot of hubbers unfollowed when our profiles changed and everyone could see the followers. 
   After the change  a lot of follows on profile pages remained static.

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4. 94

   Theophanesposted 11 years ago

   I think some people follow me because they liked one article I wrote but then they find out I write about all sorts of topics, none of which really interest them except the first article which may have been a one off. It happens. Plus I agree with what WryLilt says too. People are silly. Don't take it personally.

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5. 60

   Fabiojasonposted 11 years ago

   Maybe they only liked one article you made and decided to unfollow, As theophanes said don't take it personally.
   I don't have any follower to get unfollow haha

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6. 61

   My Mind Speaksposted 11 years ago

   Don't w orry I'm new here and it happens to me too. Try not to beat yourself up about it <3

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7. 83

   GwennyOhposted 11 years ago

   Thanks for all of the helpful advice.  It all makes sense.   I feel I get an idea of how it all works now.  Thanks for taking time to answer me! 

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8. 65

   aylsbillonesposted 11 years ago

   sorry to hear that, I know it can really be frustrating, anyhow you are right, it is not the end of the world.  There are still a lot more, who can appreciate you.

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   1. 83

      GwennyOhposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks, you are kind!

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9. 69

   To Start Againposted 11 years ago

   Don't forget, the unfollow could be because the account has been deleted.

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   1. 87

      Jean Bakulaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Hi GwennyOh,
      That is something I've wondered about too. I write mostly about a certain type of topic, but have more serious pieces about other topics. So I think maybe some follow me for the "certain" type and don't care about the "other" types of things I write about. I noticed when I began to post on forums more, I had people unfollow me. I try not to get drawn into political or religious forums, but sometimes I either get so enraged or disgusted by what somebody had said, whoops! My little fingers are typing away. I don't automatically follow anyone who follows me, I like to be more discriminating. Plus there is so much good content on here, I wish I could spend days just reading. But, like many here, I write on 2 other sites and a blog, and the time is best spent writing, not on forums. Stuff like that is a waste of time (though can be helpful if you need help on a particular subject). See, that took about 3 minutes, since I had to edit once!

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      1. 59

         Dale Hydeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I browse the forums from time to time and end up finding someone who writes about things that interest me, like the OP here.  I now follow her.
         
         Many times I will click on the profile of a forum member who has posted a question or a reply, and find new material that has eluded me!

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         1. 69

            To Start Againposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Which is why it's always good to participate in here- people will do the same to you
            Using the forums without a doubt will increase your in-house traffic to your hubs and profile

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            1. 61

               My Mind Speaksposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               ^^agreed

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   2. 59

      Dale Hydeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      A valid point that never crossed my mind!  Thanks!

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10. 82

    Kasmanposted 11 years ago

    It happens every blue moon to me as well and at first I wanted to take it personally but I had to just let it go. Now, unless its someone I know well on here.....it just doesn't bother me because I can't let that drag me down in the long run. I'm going to keep on keeping on.....writing when I can, participating when I can, and helping people as I go! Good times and great oldies baby!

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11. 91

    Savio Dawsonposted 11 years ago

    It happens... In fact, I had a rather funny experience on this... When I joined I noticed that I had four followers and the next day I had only two...Since, it was easy to know which two unfollowed, I went back to check out of curiosity.... I was surprised to see that both were banned by Hubpages..... It was rather amusing at the time and a bit of a heart-break but then things improve... :-)

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12. 94

    Thelma Albertsposted 11 years ago

    Some people follow because they like what you write and some will just follow you in the hope that you will follow them. But it's not usually the case, so they unfollow you. That's what I think. Of course some are no longer in HP because either they are no longer interested in HP or they are banned. Don't worry about this. Just continue writing quality hubs.

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13. 79

    Lifefusionposted 11 years ago

    Can't speak specifically for Hubpages because I am fairly new, but in other community or social network situations I tend to unfollow for one of the following reasons...
    
    1.) I haven't seen a post from the person in a long time.
    
    2.) I start to dislike the content posted.
    
    3.) I decide I need to in-clutter my feed to focus on specific topics or people much easier.
    
    4.) the person becomes a spammer.

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14. 81

    lovebuglenaposted 11 years ago

    They may have accidentally followed you the first time around or they are no longer interested in the topics you write about. Also some people follow others anticipating that those people will follow them and comment on their stuff and when they don't do that they unfollow those people.

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15. 81

    lovebuglenaposted 11 years ago

    Don't let the fact that someone unfollowed you discourage you... You will get more followers I am sure...

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16. 87

    TheKatsMeowposted 11 years ago

    maybe it's related, but I have accidentally unfollowed people that I was following. I was already following them, came across something that I really liked that they wrote and didn't remember I was following them and decided that I wanted to follow them. So I clicked the follow bottom, but of course since I am already following them, it's unfollow... sometimes if I am distracted and used to doing something I can make stupid mistakes and only realize a few days later. (In all fairness the box is the same color for follow and unfollow). In some cases, it could be simply an honest mistake.
    
    I agree with what most people are saying, it's more likely that they followed you because they wanted you to follow back or maybe the account was deleted.

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17. 88

    Sneha Sunnyposted 11 years ago

    Well, it's true that most of the people follow to with the hope that you'll follow them back. In this case, if you don't they'll unfollow you. But don't worry much about the followers. Just write and people will come to you automatically. More number of followers doesn't necessarily means that they all will read your hub whenever you publish a new one. So just chill. If your hubs are good, people will come and read! Just keep hubbing.

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18. 83

    GwennyOhposted 11 years ago

    I have in all cases so far followed those that have chosen to follow me; I am sure that won't always hold true though.  I suppose there is still a lot more to be learnt here.  Thanks for the insight everyone.

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19. 81

    lovebuglenaposted 11 years ago

    TheKatsMeow - you make a very good point that I didn't think of before. A person may press the follow button to follow someone not realizing they are already following that person and in the end end up unfollowing them that way. I am sure I have done that a few times unintentionally. And the thing is when people do that they don't even realize they are doing it...

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20. 77

    psycheskinnerposted 11 years ago

    I assume people unfollow me because they get bored of me. I can't say it bothers me.

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