People who Follow you, and then Unfollow you

1. 70

   healthmunstaposted 10 years ago

   I am literally sick and tired of people who follow you, and then, when you follow them back, they promptly unfollow you. Really, people?
   
   What do you do when someone unfollows you shortly after you follow them? Do you hunt them down and unfollow them as well? Do you send them mail saying what they did was rude? Do you ignore them? Or have you given up on 'followers' entirely?

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   1. 74

      Dale Hydeposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I don't even pay attention in detail to that.  I have never, as far as I can remember, in over two years, checked to see who is following me or who is still following me.

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   2. 82

      quicksandposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Has been happening on Twitter for several years. That explains how some have 50,000 + followers while they are following only 5000+.

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   3. 86

      Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Why did you "follow them back"?   
      
      Was it because they had great writing, or wrote on topics which interested you?  If so, then why does it matter if they "unfollow" you? 
      
      if it was just because they followed you, then you're creating the problem yourself, by playing the spammers' game. 
      
      Following on HubPages is not about being friends, it's about keeping track of writers whose work you admire.  Use it like that and you'll have less problems.

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         Duane Townsendposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Marisa...Exactly!

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   4. 87

      moonlakeposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I've seen that happen I just don't pay attention to it. I have not been on here for awhile making comments and answering my comments because of a sickness in the family and in that time I have lost 4 followers. I have no idea why or who they are because I don't bother to look. I always see my number when I go on my profile so I do notice that. Some will unfollow and you will get more back. I wouldn't worry about it.

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   5. 94

      Phyllis Doyleposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I do not really pay attention to any who has stopped following me. In some cases, maybe most, those who stop following  are in a competition game.  To quote Marisa: "Following on HubPages is not about being friends, it's about keeping track of writers whose work you admire.  Use it like that and you'll have less problems.", this is the practice I use.

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   6. 86

      Sherry Hewinsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I don't care who unfollows me. If they are not interested in reading my hubs, then having them on my followers list is of no use to me.

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      1. 84

         FatFreddysCatposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Same here. I have never played the "follow me and I'll follow you back" game. It's pointless.
         
         I barely even keep track of who's following me, so to be honest the only way I'd notice that I'd been "unfollowed" would be if a whole chunk of my "followers" dropped me at the same time.

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   7. 77

      crystalwriterposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I was just wondering this same thing, and from people's reactions here, I thought I should post to support the original post. Yes, we should follow because we like someone's writing or other creative products (be it here, on Twitter, or elsewhere), but sometimes there are other reasons for following. For one, if people don't have a pretty close balance of followers to followed, they hit Twitter limits and cannot keep following those they desire. So, if someone unfollows you for no reason, that could lower the number of people you are able to follow. When you want to follow all your faves on something like America's Got Talent, you can hit limits rather quickly.
      
      And then you may get this scenario:
      
      You're notified of a new follower on Twitter. You look over their posts, and while you wouldn't look for them to follow, you decide their tweets are good enough for a reciprocal follow. It's not about falsely inflating your fan base; it's just about being kind; maybe even about helping them not hit their limits. Then, because you've been kind, it's a bit infuriating to have people unfollow and give you the unspoken message that they were just using your kindness for their own benefit--inflating their own followers.
      
      If this wasn't something that mattered to lots of people, there wouldn't be huge amounts of software and plugins that automatically unfollow people who don't follow back. I haven't installed any of it, and I won't install it because I typically follow only when I want to read someone's shares, but for those times when I follow to reciprocate, it's no fun to be disrespected by those who are cheating.
      
      Obviously, it's better for all of us and our sanity to not worry about those things, other than for the concern about limits. but I had one that unfollowed within minutes of my reciprocal follow, and that's just plain rude. Ya know?

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   8. 80

      kenneth averyposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I have noticed in my follower's list that I see one total amount, then in a day or a week, I see that one or two followers are gone - - -all without notifying me of why they are leaving.
      I guess I do have a lot to learn about HP. Maybe one day I will get over this naïve spirit.

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      1. 60

         Kiss andTalesposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Kenneth you are a sweetheart , funny , informative , if some one leaves you ! O well they will mis out on your beautiful talent as writer. Maybe they just left hp.
         or passed away. I see no reason besides the ones you may lose you will gain a 100 fold. Keep being and doing you!  You are like no one else. friends for life.

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            kenneth averyposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            Dearest Kiss and Tales . . .
            with THIS comment, I could stop hubbing altogether and go to Jesus a happy man. I am totally serious. Thanks. I love you and all of my followers. I say this often and I mean it.
            I will be here as long as I draw breath Love you.

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      2. 69

         JRScarbroughposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Don't qorry about followers unfollowing you. They are solely about gathering a following to make faster money. Their content really isn't worth much at all. I've gathered a quality following which in the end is worth so much more than quantity.
         
         It's not a reflection on you or your writing. It is a reflection on the quality of the person who unfollowed you soon after you followed them back.

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   9. 60

      syfsuppsposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I feel you... It pisses me off but there are people who just wanted to have more followers and don't mind hurting others on the process... *sigh*

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   10. 72

       womenshealthguideposted 8 years agoin reply to this

       Oh, I will care in future

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   11. 57

       Tuyen Hoangposted 8 years agoin reply to this

       ineluctable, Its nomal in every social network, even in real life. You should not be too preoccupied.

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   12. 0

       Dragon 40posted 8 years agoin reply to this

       If I am unfollowed on Twitter, I check the unfollowing account. If I see "0 Following, 34123 Followers," I block them. statusbrew.com and other sites make it easy to deal with these folks.

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   13. 60

       kathlamposted 7 years agoin reply to this

       The significant following and unfollowing behavior that is happening  is likely primarily due to certain folks attempting to manipulate Twitter and perform black hat SEO (search engine optimization) vs white hat SEO.  The more authentic we are in our software system actions, the more useful and valuable these systems will be to us.
       
       I don't get a lot of new followers week to week.  So, I have the time and ability to look at their Twitter profile to see if I could be genuinely interested in the individual.  And if so, I may follow.  The fakers (and they seem to be  5 to 10% of the folks that are currently following me) tend to come and and go quickly, if that's any consolation  :  ).
       
       When you and I utilize best practices here, it, over time,  should help others to be persuaded to do the same.

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   14. 80

       CapCooLposted 7 years agoin reply to this

       I've noticed this on Twitter. I'll unfollow the people who do this to me.

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          kenneth averyposted 7 years agoin reply to this

          Five years back, I had a Twitter account and then for some reason, I would post a photo, story or just a comment to a fellow member. Again, and with Twitter, after a month of waiting. No response. No more twitting.

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       Shauna Farrisposted 7 years agoin reply to this

       I usually just unfollow and block them! I do not want people like that having the ability to view my personal accounts

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          theraggededgeposted 7 years agoin reply to this

          As yet, you don't  have any followers on HubPages, Shauna.

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       2. 60

          SnoopyMochi12posted 7 years agoin reply to this

          I've been experiencing the same thing too. I know we shouldn't let ourselves to be stressed to this follow and unfollowed thing but it is annoying! There were randoms of bands in europe who followed me on IG, being nice tho, I followed them back. Few days later they unfollowed me already. really?? My IG is private and I only have 170 followers so its very easy for me to track those folks who unfollowed me. Imagine you are already contented sharing thoughts and moments by few and sincere people on your page, and then these folks came just to ruin your day. They can use bots to follow them instead of trolling with real people.

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   16. 0

       GalaxyRatposted 7 years agoin reply to this

       Whoever follows me, I make sure I follow them back.

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   17. 0

       Rick Myresposted 7 years agoin reply to this

       I followed someone who was following me for weeks then soon after they unfollowed me so I unfollowed that one as soon as I saw it.

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2. 66

   writingloverposted 10 years ago

   I had that problem as well, but I have since given up on worrying with them.

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      syfsuppsposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      haha, it just added to your stress, right?

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3. 66

   Justin Earickposted 10 years ago

   Are you seriously whining about twitter on hubpages?

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      syfsuppsposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      LOL! It's two different platforms.

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4. 66

   Justin Earickposted 10 years ago

   People on twitter often follow with the expectation of reciprocation.  It's quid pro quo networking.  I don't do it, but it works if you want to artificially increase your following.  I refuse to inflate my following with blackmailers, unlike some...

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5. 90

   Suzanne Dayposted 10 years ago

   I had a few recently do that. I only look at potentially following those who leave fan mail. Otherwise, it's just too hard to keep track of.

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6. 94

   jansharesposted 10 years ago

   How do you know who unfollows you? I can't tell, I just notice that the # of followers decreases sometimes. I do wonder why someone unfollows, though.

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7. 0

   calculus-geometryposted 10 years ago

   Do you hunt them down and unfollow them as well? Do you send them mail saying what they did was rude?
   
   I can't tell if the OP is serious, but if I had such an extreme reaction to something as trivial and meaningless as online followers, I would deserve to be involuntarily committed.

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8. 60

   HattieMattieMaeposted 10 years ago

   Really it's not important whether people follow you or not. It's really something that toys with your emotions. Really kind of like a reward and punishment scenario. Think about it,  you may measure your worth, or writing skills by who follows you, but fortunately it has nothing to do with your worth or writing ability. It is just a number to me. If you have a published book someday lots of people will pick it up and put it down.
   
   Lots of people will follow you and unfollow you. Critics will say good and bad things. Emotions can't rule your thoughts, and thoughts shouldn't be ruled by emotions. Who ever is supposed to be around you will be around you and read your work.

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   1. 94

      jansharesposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      So nice, so true.

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9. 69

   JRScarbroughposted 10 years ago

   I generally do not follow anyone anymore unless they grab my attention somehow. Sometimes it is just being smart in the forums or one of their hubs stands out to me.
   
   I haven’t had this issue yet. If someone I already am familiar with follows me, I will follow back. Since this is how I handle follows, I have not had the issue because I have a lot of fishing follows. I can generally tell because I have no clue why the person followed me. If it is a fishing follow, they are attempting to rush a following and then to appear popular by lessening the amount they actually follow so that their following is larger than their follows.
   
   It is a Twitter thing. People come on there and mass follow until they get a bunch of return followers and then mass unfollow to appear more important than they are.

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      Jason Marovichposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      +1

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   2. 94

      Phyllis Doyleposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I agree with all that, JR.

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10. 60

    modern-man-toolsposted 10 years ago

    I've never encountered that problem either.  But then again, I'm fairly new to HubPages...

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11. 67

    avorodisaposted 10 years ago

    Yes, that happens, but there is nothing to worry about. And there may be other reasons for their unfollow, too. Like blocked accounts of those people.

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12. 80

    psycheskinnerposted 10 years ago

    I follow people to read their stuff.  If I follow them and their content is not as interesting as I had hoped, I unfollow.  I don't give a flying fig if they follow me or not.

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    1. 0

       Beth37posted 10 years agoin reply to this

       Do you ever wonder where these sayings come from? It's kind of interesting.
       
       From the idiom section of The Free Dictionary online:
       
       not care/give a fig (old-fashioned)
       if you say that you don't care a fig, you mean that something or someone is not important to you at all. They can say what they like, I don't give a fig.
       
       (The use of "flying" is just something that accentuates the idiom.)
       
       "Fig" is a euphemism for that very common four-letter word starting with "f", and you are more likely to hear this idiom used nowadays with that word, rather than "fig".

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13. 89

    Carola Finchposted 10 years ago

    I follow people who write about the things that interest me and write in the same topic areas.  I want to keep track of topics that are coming up that are similar to mine so I don't duplicate what is already out there.  I don't really care who follows and unfollows, though I think it is irritating that someone follows you just so they can gain a follower and then drops you.

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14. 68

    Beaddoodlerposted 9 years ago

    Why does it upset you so?  I sometimes read a very good article and follow the author, but on closer inspection I don't find their other hubs of interest to me.  The notifications just clutter up my inbox so I unfollow.  It's not because they aren't good writers, just that few of their hubs interest me.

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15. 80

    Muttfaceposted 9 years ago

    FatFreddysCat - You've changed!

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    1. 84

       FatFreddysCatposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Only my avatar. The attitude remains the same.

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16. 76

    Valeantposted 9 years ago

    Seriously with this topic?

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17. 85

    Chriswillman90posted 9 years ago

    I've finally learned to stop being upset about getting unfollowed, but even on here it really did make me sad for some reason. It made me sad to the point of writing a hub on the subject, but now I know it's a fleeting feeling and taking it personally doesn't help at all.

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18. 98

    viryaboposted 9 years ago

    I thought this only happens on Twitter.
    
    Here, i haven't really noticed whether I've been un-followed or not. Didn't even know they did that on Hubpages too.
    
    I've always wondered why people do that on Twitter but now understand why, going by what  @JRScarbrough said.

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19. 60

    Wilsonoposted 9 years ago

    That's some real childish attitude. Such individuals need to grow up.

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20. 86

    Marisa Wrightposted 9 years ago

    Having followers on Twitter and having followers on HubPages are two totally different things.  Having followers on HubPages is nice for the ego, but it is almost completely irrelevant - you can be a very successful HubPages writer with no followers at all.
    
    That's because success on HubPages comes from external readers, not other Hubbers.  Sure, Followers might share your Hub on their Facebook page or leave a nice comment, but those things are a drop in the ocean.  They make a little difference, but not a lot.  In fact if you focus too much attention on Following and not enough on reaching out to your external audience, that will hinder your traffic instead of helping it.
    
    The Followers system on HP is for networking with other writers (because all HubPages members are writers, not readers).  Having followers read and comment on your Hub is a morale booster if you're no getting good external traffic on a Hub - other writers can give you motivation to keep writing.  That's it.

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21. 86

    Sherry Hewinsposted 8 years ago

    I never follow anybody just because they followed me.

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    1. 69

       JRScarbroughposted 8 years agoin reply to this

       Do you inspect their content? I will followback if they appear to have scruples and are serious about whatever their interests are. I learn a lot out of getting followed. I may not have the same interests but I have a fondness for well written articles. I love a good writer regardless of my interest in the subject.
       
       When followed, I go asap to their profile and scan a few pages and if it looks like they are a real writer, I'll followback as a kudos.

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       1. 86

          Sherry Hewinsposted 8 years agoin reply to this

          I used to do that, but lately I just am not reading many hubs. If I don't read, then it will be no benefit to have me as a follower.

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          1. 86

             Marisa Wrightposted 8 years agoin reply to this

             This is the point people miss - they get upset if people don't follow them, but they don't realise that having a follower IN ITSELF has no value.  If that follower doesn't read or share any of your Hubs, you might as well not have them.
             
             That's why I hardly ever follow anyone now.  I don't read Hubs much these days.

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22. 60

    paradigmsearchposted 8 years ago

    I have exactly 800 followers. Any one betrayal and I am doomed.

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    1. 69

       JRScarbroughposted 8 years agoin reply to this

       Lol. Is 800 your pact with the devil? 799 and he gets your soul? I'm going to write that movie here.
       
       FADE IN:
       
       INT. PARADIGMSEARCH'S COMPUTER ROOM - DAY
       
       paradigmseach stares hard at a computer screen for a long time.
       
       ON COMPUTER SCREEN:
       paradigmsearch's profile reads 800 followers.
       
       Paradigm clicks the mouse and the screen refreshes. Paradigmsearch's eyes widen and teeth clench into a face of pure terror.
       
       ON COMPUTER SCREEN:
       paradigmsearch's profile reads 799.
       
       Thunder BOOMS outside. The room SHAKES and the PITTER PATTER of debree falling as an electrical BUZZ begins until a sudden BLAST of an explosion of sparks puts the room into total darkness. DEMONIC LAUGHTER echoes off the room walls.
       
       DEMON VOICE
       You're time has come.
       
       PARADIGMSEARCH
       Nooooooooo!
       
       More DEMONIC LAUGHTER and then the only sound left from within the darkness is SOBBING.
       
       CUT TO:
       
       INT. JRS COMPUTER ROOM - DAY
       
       JR stares long and hard at his computer screen.
       
       ON COMPUTER SCREEN:
       jrscarbrough's profile reads 0 followers.
       
       JR clicks the mouse and the screen refreshes amd his eyes widen and he smiles and nods approvingly.
       
       ON COMPUTER SCREEN:
       jrscarbrough's profile reads 1 follower.
       
       FADE TO BLACK
       
       Beware peoples. The devil is following us.

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          paradigmsearchposted 8 years agoin reply to this

          Nominated as post of the week.

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          1. 69

             JRScarbroughposted 8 years agoin reply to this

             *graciously bows* lol

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             syfsuppsposted 8 years agoin reply to this

             Haha! But she has point though...

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    2. 80

       kenneth averyposted 8 years agoin reply to this

       paradigsearch,
       Are you an employee of HubPages? I have always wanted to ask you, but never had the nerve.
       And . . .how do you pronounce your name?

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       1. 60

          paradigmsearchposted 8 years agoin reply to this

          Yes I am, have been for years. Unfortunately; HR, payroll, the owners, and the rest of the staff never got the memo though; probably still stuck in the server.

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23. 60

    Kiss andTalesposted 8 years ago

    Thanks its always a wonderful thing to know who love and care about you thank you!

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24. 62

    thetruanttrainposted 8 years ago

    I have noticed that some of the people on twitter who unfollow you after you follow them are just trying to get a lot of followers; they don't care about your twitter feed at all. These are the people who have loads of followers but don't follow many back-you get a feel for them after a while. I unfollow them because to me it is obnoxious and rude to use someone to collect followers, and kind of pathetic and I don't want anything to do with them. However, some followers unfollow me-I think because they don't like my feed-so be it. When it is blatantly obvious that I am being 'used' so that person can you use me as a number, then yes I unfollow them. Otherwise I don't care. If it happened to me on Hubpages I would be dashed and probably throw my self to the ground in self pity and use a whole box of hankies (I know...I know a bit over dramatic..couldn't help myself), because I would worry that my writing was awful that they unfriended me. I am going to follow you...I just skimmed some of your stuff and it looks very healthy and interesting. Take care.

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25. 67

    relacheposted 8 years ago

    How many followers you have is immaterial. 
    
    That figure does not reflect actual HubPages member presence (people who have left or are not active still count), it does not correlate to traffic in any way and it has nothing to do with money or earnings potential.
    
    Nor does it matter how many people you follow. 
    
    Followers and following are empty metrics that are part of the gamefication of a website meant to keep members involved with the site more.  It's meant to try and make you spend more time on HubPages.

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26. 86

    Annsaloposted 8 years ago

    I NEVER follow someone back on HP unless I actually plan on reading their articles. The point of following is to follow their writings.
    
    It is pointless to follow if I don't plan on reading their work. It is also misleading. One of my accounts has around 500 followers, on that account I follow maybe 40. I struggle to read their new articles. Thankfully most aren't as active as they use to be.
    
    Point is, if they unfollow it doesn't impact me at all, because I likely didn't follow them anyway.

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27. 60

    Kiss andTalesposted 8 years ago

    When I first joined I did  not notice to understand this follow feature .I had people following me but did not undestand the meaning I could follow them .I think HP has features you will discover not that you intentionally not follow. Its your misunderstanding of how to use the feature.
    Some times when you comment you automatically are following the subject
    But not the hub writer I have later learned
    So we can see another side here it could be just plain misunderstanding.

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       kenneth averyposted 8 years agoin reply to this

       Dear Kiss and Tales,
       I am Honored to Follow you and Have You Follow me. Never forget that. And I Appreciate and Love You Very Much. You have really touched my life in ways that I should write about, but do not have adequate words.
       (((HUGS)))
       Kenneth

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          Kiss andTalesposted 8 years agoin reply to this

          Thanks kenneth you write from your sincere heart ,when you say something its real and reaches my heart . I am sure many can say the same here on HP.

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             kenneth averyposted 8 years agoin reply to this

             Kiss and Tales,
             One day, before my life is over, I shall sit down in a quiet place and send you a personal email that will explain to you just how much you have touched my life.
             You mean so much to me. I am sincere.
             Kenneth

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28. 60

    Kiss andTalesposted 8 years ago

    Well Kenneth I would be most honored and happy to recieve such a letter .
    I proberly live miles and miles away but you are close to me .I thank HP that you are a wonderful example here to many. But speaking for myself I have leaerned how brave and how strong you are in your trials and tribulations I know it not easy but you indured and helping many with their own. I  am up in age a little I am happy because Jehovah is good and he gives us gifts in each other. Looking forward to that letter anytime.

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    WryLiltposted 8 years ago

    How do you even know people unfollow you? I barely ever look at my follower's list, unless it's to approve fan mail when I remember (we so need a link to that, that's easy to access).
    
    Followers don't do much other than make for a pretty number. Less than 5% of my traffic is from Hubpages users.

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    Christy Mariaposted 8 years ago

    I can't even begin to describe how annoying this is to me as well. I know it sounds like a such a first world problem to complain about people who unfollow you, but it is frustrating to me to see people follow me on social media and when I follow back then they unfollow me. It's like, why even bother for that extra follower?  I'm just going to unfollow you as soon as I realize.

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    davidlivermoreposted 8 years ago

    Just because someone follow's me they shouldn't expect I will follow them back.  In turn, just because I follow them doesn't mean they have to follow me.
    
    I only follow those who interest me.  I don't like trading follows.  It defeats the purpose.

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       Kiss andTalesposted 8 years agoin reply to this

       I understand .but I have learned you get to meet new writers and hubs of good quality. You might even get to meet your new best friend for life. I have been here awhile the road has been bumby at times
       But there are talented good people here.
       I guess I see it this way if a person greets me and say hello ! I am going to return the greeting ! We do this HP style alot of good people.

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          kenneth averyposted 8 years agoin reply to this

          Normally, I send ALL of my New Followers a personal email of "thanks," for following me because I do not take this kind gesture lightly. And for another reason: I want to produce hubs that can be seen as somewhat educational without attending school and humorous without buying a $50-dollar ticket to a comedy club.
          My hubs are always a work in progress.
          One day . . .One will be an Editor's Choice and when that happens, I will gladly post, it is due to my followers!

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             paradigmsearchposted 8 years agoin reply to this

             Be careful what you wish for. My one-and-only Editor's Choice hub has a hub score of 65.

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                JRScarbroughposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                I have two that are editor's choices. I have two chosen for niche sites. And for the life of me, i can't figure out why any of it was worthy of any of it. My best work here is left scores of 97 on good months and 78s on bad ones. It makes no sense a lot of the time.
                
                I do know they love to force editing and reediting and reediting. One week a picture at the very top is a great thing, the next it isn't. I don't know the formulas they are using but I do know they keep changing.
                
                Editor's Choices are simply hubs that come out of the starting gate and make them a few dollars fairly quickly I am starting to believe. I don't believe any of it is a reflection of the quality of the writing. I just edited a three year old hub that has been up near 90 for years and it had so many spelling errors I was kind of embarrassed I had my name attached to it for three years.
                
                In fact, I am kind of embarrassed my name is attached to a lot of things. I have a habit of hitting send before i do my best editing. lol

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                   paradigmsearchposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                   For some reason, I felt inspired today. So I just completed overhauling the critter, replicating the previous HubPro formatting I've seen. I figure the score can't get any worse.

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                      JRScarbroughposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                      From what I've read of yours you are a great writer. I've spent the majority of my higher education in majoring in communication and English Composition. I mastered in Creative Composition and Screenwriting and have several degrees ranging from Psychology to Dietetics and IT fields. You're a damn good writer. You kept me hooked on the Libra Hub because I am a Libra and I found your use of pre-astrology hooplah to be better information than the horoscopes that fit everyone like a fortune cookie fortune.
                      
                      "Money is coming to you soon if you get enough rest and go to work."
                      
                      Well geez, I better get some sleep and go to work every day this week or else my fortune might not come true. Duh!
                      
                      I found your writing to be eloquent and well-structured and even rhythmic. That's very rare. Trust me, I'd say if I saw anything that sucked. I didn't. You deserve kudos from HP on more of your stuff. It is very original and well thought out. Also, very creatively written.
                      
                      I liked my little spin on callus removal for women from a man's perspective. Your writing comes off similar. You have your own voice and style. Keep it up. Show that wit. I just noticed you and already know you are witty and have a healthy sense of humor.

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                         paradigmsearchposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                         Thank You!

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                   SheilaMilneposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                   I don't think Editor's Choice necessarily are ones that make some money quickly - or at least mine certainly haven't. In fact, as far as my two are concerned, I've come to think of it as a kiss of death.

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                      JRScarbroughposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                      Idk. Mine aren't  dead from it. I'm  never finished writing them though. If I see anything falling behind that has been structured with keywords with low competition  and should be getting alot of views, I restructure pics and tables and reword or shorten word count and just watch it for a month. Usually if its hubscore rises then it also starts moving again. Google's algorithms change often and hp changes to keep up. So, we have to evolve too. That's. How I see it regardless  of hp kudos or not.

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                kenneth averyposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                paradigmsearch, I am being careful. But now into my fifth-year of HubPages, I have NO hubs chosen as Editor's Choice. Honestly I feel left out of the loop.

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                   JRScarbroughposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                   Do you have any uncommon hobbies Kenneth?
                   
                   Like, making birdhouses or using fimo clay or anything like that? Interested in medieval armor or old coins?
                   
                   They tend to focus on unusual or in depth articles about a person's passions or deep interests.
                   
                   I real about your love hate relationship with May. Maybe you should write about social classifications that harm young people's spirit. I come from a rural area and as a young person felt out of place around the more urban and stuck up crowd because they tended to look down on people from my area. School was hard due to a class system of cliques.
                   
                   People were either from town and acted superior. Or from the sticks and saw as low class or dumb when it wasn't accurate. It was a very poisonous environment to grow to maturity in but also strengthened my character and gave me a thick skin.
                   
                   I related very much to your story. It was awesome that you shared it with me.

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             JRScarbroughposted 8 years agoin reply to this

             Kenneth, I'd be glad to help you write an editor's choice. Every time I have gone for one I get it. It really is not as difficult as it might seem. The best way to do it is to leave out any ads and shoot for something they don't have much of in their articles.
             
             I write for a living. I am a hubber for fun and a writing community. I just love to make friends and help others and share my knowledge. An editor's choice, I have found, is close to the 1250 word goal and uses low competition but popular keywords. usually two of each chose one that pertains to your subject. AND right when published, it tends to spark a rush to read by fellow hubbers.
             
             Both of mine had 50 reads within a few hours of being featured. That's the only differences between the editor choice hubs I have and the ones not chosen. They started fast and started with a score close to 90 or above 90.
             
             Really, there isn't anything great about either article other than how well they started off.

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                kenneth averyposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                JR Scarbrough,
                Hey, thanks a million for the super-nice comments about my "love/hate relationship with May." That made my night. And all of it is true. I still carry the scars as the hub states and I am not the only one. There were more from the rural school system who were never briefed or "walked though" the transition of going from a rural school to a city school, but to be honest, this was in the early 60's and things back then were solid black and white and nothing to muddy the waters, to be as pointed as I can.
                One day things were okay. The next day I wanted to stay home and let my dad teach me how to farm for a living.
                It was that bad.
                Years ago I wanted to get someone to help me secure a government grant to study "test couples" from both school systems and then find out what income bracket each were in; what type of home; job, etc.
                And publish the results in a noted magazine or newspaper. Then maybe changes might be made.
                I will give your offer of helping me write an EC hub. I really will. I will contact you via email on your profile page.
                Thanks again.
                Kenneth

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    Boundless Amberposted 8 years ago

    I don't follow people whose content I don't enjoy, even if they follow me. Similarly, I do not expect people to continue to follow me if they do not truly enjoy what my passions contribute to them.
    
    I know it impacts you in some kind of way when you see your follower numbers go down, but you have to understand that figures are a matter of indifference if you are truly passionate about what you're doing. If you believe what you're doing matters, what other people perceive is nothing of concern.

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    Nicole Young 07posted 8 years ago

    I rarely pay attention to them, actually I don't keep track of people I follow and people who follows me. I just follow someone who have great articles so there is little or no need from me to unfollow them.

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       Sulabhaposted 8 years agoin reply to this

       Oh my! Why should you worry about it? Just concentrate on your work.
       By the bye, I find you have written some interesting hubs. I need to read them.
       Keep it up.

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    Glenis Rixposted 7 years ago

    This reply went over my head - I'm a technophobe. I have a Twitter account but never use it. Ought I to be doing so? And I haven't got to grips with SEO - what is the difference between black hat and white hat SEO?

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       kathlamposted 7 years agoin reply to this

       Wikipedia does a nice job of explaining the difference between black hat and white hat SEO: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_en … techniques

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          Glenis Rixposted 7 years agoin reply to this

          Thanks. Will check it out

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       Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

       The reply really isn't relevant because the thread is about followers on HubPages, not followers on Twitter.  Although that's one of the reasons why we get these weird followers here on HP - they think it's like Twitter and they'll get some kind of benefit from following people mindlessly! 
       
       Black Hat SEO is using tricks to try to fool Google into sending your website or Hub more traffic. White hat is sticking to the rules and simply trying to create Hubs that the search engines can understand.

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    Mark Ewbieposted 7 years ago

    I mostly sell tees these days but this fascinating thread caught my eye.
    
    Following has been proven to make lots of money.  It needn't take much time because you only pretend to follow.  Whereas everyone else does it for real.
    
    Armed with that brilliant SEO knowledge - and by the way isn't SEO wonderful - I have been trying out tee sales using the follow method.
    
    What I do is find a hopefully attractive or at least fairly attractive woman who is out shopping.  I get my best tee ready and start following her.  Eventually or quite soon if I bump into her on purpose she will notice me.
    
    Then with luck she will see the tee I am holding out.
    
    I am writing a book on this called "TEO - My Way".  Tee Engine Optimisation - geddit.  Love the internet.

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    Stacie Lposted 7 years ago

    Be careful following women around,Mark...you could be holding a stripped tee ,in the local jail!

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    quicksandposted 7 years ago

    Thank God you CAN read 'other people's' hubs without following them. All you gotta do is bookmark their profile page or memorize their username!
    
    I do it all the while! ......

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    earnerposted 7 years ago

    I don't "follow" people. I use my bookmarks.
    I don't like to be "inundated" with everything .... I get overwhelmed too easily.
    
    I know who I read, who I "follow" and I don't need the system to continually tell me who's just written or something .... I can find that for myself

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    Richard Wesleyposted 7 years ago

    People do this to get more followers but not to get more follows. You can use zen-promo.com to do this different way. Instagram is always full of noises about followers, it won't pass away.

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    Lavina Englehartposted 7 years ago

    Someone did that to me on youtube. She was subscribed to me for a while. I didn't subscribe back, because she didn't have any videos that I could watch. Then out of the blue I just decided to subscribe to her, and then she unsubscribed from me. I didn't care though because we weren't close or anything, so I unsubbed from her after that.

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       Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

       Your subscribing may have reminded her that she wasn't really interested in the type of videos you were posting.
       
       People need to stop thinking that followers are friends.   The purpose of following is so you can be notified of articles or images or videos or whatever that interest you.   End of story.   
       
       If you follow someone thinking they'll post stuff you're interested in, and they don't, then you're going to unfollow them.  It would be stupid not to.
       
       On HubPages, having followers makes NO difference to how much money you earn and is NO indicator of how successful you are.

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          Lavina Englehartposted 7 years agoin reply to this

          I couldn't agree more.

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    Analee123analeeposted 7 years ago

    I say unfollow them. If they do not take into consideration all of your hard work and read over your opinions. Then, there is no purpose for you to. Or, don't let it get to you. The more thought you put in the more annoyed you will get. They are behind a screen and are not bothered by whatever you do. So, don't let them bother you!

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       psycheskinnerposted 7 years agoin reply to this

       The purpose of following anyone is to read what they write.  Anything else is pointless game-playing.

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    Shane Barkerposted 7 years ago

    It happens with everyone, but it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, does it? What are they really getting out of doing it? Ultimately, they are the ones who will lose out because people (like you and I) notice when they do it, and that leaves a bad taste in our mouths. It’s really a matter of trust, isn’t it? Just because a person has 50k followers doesn’t mean you should follow him to get more attention. Instead, work on your own account. Keep your profile updated, post on a regular basis, and take the time to like and comment on other people’s post, and you will get more followers very easily. Good Luck!

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       Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

       If you follow anyone to get more attention, you deserve what you get.  Following people, and even being followed, is not about getting attention.   It does NOTHING to build traffic, because followers are other writers on HubPages and we are not a big group.   
       
       So, ignore people who play the game, and follow people because you're genuinely interested in their writing, nothing more.

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          kenneth averyposted 7 years agoin reply to this

          @ Marisa, I confess that (when I have time) I will peruse the HP pages and read the hubbers' work that attracts me and when I pick one and read it, I would feel down right low if I just read, and commented and did not follow. I do not know how many followers that I have and numbers for me are not the point.
          Thanks for letting me jump in.

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    silkywayavenueposted 7 years ago

    It's a common issue in social media where the like for like and follow for follow game always goes on. The reason? Just to increase the number of likes and follows up to the desired goal of achieving say 1,000 likes or follows.
    
    Not many people will relate to what you write or what you put out there on the web. So this fact alone will make most of them unfollow you. But you shouldn't be bothered by that.
    
    True followers always stick around and they may even be a few but I guess it's better than having  a million followers today and see them unfollow you the next day.

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    MichaelValdezposted 7 years ago

    Two possible reasons someone would do that, either they are just trying to boost their numbers of followers. Or perhaps they wanted something from the person they followed and since it was not given they unfollowed. The first one should be the decisive action of unfollow without much delay to show your disapproval. The second perhaps a bridge could be crossed to make an effort to re-establish  something that was lacking. If that does not work consider the first course of action.

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    blueheronposted 7 years ago

    I have no idea why anyone would care about having followers. They never share your article anywhere, as far as I can tell, and this would be the only useful thing they could do to help your traffic. Or...well...maybe they do sometimes, but I don't think I've ever seen any significant results from having followers.

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       Jesse Drzalposted 7 years agoin reply to this

       Gave your profile a quick gander. I see you have some nicely written articles on tincture, teas and other stuff like that I dabble. Sooo you got yourself a follower now. Although it won't earn for you.

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       silkywayavenueposted 7 years agoin reply to this

       Blueheron if you have followers and you have a good product, the first people you share it with will be your followers. Now it might or might not get you a single sales of whatever product you have but at least without effort you've in some way promoted your product on social media through your followers.

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          Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

          No, you haven't.  Your followers are on HubPages, not on social media.   
          
          This is a common misconception on HubPages.  Followers on HubPages are other writers, not readers The following system on HubPages encourages writers to read each other's work. That's all.   For that reason, it's a great motivator when you start out, when you've got no external audience.  But it does little or nothing to make you money.
          
          People think that by following a Hubber, they're providing some kind of benefit - but they're not.  Having lots of followers on HubPages does not achieve anything.   As Blueheron says, they could provide a far greater benefit by sharing just one of that person's Hubs on Facebook.

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    Sherry Hewinsposted 7 years ago

    This is the three-year-old post that will not die. Who cares about how many followers you have? I know I don't.

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       kenneth averyposted 7 years agoin reply to this

       @ Sherry, I must have had a brain gap or time warp because I cannot recall the post about number of followers. But I do know that I Appreciate YOU as a Friend and Follower. Honest.

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    Jesse Drzalposted 7 years ago

    Just unfollowed all of you.

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    blueheronposted 7 years ago

    Ha ha! Joke's on you! We don't care!

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       Jesse Drzalposted 7 years agoin reply to this

       LOL!!

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    blueheronposted 7 years ago

    If you would like to do a good deed for writers whose work you enjoy, post it on Facebook or other social media that will get the author some clicks.

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       kenneth averyposted 7 years agoin reply to this

       blueheron, fantastic idea. Thanks!

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    blueheronposted 7 years ago

    Yup. Whenever you see an impressive hub posted here--one that you think might interest your Facebook friends--share it on Facebook. If you are a member of a relevant Facebook group, be SURE to share it there, where it will get the attention of thousands of people who may actually be interested in that particular subject.
    
    There are plenty of people who must spend their whole day looking for cute memes to post on Facebook, but on Hubpages you can find valuable information.
    
    For yourself, JOIN Facebook groups that are interested in the stuff you are writing about, and (judiciously) post your hubs in those groups. I'm a member of one group with over 41,000 members. A recent post to this group got me 3,000 clicks in one day. Sure, the traffic drops very quickly, but you may be able to place each and every article in an appropriate (though usually much smaller) group.

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