Why do followers stop following ?

1. 90

   Imogen Frenchposted 12 years ago

   Why do followers stop following ?
   
   I have lost 3 followers this week for no apparent reason. I wonder what people's reasons are for unfollowing each other. Why follow in the first place? My suspicious mind tells me it is people who only followed me originally to try to increase their own flock of followers, and then unfollowed because I didn't reciprocate.
   Have you ever unfollowed somebody, and what were your reasons?

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2. 98

   donnah75posted 12 years ago

   I have unfollowed a few people who seem to have left the site.  When I went through my list of "hubbers I follow," I saw that their score had dropped to very low levels and they hadn't been on the site in many months.  It just seems silly to follow someone who is no longer around.

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      cuttlerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Very true. I once followed a hubber only to realize later that at the time I was following him the earliest work he had posted was almost 2 years old. So I didn't see the point in following them anyways.

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3. 60

   duffsmomposted 12 years ago

   I have unfollowed on occasion if I realize their hubs are of no interest to me. I follow very few people because I feel I have a responsibility to read and comment on their work. If I am finding I am not reading someone's work, I pull back.

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4. 84

   vocalcoachposted 12 years ago

   People unfollow for a variety of reasons.
   
   .1.  They don't have enough time to follow, read hubs and comment.
   
     2.  There is not enough activity from those they follow ( commenting, interest. )
   
     3.  They may be cutting back on their list for a period of time.  ( To write more hubs, etc. )
   
     4.  A low hub score from the person they follow.
   
   It can even be personal problems which have nothing to do with you.
   
   But I can guarantee you that if you are consistent with your comments you will not see an  "unfollow" unless the person is leaving hubpages.  And the more detailed your comments are, the longer your followers will stay with you.  A comment such as "great hub" is too generic and doesn't show that you have read and learned anything.
   
   I am consistent about revising my hubs too which keeps the content up-to-date and fresh.  I spend time on older hubs adding better quality photos and videos.  I even update the amazon capsules.
   
   In my soon to be 3 yrs on hubpages, I have not had 1 unfollow (that I know of). 
   
   I like your question.  Hope I have helped in some way.
   Thanks.

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      Imogen Frenchposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for a very thoughtful answer vocalcoach. I have been a little inactive lately, not had time to write many new hubs, but I'm not too worried about a few uninterested readers drifting off.

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      cuttlerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I couldn't put it any better than this. Good answer

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5. 59

   Trish89posted 12 years ago

   Maybe they've become uninterested. Sometimes you may think you like someones hubs just by the first couple they post, but then realize you actually aren't too interested in their topics. Don't take it to heart :-)

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      Imogen Frenchposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      thanks for your answer Trish. Don't worry, I haven't taken it personally! I was just curious, really, about people's motivation to unfollow.

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6. 85

   peachpurpleposted 12 years ago

   I never unfollow any hubbers. Not nice to to do. I have seen several times people unfollow me after followed. Maybe it is due to the reason that I didn't update or increase any new hubs or they simply find only a couple of my articles are interesting so that left, looking for other hubbers.

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7. 90

   Sherry Hewinsposted 12 years ago

   I think that you are correct, usually they would be people who only followed in the hopes that you would follow them.
   
   The main reason I would unfollow would be if someone is clogging my feed with too many posts and shares. I like it when people share other hubs that they have carefully chosen, but not when they do it to excess.

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8. 0

   calculus-geometryposted 12 years ago

   I think some people do it as a strategy to increase the score on their profile.  Supposedly if you have more followers than people you are following, your score goes up. And if the reverse is true your score can go down. I did see a user with a score of 1 who was following something like 20,000 other people, but much less were following him back.

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   Millionaire Tipsposted 12 years ago

   It is possible that Hubbers will stop following others if they don't agree with their viewpoint or if they do something annoying.  They may start following someone because they write about a particular topic, and when they see that the newest hubs are all about something they have no interest in, they may stop following them.  Or if they keep sharing hubs that they have no interest in, they may stop following.

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10. 88

    ChitrangadaSharanposted 12 years ago

    Relevant question and useful answers. I have not unfollowed anyone, but even I lost 2 followers, the reason best known to them only. I agree to the answer given by vocalcoach here. The reason could be one of them.

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11. 85

    Abby Campbellposted 12 years ago

    People are funny!  Sometimes, it has to do with their own email notifications.  I get a TON of emails from HubPages, even after changing the settings.  It can get annoying after a while.  That's my guess anyway.

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