Adding people who add you

1. 79

   Titiaposted 7 years ago

   I did the follow thing in the beginning, but not anymore. Once in a while I get an email that someone is following me. As for FB: I have a lot of friends, but I follow only a few.

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2. 81

   dougwest1posted 7 years ago

   I took a look at your profile and you write about a variety of topics. I would guess we are probably from different sides of the political fence but I do enjoy seeing other prospectives, especially when they are from outside the United States. Keep up the good work and I am now a follower of yours. I follow people that write on topic I want to read about and if they follow me back that is fine with me.

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3. 77

   Jeremy Gillposted 7 years ago

   It's polite. While having more followers may not significantly help traffic, a higher number increases the professional appearance of our profile.
   
   I don't follow everyone who follows me (especially people without any hubs), but if they took the time to devote a little attention to my page and my material, it's good form to reciprocate. Certainly not required, but after all, what's the harm?

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      TessSchlesingerposted 7 years agoin reply to this

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         Jeremy Gillposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         1. The article you linked to discusses Twitter, not HubPages (which is what my comment is referring to).
         2. The articles even acknowledges "it's true that more followers open the door for more potential exposure."
         3. The issue of mass-following is different than whether to reciprocate people who follow you. I very much agree it's not good to just send out numerous follows in the hopes of getting some in return.
         
         But this isn't a right-wrong debate. To me, it's a great way to spread goodwill among hubbers, but others may not see it that way. Whatever feels right is what you should do.

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            TessSchlesingerposted 7 years agoin reply to this

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            1. 77

               Jeremy Gillposted 7 years agoin reply to this

               Definitely agree that people shouldn't send out requests in the hopes of being followed in return.
               
               However, don't forget that most people never even see our profile (and thus our number of followers); readers typically hit a certain article and leave without ever brushing by our profiles. In other words, I wouldn't lose sleep over the exact ratio.

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         2. 85

            Nadine Mayposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            I agree with you Jeremy that following is a great way to spread goodwill among other writers. Especially new members who only have a few articles but they are of interest.
            When four years ago my first article was accepted it was Bill Holland who commented on my first hubs, and later a few other members. Those members are still with me today and I got to know their style and subjects. Those comments were encouraging enough for me to stay with Hubpages.  Even today when I have a great battle to keep being a member it's the people who are genuine who keep me from leaving. 
            
            For me, there is an underlying decency to honor the person that has taken the trouble to read your article and left an intelligent comment. Over the years that has always been my practice, I read a chosen article and leave a comment.
            When I discovered that some were leaving a comment but clearly had not read the post, I started to skip commenting on theirs, but that only happened during the last year or so.
            
            Personally, I can only write from what I have experienced or am passionate about. Many members write articles from their heart. Those I want to follow and support. The members that plainly have chosen subjects that might be profitable, those I want to gradually delete, but that is just me.

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            1. 0

               TessSchlesingerposted 7 years agoin reply to this

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               1. 85

                  Nadine Mayposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                  Tess, I do appreciate our private conversation on Facebook messenger, but when you so bluntly told me I was not dyslexic, I was flabbergasted. How could someone with your background and skills be so ignorant? I replied commenting on your lack of knowledge, ignoring the emotions I sat with. Your reply was " I'm an atheist. Don't believe in Gods, spirituality etc. I will google dyslexia."
                  In your favor, you then investigated and admitted that you had been ignorant and apologized.
                  I told you that I NEVER knew about earning from article writing but that someone told me that it was a good place for an author to promote their work. I still do but in a different way.
                  There is another error I want to point out on this forum. Yes I became my publisher's partner and yes, I did typesetting for him, never editing!  Those are two different functions altogether. Typesetting is essentially design work and nothing to do with language.  My job is designing book covers and any illustrations necessary.
                  My partner/husband is my walking dictionary and excellent in English! I have now asked him to edit my articles one by one, but for you to tell me that I'm not going to get published/featured if my English is not at a professional, first language level, that is an arrogant and very unkind reply which you would do far better to keep to yourself. .

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                     TessSchlesingerposted 7 years agoin reply to this

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                        Nadine Mayposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                        Quite honestly I have had enough of this conversation. Let's just agree to disagree and call it a day.

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      2. 93

         Jean Bakulaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         Another point--
         Between improving articles already written and trying to read and find time to write new ones, who has time to read most people we followed when we were new here? I barely have time to read the forums to catch up with any new developments here.

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   2. 66

      lobobrandonposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      You get an email everytime someone you follow starts a forum thread for instance. So there are a few drawbacks.

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      1. 77

         Jeremy Gillposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         Good point. Still, with the right filters, you can automatically send emails like these to your trash, so I don't find it a big issue.

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4. 60

   FatFreddysCatposted 7 years ago

   I got a new "follower" this past week who left me a fan mail which said, and I quote, "hi." That's all. Just "hi."
   
   The person had no hubs published and their profile pic was the generic silhouette.
   
   I didn't bother to follow them back...

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   1. 77

      Jeremy Gillposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      I got the exact same fan mail, probably from the same person. Agreed, there's a good example of a no-follow.

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5. 61

   Jessie L Watsonposted 7 years ago

   I've never consciously played that game with people. But now that you mention it, all that love in the first few months after signing up must've been all for not hahaha.
   
   "Nobody loves me for me, they only love me for my (your) follow button" 

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6. 77

   wildernessposted 7 years ago

   When I get a new follower the first thing I do is check their activity.  If it is a long stream of following people (and it almost always is) I close the window and forget about them.  If it's not I'll read a hub or two and decide if I want to see more; if so I follow, if not I don't. 
   
   Occasionally I get a new follower that has been around for several years and has quite a few hubs, but is resorting to following dozens of people all at once.  Surprising - they should know better.

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   1. 61

      Jessie L Watsonposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      I followed you the other day because I like what you have to say on the forums.

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7. 0

   threekeysposted 7 years ago

   Tess I think you like here.

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8. 78

   Urbane Chaosposted 7 years ago

   If I follow someone, there's a reason why.  If someone follows me, I hope that it's for more than my charming personality and rugged good lucks. I don't believe in following someone unless they add value, be it entertainment, enlightenment, or other.
   
   It's the same with leaving fan mail or commenting on other articles.  If I have no interest in an article, even if it's the best-written article I've ever seen, there's nothing of value that I can add.  But, if it sparks interest, I'll certainly comment.

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   1. 66

      lobobrandonposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      You look good from the North, South, East, and West haha.

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9. 62

   CYong74posted 7 years ago

   Sub 4 sub will always attract a lot of people. Because it seems such an easy, immediate way to secure readership.

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      poppyrposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      But if they sub just to reciprocate it means they’re only interested in getting your follow back. They don’t care what you’re writing.

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10. 60

    FatFreddysCatposted 7 years ago

    

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11. 62

    EricFarmer8xposted 7 years ago

    I mostly add people if I like to read their work or I want to follow their activity. I am more likely to follow somebody who also writes about video games and technology. Honestly though I don't pay too much attention to following though. Most of the traffic I get is from outside HubPages as I imagine for most people who are trying to get search results.

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