On Twitter, there are people that will follow you then wait for you to follow them back. Once you’ve done so, they turn around and unfollow you.

Why?

Well, maybe they just didn’t like you. But, another reason is to build up a following. In fact, some marketers actually advise this practice! You see, it looks more impressive if the number of followers you have is far greater than the number of people you are following back. It makes you look popular, like you must be providing something of value to have that many followers.

But, it’s not a practice I agree with. Whether you’re into social networking or social marketing, I think this practice definitely omits the social part of it!

So, earlier this week, I asked my followers for their thoughts on this practice: “What do u think of ppl who follow u only to unfollow u once u’ve followed them back?”

Here were their thoughts:

@thekencook: has happened to me TWICE with @darrellissa - we talked about it on TwitterTuesdayRadio http://budurl.com/jckc (View Tweet)

@ETHOBULLION: I think it causes Twittrage… (View Tweet)

@furnituregirl: I think they no longer impact my life b/c I turned off follow notifications and only follow ppl who @ me (thx to @MackCollier) (View Tweet)

@ppasternak: Can’t stand it. Just went through my ‘following’ list to weed them out. (View Tweet)

@MarkDykeman: Rapid-fire tollow/unfollow Twits deserve to be boiled in oil. Or blocked. Blocking doesn’t incur jail time. (View Tweet)

@TotusMel: It is the ultimate in self-promoting, narcissistic, anti-social behavior. Truly appalling behavior. (View Tweet)

@JenWelton:My response: "Get a life…you’ve got WAY too much time on your hands." (View Tweet)

@DaveLopan: I think that they smell. (View Tweet)

@universidadperu: If twitter didn’t have their stupid limits, maybe that sort of behavior wouldn’t happen… (View Tweet)

@RandomAnecdotes: I think it’s rude, but I don’t notice them. I never really look at my followers and I only follow those I want to follow. (View Tweet)

@peteej: It’s annoying, like those people that speed ahead of you, only to slow down and make you pass them. (View Tweet)

@NicholaStott: not as bad as the people who say, I’m an expert in ‘X’, ask me any ‘X’ question… then fail to respond when you do! (View Tweet)

@colincavaliere: My top pet peve on Twitter, they help make this what is not supposed to be. (View Tweet)

@terencechang: it’s wasting time worry about that. I start following interesting ppl I like to follow regardless they follow me or not. (View Tweet)

@jerzegurl: I think ppl who unfollow you after you follow them.. are twitter trash. (View Tweet)

@Lakenvelder: I unfollow them. (View Tweet)

@CoryOBrien: Thats easy: I hate them. Stop using Twitter if it’s just some numbers game/one sided sales tool. (View Tweet)

@redwhiteandgrew: Depends on my mood. I follow most people who follow me with the hopes that it’ll help spread the word about what I’m working on. (View Tweet)

@lilnerdette:re: the follow/unfollow–it’s very disingenuous & if you’re that desperate to feel needed, go volunteer somewhere! (View Tweet)

@calebhays: I think it’s tacky and a horribly narcisstic approach to twitter. I think it’s underhanded. (View Tweet)

@HappyHourBoston:those people ar ejust looking for numbers…They wont get the ACTUAL VALUE out of TWITTER (View Tweet)

@apmex: Hmm…that is very strange. Sounds like they are trying to "game" the system. (View Tweet)

@chicagocarless: I think they’re dirty stinky piles of nosey-yet-noncommittal toothpaste poop. (View Tweet)

@IrishSmiley: I think that these people have a interesting way of handling a social media tool by being rather asocial with it. (View Tweet)

@HappyHourBoston: The beauty of Twitter is that you actually have to participate…if you dont you are nothing. So no point in playing games 4#s (View Tweet)

@totallytea: 2B honest, I don’t notice who unfollows whether or not I follow them. From a genl perspective, some ppl are just collectg numbers (View Tweet)

@mandreano: ppl who follow & unfollow should be repremanded. the limit to follow 2K should also limit to unfollow 5-10 a day to discourage it (View Tweet)

@davemunger: I don’t think following is a quid pro quo arrangement. I follow people I’m interested in and expect others to do the same (View Tweet)

@ joshdhaliwal: I question the logic of following those who follow U. My estimate is that only 1/10 ppl who follow me actually have interest in me (View Tweet)

@teeni: I think they were just looking to up their numbers. Unfollow them back. (View Tweet)

@tackgirl: I appreciated that they tried following and assume my content is just not relevant enought 4 them. (View Tweet)

@BLUETUX: - I suggest you just un-follow those people. If I un-follow someone, it’s usually because they spam their twitter feed. (View Tweet)

@tomcellie: I AM doing some mass following, I am NOT unfollowing & Re following. I will weed thru my list and unfollow the porn ppl etc. (View Tweet)

@Jan_Geronimo: - That’s rather unfortunate. They will never know what they’re missing. (View Tweet)

@JanisMiller: for me twitter is about the conversation. IMHO should be 2-way. I unfollow "in & out followers" - spammers - "egos" - porn - etc (View Tweet)

@sharonhayes: See my blog http://tinyurl.com/tgaming (expand) on gaming. Many ppl use it 2 get by following limits in effort 2 grow fast, seem "credible" (View Tweet)

@Eridanus I think they’re spammers playing the system. But in any case, I’ll only ever follow someone whose tweets I find interesting (View Tweet)

Those were their thoughts on the practice. What are yours?

This entry was posted on Friday, March 27th, 2009 at 4:29 pm and is filed under Twitter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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