How can you follow me if you’ve never read a word I wrote?
Followed by ghosts #2
There is an odd trend I have witnessed for a while, now.
Ever since I was promoted ‘Top Writer’ in some or other category here on Medium, my number of followers has continued to rise. Wonderful, I thought at first. What does a writer want more than being read? I have a faithful and loving audience, to be sure, but more followers meant my work would be read (and hopefully loved) more, right?
It appears I’m wrong.
Most days when I am notified that I have gained any number of new followers, my reading stats show my posts have been read less than half that many times in the course of that same day.
How can you decide you are going to start following someone, I wonder, if you have never read a word they wrote?
I have only my personal ethics to compare to this. I generally follow only a handful of people, because I like them very much, because I like what they write very much, or (preferably) a combination of both. I want to have the time to read their posts properly. I can’t do that if my network explodes, and let’s face it: Medium is one giant guppy fishbowl. But I’m not one for a flash here, a bite there, and then on to the next titbit.
(Okay, that’s me, and perhaps I’m the last person to judge, being the introvert that I am in some respects.)
But still. Why follow someone without reading at least one article they posted? Do so many people simply tick off every box in the Top Writer list? And then some hundred-or-something other profiles, so that whatever I write just ends up in a huge slushpile that no person in their right mind ever gets to read, and that no algorhythm will display?
It’s rather disheartening, I confess.
Sure, there are automatic subscribers or people only on here for some covert kind of advertising. Every time I come across one I can identify (a company advertising for paperware; a tuition center for English and math, a jewelry store) I try to weed them out by blocking them, but by no means do they make out the bulk of new followers.
So what is going on here? How does this work?
I honestly don’t know.
I’m not sure I’m supposed to care.
On a more personal note:
If you are one of these many followers who haven’t been reading much at all (or are following too many authors to read much of any of them), don’t be insulted. I am just trying to understand what is going on, and one of my ways of doing that is putting it into words. I have the somewhat obnoxious habit of throwing those words out in the world, too. That’s what writers do, you see. So no offence. This isn’t about you, even if, perhaps, it actually is.
I wonder if this post will cost me any followers.
I am waiting for this to unfold — I’ll even add a pretty flower for good measure.
I’ll keep you — at least those of you who read ;-) — posted.
