No, this is not going to be a rant or anything down those lines. This is just going to be about putting things in perspective.
At the time of writing I'm on 515 followers, but what do those followers actually mean to me with regards to engagement? For the most part, Jack shit.
For this exercise I'm using steemspectacles.com - Please note I have no affiliation with them however they have a useful (and visually appealing) platform which can provide you with some in depth information. There are others like steemd.com, steemdb.com etc. however for this particular exercise spectacles, imo, is the best platform to work with.
So, I have 515 followers. What does that actually mean? Allow me to put it into perspective below:
Of those 515 I have 392 Ghost followers. Ghost followers are active Steemians who haven't engaged with me in my last 100 posts. I take it this will include comments as well however that is still a dreadful number.
Next, I have 133 Dead followers. Dead followers are Steemians who haven't been active in over a month.
That leaves my Steemit following at an astounding... - 10, lol.
Hmmm, that doesn't look quite right. Perhaps the guys over @steemspectacles (@pilcrow & @sjennon) can explain it to me? Unless there is a bit of an overlap between the Ghost and Dead followers or some alternative explanation. Another thing I can think of is that perhaps it somehow doesn't update followers that aren't following you anymore? Not that it matters too much. That figure of -10 followers is actually pretty darn close :)
So, who are you people? Specifically the 392 Ghosts. The dead guys, well, there's not much to be done about that.
I'd much rather have 10 followers that show fairly regular support as opposed to a bunch that doesn't mean anything.
Where do I get most of my support from then?
Well, mostly from the Team South Africa community and random curators. That's it. Not from my followers except a handful of them.
What also needs to be taken into consideration here is that I didn't grow my followers with the follow me, I'll follow you approach, therefore, it's not based on following thousands and getting thousands to follow in return. I've also always interacted well with my commentators so it can't be that either. I've discussed this with others who find the same situation so it's not a singular issue.
So, to the next person who wants to do a little victory dance/milestone post stating Achieved! how much did you actually achieve, realistically? Perhaps your followers are more interactive or perhaps you struck it lucky with a few heavy hitters (high vote value members) so you don't really care... I've seen that happen too :)
Anyhow, to my 515 followers, thanks for... uhhm, being a number I suppose. To the rest that engage, support and interact, you are all ROCKSTARS!
Hmmm, this actually got me thinking. Perhaps I should create a post whereby I list all the followers of mine who don't support me. I'll then ask them that if they have no interest in supporting me that they rather get off my following list so I can have a real picture of my profile. What do you think about that idea? It's just an unrealistic number after all and doesn't mean... Jack Shit :)
Keep it real y'all :D
Cheers!
Team South Africa banner designed by @bearone
Yup Yup - over 3000 myself - Pffft.
I listened to a show the other-day on msp waves and this was the topic - on majority of social media your interactive rate is 10% but on Steemit the average is 1% - Basically if you have 500 followers on fb 50 of them will be active and interact on your posts - on Steemit 1%. So console yourself with the fact that you have 17/500 and that is way above average. So you are definitely on the right track!
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Hmmm, interesting. Thanks for the info :)
I wonder if it's the money factor that makes such a big difference. Well that, bot accounts and people just following in the hope of getting something back.
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I think a lot of accounts were opened - and only used for a short time before they came to the "conclusion" that they are not making money LOL or something like that. At the end of the day -someone or something took the time to click the follow button on your post, because your account it had some or other appeal to them - and even if they are no longer active, or actively following - You should pride yourself in the fact that they did. Plus I do not blame them, your account is pretty awesome! (even though I just recently started interacting with you )
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Ahhh, what an awesome reply.
Thank you so much, you made my heart smile :)
You're an absolute Rockstar!
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haha - Just a pleasure - Enjoy the rest of Easter!
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Well @therneau, congratulations should be in order. But I like this idea
I hear the other day that there are over 1 million steemians but only 60 000 is active. So that also says it all. It is just too tough for most to stay. I have over a 1000 followers and as you say, it don't mean much. But good luck with your steemit journey.
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Cool, thanks @hope777 :)
I'm glad you like the idea and I'm honestly considering that as a post. I mean, what's the point of having them on my following list.
Anyhow, thanks for the figure. Only 60 000 active out of a million. That's another astounding figure. It's only 6%. Phew...
I'll just keep doing my thing and appreciate the support from peeps such as yourself :)
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Thank you, yes that is all we can do. Keep on doing our thing and hope the sbd give us another good break in time.
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I completely agree with you. I have over 1200 followers and I have not really seen a change in anything. The same amount of up votes, the same amount of comments, everything is almost the same. I thought that more followers meant more people seeing you and up voting your posts.
Thank you for explaining why this is the way it is. It makes more since now. Thank you for sharing, it helped clarify thing a little. Keep on steemin my friend!
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Youcwould think it makes a difference, right?
I guess we just need to keep doing our thing and hold thumbs that we'll eventually build a more loyal following amongst dead :)
I'm glad I could clarify it a little.
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loyal following amongst dead, LMAO.
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I must have many ghost followers plus still have not cleaned up my following list! When I first started, I was following anyone who was 'nice' to me and have slowly been cleaning up when I see stuff of no interest to me on my feed. Is there any way to find out which ghosts I'm following?
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Hmmm, that's a bit of a tough one. The only way I know of is via steemitspectacles but it I don't believe it will work relating to those you follow.
Sorry, I can't really help you out there :)
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No i think the calculation is bout right....i have almost 1k followers, but i would say i have about 10 active readers. :) Then again....would u say u follow 500 people? I don't.....dont get me wrong...id love to....but I dont even have time to post...so im glad i have at least those 10 that bare with me loool
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I don't follow hundreds of people myself. I'm on around 150 and try to keep it there since I'm in a similar boat timewise. It all depends on The Real World.
I've always tried to keep my feed as clean as possible so I can actually support those I follow.
With that being said, I'm a dead follower to many of those, so I guess it's just how it works, lol.
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In this regard, Steemit is like any other social network. We are subscribed to pages and joined to so many groups where we do not have the time to participate. Sometimes we read the stuff posted but mostly we skip it all.
I think the follower quantity should be used as a sort of guide as to how many people at some time liked your content. Hand in hand comes the Reputation.
Usually if I see someone with 50-60 Rep + 3000 followers then I know that they have been active and popular. Even if the number followers are Ghost followers is high, it is still an accomplishment.
Obviously using a tool to find out your current active users in invaluable. I use steem.supply for that as it gives me a percentage of followers who have been involved my posts for the week. At this stage if i can maintain 30% and above then I am really happy with that.
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Ahhh, cool. Yeah, agreed and it makes sense. Good perspective :)
I'll have a look at steem.supply :)
Thanks for your support man!
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Always man, always!
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Congratulations @therneau on reaching 515 followers in only 286 days!
I wish you continued success!
@Introbot is hosted and managed with donations from @byColeman in an effort to help others achieve the success you have!
I have followed and upvoted you.
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Bwahahaaahhaa. Here's to another ;)
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