Follower counts aren’t a metric of value.
How many people follow you isn’t a sign of your worth as a person. As much as we know this, we all need to be reminded of that. Not because we forget. But because we get lost in a chase for popularity.
How many followers a person has already gets conflated with worth, popularity, veracity, and the all-important vibe of “being worth listening to.” High follower counts make us think someone is important.
Therefore, the game to boost follower counts is quite useful. You seem more popular and worth listening to. And without restrictions, the means of fixing that game are obvious.
- In the case of algorithms, bots and fake accounts become easy ways to boost ones value.
- Being a notable figure, say, the owner of the platform, makes you a “must-follow”. But not because you have anything more worth listening to than others.
- And further, as the owner of the platform, you can goose the algorithm to fix your own account and make yourself even more “worth listening to.”
When follower counts are a status symbol, they become targets for exploitation. And when they can be so easily gamed, their value is meaningless.
The real lesson, however, gets buried in this.
Being followed because you can tank a company is not the same as being liked. Few narcissists care about that. But they’ll claim it as proof of your love anyway.
Being consequential as a figure is not the same as being worth listening to. It means we have no choice but to listen to you. Even when most of it is inane and not what we want in our feed.