Summary

The author expresses concern over the introduction of follow-unfollow bots on Medium, which they argue could undermine the platform's integrity and community.

Abstract

The article discusses the author's frustration with the use of follow-unfollow bots, a tactic previously seen on Instagram, now appearing on Medium. The author argues that such automation services not only disrespect the community by treating followers as mere numbers but also create unfair competition, potentially leading to the platform's decline. They emphasize that Medium's value lies in its reward for authenticity, hard work, and quality content, not in inflated follower counts. The author warns that using bots could lead to account suspension, loss of credibility, and is ultimately futile since Medium's content distribution is not based on follower count. They appeal to the Medium community to preserve the platform's essence as a space for genuine idea sharing, free from the manipulative tactics that have plagued other social networks.

Opinions

The author believes that the use of follow-unfollow bots is a disrespectful and inauthentic way to gain followers on Medium.
They assert that followers are more than just numbers; they are real people who deserve genuine engagement.
The author points out that automation creates unfair competition, pressuring others to resort to the same tactics, which could devalue the platform.
They caution that reliance on bots could result in account suspension, as seen on other platforms that have penalized botting behavior.
The author opines that using bots undermines a writer's credibility and makes them appear desperate or unprofessional.
They emphasize that on Medium, the number of followers does not directly translate to financial success or content visibility, as the platform's curation process is not influenced by follower count.
The author expresses a desire to maintain Medium as a platform that prioritizes quality content and genuine interactions over manipulative growth strategies.
They reveal that there are already writers on Medium using such bots, despite the potential risks and the cost involved.
The author takes a firm stance against the use of bots, hoping to keep Medium a positive and informative environment for sharing ideas.

Please Don’t Bring the Follow-Unfollow Bots to Medium

For the love of God, stop

People will ruin literally everything

Nothing that’s any good and fun in this world is safe against the crowd of people rushing to hijack the game to their benefit, so I am aware that whatever I am about to say here will probably make no difference whatsoever.

But I am willing to take that burden upon myself anyways. Because quite frankly, I’m pissed off. The introduction to the topic might be a bit confusing but bear with me.

I wrote an article detailing my Instagram journey recently, where I described the shady tactics people use to cheat the system and get ahead in the popularity game.

Why I Never Became an Instagram Influencer

I tried. But I never tried hard enough.

medium.com

The ever-present follow/unfollow bots are an especially annoying aspect of the app and seeing people actually growing their accounts to a decent size using AI and then pretending like it never happened was one of the disheartening things that eventually made me step down.

How I Stay Motivated to Write

About awakening a sleeping passion.

medium.com

Here is another piece I wrote about a month ago, all excited about this Medium website I have recently discovered.

I wrote: “ I feel like, unlike many other platforms, Medium rewards persistence, hard work, and authenticity.”

And back then, I really believed that. But today I log onto the good old Facebook and what do I see?

“Medium Auto Follow Bot”

Let the games begin.

For those who don’t know — on platforms like Instagram, people would use an automation service to follow a large number of users periodically, and then unfollow everyone who didn’t follow them back. It often happened that you had the same account follow and unfollow you multiple times during a single day and Lord was it infuriating.

And for those who don’t see a moral issue in what I just described, here goes.

“Followers” are not just numbers. There are real people on the other side of that screen. You are following those people so that they feel flattered, check your profile, and follow you back but by using these bots, the very first thing you are signaling to your potential followers is that you don’t give a crap about them to the point that you can’t even be bothered to check their profile yourself and are instead leaving it to the AI.

On top of that, you are creating unfair competition. Humans can‘t keep up with robots and their introduction pressures other creators to do the same. The domino effect eventually transforms what was once a fun app to use into a dumpster-fire of fake networks and influencers who have no real influence. This is exactly why companies are looking at engagement rates nowadays rather than raw numbers.

Seriously, have you ever imagined what would happen if every single user started botting their accounts? The platform would just straight up die.

So why exactly are we now trying to let bots run our Medium accounts?

Reasons not to follow-unfollow people on Medium using automation services

Your account might be suspended. Sure, it will probably not happen tomorrow, since it is unprecedented on Medium. But other platforms that experience problems with botting users like Twitter or Instagram, have already caught up and cracked down on those accounts, sometimes even leading to their termination. Do you want to risk your profile being taken down in the future when you’re making money just because you downloaded a bot today?
It makes you look like a clown. We see you. We look at your profile and just know that you don’t really have 4.5k favorite authors on this platform. Everyone knows what you’re doing and it undermines your credibility as a writer. Do you just want to make an uncertain quick buck or would you maybe like a little bit of earned respect to your name instead?
Followers don’t make you money on Medium anyway. Medium doesn’t bother with distributing your content to your followers, no matter how many you have. The curation process is the same for everyone here and the follower count is not that important of a statistic on this platform. Yes, more followers means more opportunities for your work to be read, and seeing the number go up might feel good, but the only way to “make it” here is to consistently produce content people want to read.

Let’s just leave Instagram foolishness on Instagram

Please?

Once money enters the equation, people are willing to ruin anything to get to it. It’s in our human nature. But I would still like to think that Medium is better than that. That it won’t become a get-rich-quick scheme or a popularity contest. That good quality content will still be king even long after the introduction of cheating techniques.

No links because I don’t want to give the AI service any free PR but apparently, there are currently around 160 writers on Medium using this bot, and it costs around 11 dollars Australian. I sincerely hope that the people will make their investment back because at least from me personally, they won’t be getting any clicks.

Maybe I don’t have any right to gatekeep the platform like that, especially as a relatively noobie writer. But I just kind of like Medium and to me, it is a positive, informative, relaxed space meant for sharing ideas.

And I appeal to anyone who is still reading up until this point — let’s keep it that way, shall we?