avatarAiden (Illumination Gaming)

Summary

The article discusses the Medium follower bug, its different manifestations, and the author's concerns about cyber-worry.

Abstract

The article begins with the author sharing their experience of the Medium follower bug, which caused all their followers to disappear overnight. The bug was later identified, and the followers returned. The author then discusses how the bug affects different writers in various ways, such as new writers gaining thousands of followers only to lose them after a day. The author expresses concern about the cause of the bug and why it affects some writers and not others. The author's technical mentor suggests that it may be due to a contaminated database. The article also touches on other cyber-worries, such as brand theft, email hacking, and Tik Tok account copying. The author expresses concern about the increasing number of cybersecurity issues and their impact on emotional well-being. The article ends with the author inviting readers to share their ideas on reducing the adverse effects of cyberspace on emotional life.

Bullet points

  • The author was a victim of the Medium follower bug, which caused all their followers to disappear overnight.
  • The bug was later identified, and the followers returned.
  • The bug affects different writers in various ways, such as new writers gaining thousands of followers only to lose them after a day.
  • The author expresses concern about the cause of the bug and why it affects some writers and not others.
  • The author's technical mentor suggests that it may be due to a contaminated database.
  • The article touches on other cyber-worries, such as brand theft, email hacking, and Tik Tok account copying.
  • The author expresses concern about the increasing number of cybersecurity issues and their impact on emotional well-being.
  • The article ends with the author inviting readers to share their ideas on reducing the adverse effects of cyberspace on emotional life.

Cyber-worry

The Follower Bug Manifests in Different Shapes and Forms

It gives instant anxiety to some writers and a false sense of pride and pleasure to others ending with disappointment.

Photo by Olga Lukina on Pexels

Cyber-Worry Is Real.

A week ago, I was the victim of the follower bug on Medium, which I did not know its existence.

In my case, it was an instant shock seeing all my followers disappear overnight. Initially I felt guilty thinking I offended my readers.

Then, the mystery was resolved. It was a sneaky bug!

Gladly, Kristina God left a comment on my story informing us that it was a bug, so my followers had nothing to worry about.

Gratefully, after a day, all my followers came back.

Different Shapes and Forms of the Follower Bug

However, this bug manifests in different ways, as I understand from the writers I communicate with.

For example, some new writers gain over a thousand followers daily, which delights them. Nevertheless, after a day or so, the reality shows its ugly head when the bug disappears.

Last two days, several writers in my circles have gained an excessive number of followers. Some of them even did not post a single story.

But, according to their stats, none of their stories went viral. On the contrary, some writers even experienced a decline in their stats.

They started writing articles and leaving comments on relevant stories. Most of them were upset for having a false sense of pride created by the bug.

I am wondering what causes this bug in the first place. The important question: why does this bug favor some writers and not others?

It chose me twice. First, I lost many followers. Then interestingly, I gained extra 100+ followers. Then it disappeared. It does not make sense to me. Is it like a virus visiting writers’ accounts, trying to excite them? I have no clue.

I asked one of my technical mentors whether he could shed light on this mystery. He said it was most likely a contaminated database that required cleansing.

I assume the Medium technical staff is busy with this cleansing activity. I wish them good luck as cleaning a gigantic database might be a daunting task. We need to be patient in the meantime.

If you have any ideas, please inform us so that we learn about this bug so that we don’t fall into a victim position.

As a gamer, I am not very surprised by bugs. Wearing my gaming hat, I see bugs as an entertainment topic giving us a chance to vent our bottled emotions.

Gamers deal with lots of bugs in computer games. Some are nasty, and some are pleasant. But a bug is a bug, so in the end, they give us a false sense of fear or pleasure.

My Concerns of Cyber-Worry

The virtual world is amazing, with no dull moments. I read a few stories about people who got victimized in cyberspace, including Medium, Tik Tok, and even at home.

Someone’s brand was stolen . (Joel A. Johnson).

Someone’s email account was hacked. (Dr. Preeti Singh).

And even someone’s Tik Tok account was copied. (Jenn Leach)

Fortunately, the follower bug is not as big as these issues.

In addition, some writers’ claps disappear, but it is not a big deal to me either. In the end, claps are ephemeral. Once applauded, the sound disappears.

I read that they even cloned the entire Illumination publication in 2020 (a colossal publication on Medium), as documented by Dr Mehmet Yildiz “They Cloned ILLUMINATION.”

He even wrote about “The U.S Department of Justice seized $2.3 million in cryptocurrency paid to the ransomware extortionists Darkside” in an article titled Lessons From FBI’s Recovery Of Colonial Pipeline’s DarkSide Bitcoins For Ransomware Attacks.

His another article titled “Cybersecurity Gets More Complex Due to a Unique Strategy by Hackers” scared me of incidents especially ransomware. My take away from his story was “If an offer is ambiguous and too good to be true, we need to be more cautious.”

I wonder why so many issues happen in the cyberspace creating worries and how we can reduce them.

I look forward to your ideas to reduce the adverse effects of cyberspace on our emotional life. Surely, constant feelings of anxiety, worry, and fear are not healthy.

Thank you for reading my story.

In addition to supporting ILLUMINATION as an editor, I am owner and editor of two publications on Medium. One is for YouTubers and another one for gamers.

If you are interested in these topics, I look forward to hosting your stories and promoting them.

Here are the invitations providing the scope of publications and details to join.

Writer applications can be sent via this weblink.

Here is a collection including my videos introducing our top writers.

And my sample gaming stories for interested readers.

Connection

I post informative articles in my field covering gaming, film-making, media, and design. You can subscribe my account to get notification when I post on Medium.

I enjoy supporting Illumination Integrated Publications as an editor.

Writing
Social Media
Cybersecurity
Gaming
Cybercrime
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