avatarKristina God, MBA

Summary

The article discusses the author's disdain for the follow-unfollow strategy on Medium and outlines Medium's efforts to combat this practice and ensure authentic engagement.

Abstract

The author expresses a strong dislike for the follow-unfollow game on Medium, where users follow many people with the hope of gaining followers and then unfollow them. This tactic is seen as manipulative and undermines genuine readership. The article also highlights Medium's recent actions to address this issue by accurately reflecting unfollow actions and cracking down on bots and fake accounts. The author appreciates Medium's commitment to fostering a platform with authentic and engaged users, as evidenced by the ability to report spam accounts, such as one the author encountered that left a comment about 'penis enlargement.' Additionally, the article points to updates from Ev Williams, Medium's CEO, regarding the platform's approach to ensuring that claps (Medium's version of likes) and follows are meaningful and not artificially inflated.

Opinions

  • The author is critical of users who engage in the follow-unfollow game, viewing it as a dishonest method to gain followers.
  • There is appreciation for Medium's proactive measures to maintain the integrity of the platform by combating fake accounts and spam.
  • The author finds humor in the spam comment received, which underscores the need for reporting mechanisms.
  • The author endorses Medium's updates aimed at ensuring authentic engagement on the platform.

Why I Hate The Follow-Unfollow Game

… and what Medium is doing about it.

Why I Hate The Follow-Unfollow Game; Kristina God; People photo created by shurkin_son

Do you also think you’re being played? Recently, I shared my insights about Medium’s purge of bots and fake accounts.

Today, I want to shed light on the real players on Medium. They are ‘authentic, quality users’ BUT they are playing tricks on us. They play the common follow-unfollow game: Follow 100 people and maybe 30 will follow you back. Then unfollow them. Keep repeating until you reach your desired number of followers.

Luckily, Ev Williams has good news. Medium will…

(a)ccurately reflect(ing) your unfollow actions. (…) you can trust that your followers are authentic and engaged.

Moreover, if there’s an account you suspect of spam you can report it. Well, recently I got a funny comment regarding ‘penis enlargement.’ Of course, I reported the account. LOL. 😄

Here’s more about the latest updates:

Medium
Bonus
Followers
Member Engagement
Short Form
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