Why Follow - If You Don’t Care to Read and Comment
By Ann LeFlore
@poehere (15123)
French Polynesia
December 3, 2015 4:40pm CST
Here is the million dollar question – why follow a person if you have no intention on reading a single discussion they write or leaving a comment on one? That seems to be the major norm on the site these last few weeks.
I want to follow you! Why? Because I think you will help me earn more money.
Wake up folks it doesn’t work this way on the site. If you follow a person do it for the right reasons. Otherwise don’t follow them. If you love what they write, want to interact with them or even be notified of something new they’ve written. Then by all means follow them and interact with them.
As of today I have a grand total of 151 people who follow me. What do I see from all of this?
1) Nothing at all. No benefits in having all these people following me.
2) Maybe there are 5 to 15 of them that will read what I’ve written and comment on it.
So get a clue as to why your earning is dropping on this site. Here are just a few of the reasons why.
1) You don’t bother to read and comment on the people you follow discussions.
2) You only want to write discussion and think that everyone who follows you will comment on them.
3) Once a person points this out to you. What do you do? You run and leave 1 comment on their discussion hoping that will make them happy.
OK I do apology to everyone here. Lately I haven’t been very active on the site. I have been burdened with a lot of virus clean-ups, building a few websites and blog sites. However, in free moments I do come and read and comment when I can.
But anyhow, here is my point. Why are you following me? I am totally curious why you have followed me and can’t even bother to read one thing I write or even leave a comment on it. I would rather you just un-follow me because personally I won’t follow you. Why? There is no benefit in following you. You don’t comment back on a single response I’ve left and furthermore, you can’t even bother to take the time to read what I’ve written.
Thank you for reading my rant and rave today about all of this.
Image source - personal image
37 people like this
36 responses
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
4 Dec 15
A little unfair Ann because I am sure that I read a post of yours last month.
We have all encountered this to varying degrees. Naturally we do not expect a follower to comment on every discussion because we also write material that would not appeal to them, but of course the constant absence of attention speaks for itself.
I have a couple of hundred followers, but my comments would increase if each one wrote just one comment per week on my discussions. Instead I have the same small core of true followers, which highlights the situation.
5 people like this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
4 Dec 15
@poehere I was fully aware of what you were saying. That first sentence of mine was my feeble attempt of humour, which is why I added that I had read one of your discussions a month ago.
I am in total agreement with what you are refer to because as I mentioned above if each follower made one comment on just one discussion each week I have over 250 comments. Granted I rarely encounter their posts because many of them I am not following, but theyu may as well remove me from their list.
3 people like this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
4 Dec 15
@Asylum This is how I feel. I personally did a major house cleaning the other day. I tried to follow the ones who followed me. I then let it go for a few weeks. I see that on and off here and there I have around 30 people depending on my discussion to comment on posts I write. I know it all depends on what I write so this doesn't bother me. so now I have cleaned house and taken all the free loaders off my follow list. I will see how this one goes for awhile but so far it is working out nice and I can at least find some posts now. I am not here a lot and I would like to catch up on some stuff. Dumping all the others gives me a lot less to weed through. I just know they never bother to read anything I wrote so like you said why follow me.
2 people like this
@birjudanak (14320)
• India
4 Dec 15
i am with you ,you are truly right because i also put discussion on it,if you are active daily even on that time we response or comment they still not reply and avoid us,we are look fool that we are continuous do respond on there post.so i decide some people unfollow who not give me replay on their discussion on which i responded or commented.its happen one or two time we accepted but on 10 time its cant acceptable because we are just wasting our time for them.
3 people like this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
5 Dec 15
@birjudanak I see what you mean. I do give more than once chance and when I see this it makes me angry that I continue to help or respond to them and they can't even answer back.
1 person likes this
@birjudanak (14320)
• India
4 Dec 15
@poehere you give few chance but i give 10 chances,not one but more then 2 people whom i don't know but i like their post so i give responses of their more then 10 post but they not replay for even once,so finally i unfollow them so my time not wast for them whom don't replay so now i am happy then i will get something from where i write.
1 person likes this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
7 Dec 15
@Gabugs Excellent question. Maybe they don't follow for a long time and wait to see if the person responds to anything they write. Maybe this person has to prove themselves and comment a number of times before they decide they are a good person to follow.
1 person likes this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
4 Dec 15
You are so correct. I have totally limited the number of people I actually follow way down. But the truth be told and this is a cycle if this post had never started to move up in ranking and started to draw a little more attention half of these comments might not be here. I notice this on a few other discussion I wrote. They sat dormant for days and days on in. Then all of a sudden a few comments came in. Then other saw wow this person commented on it I guess I should too. So the cycle continues and the ones who attract attention fast are the ones who make it.
1 person likes this
@Gabugs (1895)
• United States
7 Dec 15
I was wondering how does one choose carefully if one has not read the discussions started by this person! Just a thought @boingboing
1 person likes this
@ThankyouLord (698)
• St. Petersburg, Florida
4 Dec 15
There seems to be, for the most part, a small group of people that are consistent in responding and writing. But once in awhile I am surprised at how many responses someone will get on a topic, and I don't know half of them. Where did they come from? But I think your point is true. No benefits from following someone if you don't stick around to interact. I think a lot of them are just passing through.
3 people like this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
7 Dec 15
@ThankyouLord I wonder this one too. But you never see them again unless you find the right person. it's like they only come to comment on a few people's posts. I've never seen them post either.
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
4 Dec 15
That's what it seems like lately. I also notice the wave of comments on certain topics but never before have I seen this person or ever recall a thing they have written. I do go and search their name and see they are active and wonder why I have never seen them before. Recently I have only seen a few people who respond to posts. I try to make the rounds but it isn't so easy at times and so I miss some discussions in the time I am too busy to come here.
2 people like this
@ThankyouLord (698)
• St. Petersburg, Florida
7 Dec 15
@poehere I am so glad to hear you say this. I thought it was only me, missing many people who are active, and I just never saw them. Maybe it has to do with who is following who, I don't know. But sometimes I go to start reading in a certain topic area that might be a bit off the beaten path, and I find all these people already there, commenting, and most of them are complete strangers. There must be a secret code.
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
4 Dec 15
@anh101 Here on this site nobody can cover all. There is way too many discussions popping up every min. I can post and within a few min there is like 10 new ones. So most of the time they are lost or buried in the pile and nobody can find them at all.
1 person likes this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
4 Dec 15
Yah this is what I do. I don't want the world to follow me. I just like it when I can follow a few people and know I can find some great things to read.
I did read about the auto follow app on Twitter but I don\t think this one applies here. I thing it is seeing a person on top and they jump quick to follow them hoping they will make it to the top just like them. Oh well that is how it goes.
3 people like this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
4 Dec 15
Hurrah Hurrah I do agree with you on this one. I just want to find some interesting stuff to read and go from there. I also like to follow people who comment the most on my stuff. I know this doesn't always help because a lot of time they never write.
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
4 Dec 15
I guess it happens mostly with the people who just joined the site. I know when I first came here I tried following as many people as I could but now I don't see a point of doing that anymore since the site is all about interaction and it really doesn't matter how many people you follow or how many follow you.
What I do now is mostly interact with those who comment on my discussions and then check the discussions on the Explore page. It works better that way for me.
1 person likes this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
4 Dec 15
You are one of the very few people who realizes this one. This is my point here. This isn't like some sites that send a notification to you when a person posts. the benefit of follow a person is to find their stuff easier under people. but following people won\'t help unless you want to really read what they write. the best way is exactly like you are doing now.
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
4 Dec 15
I mostly follow people I knew elsewhere and became familiar to what they write, although I've added a few new folks to the mix from mylot too. Since my time here is somewhat limited, I spend the majority of my time visiting with those that comment on my posts and then when I have time I'll check the people tab at the top or maybe even explore a bit.
Also, with the notifications, unless we are around most of the day, many of the notif's will get lost as they clump together. It will tell us, so and so and so and so and two to six others commented or responded to your discussion. If we're not here with the first two to six people came by, we won't know who they were.
I try not to worry about whether I see people I know and that I take time to visit with on my own discussions for I know how difficult it can be to keep up with everyone every week.
Btw, this comment brought to you by Koalemos' activity.
2 people like this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
4 Dec 15
Oh really. Good person. But I do agree time is a major factor for this site. I guess if you could spend your days on here it would be different. I can't do this now and need to try and catch up on a lot of stuff. When I have some recovery work in and it takes hours to wait on the job I come here to pass my time. Otherwise I just try and drop by a few min each day to see what is taking place. Before when I did this I would arrive and see tons of notifications and new activity. Recently I see basically nothing and it is like the site is closed for the winter or the upcoming holiday. Not sure maybe it will pick up again soon.
2 people like this
@nanette64 (20364)
• Fairfield, Texas
4 Dec 15
It can sure be disheartening at times @poehere .
1 person likes this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
4 Dec 15
@nanette64 That is how I am lately.
1 person likes this
@nanette64 (20364)
• Fairfield, Texas
4 Dec 15
@poehere I usually give them a chance and then after that; bye-bye.
2 people like this
@JESSY3236 (19912)
• United States
4 Dec 15
Yesterday I didn't get to read anyone's post because I was too busty. But I do try to comment on people who I follow.
1 person likes this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
4 Dec 15
I can fully understand this one. Why because I am extremely busy too. I might have an hour to come here in the morning. Maybe a bit of time in the afternoon and just a little in the evening. So basically when I am here I scan the titles and first sentence and see if I like it or not. If no I pass it by and move on. Maybe later if I have a few min I might go back and see if it is good or not.
1 person likes this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
6 Dec 15
@AdrienneJenkins That is funny I do have to agree. But seriously time is a major factor for this site. Just responding to all your notifications and then trying to find something to read and leave a comment on. Then now and then post something yourself. It is time consuming and you need a few hours daily on here to make it work somewhat.
1 person likes this
@AdrienneJenkins (274)
• Vancouver, British Columbia
4 Dec 15
Jessica --- I'm going to tease you about a spelling mistake that made me laugh. I wish I had the same problem.
You mentioned that you didn't have time to read anyone's post because you were "too busty". I wish I had the same problem but I'm not that well endowed.
2 people like this
@norcal (4889)
• Franklinton, North Carolina
3 Dec 15
I don't think the notification system on myLot is very efficient. If you are not active during the time your followers are, they won't see much about you in their various feeds. Just because you follow a person does not mean you will be notified of their activity, especially if you are active at different times of the day. I rarely get to the point where I am going through the list of people I am following to check up on them.
2 people like this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
4 Dec 15
@norcal You are so right on that one. Only way you will find a few is if they have somehow made a giant leap to the top and been featured on there. Then it seems like it goes from there and they egt extra attention for what they write.
1 person likes this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
3 Dec 15
Yes I can understand wen people get busy with life. But when you see the same ones posting all the time, not even bothering to read what another person wrote and then complaining about their earning this makes me angry. I know I get tired to comment on their work and now I just pass them by. Seems like I've been passing a lot of people by lately for the same reason. Wow is this getting to be a habit here on the site. Sure hope not.
2 people like this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
4 Dec 15
@Lucky15 Kind of looks like it's going around right now. Just a week ago I would be flooded with notifications. Now I barely get 20 a day no matter how many posts I comment on. I guess it's time to take a holiday break and go off to bigger and better things. Oh well that is how it goes.
@marijuana (570)
• Tel Aviv, Israel
4 Dec 15
I followed people because I thought it was like Facebook that there need to be a connection before their contents appear on my wall - Which may not the case here.. am not sure :) but I don't promise that i go over to all their contents to read and leave a comment. There are many factors like time, interest etc. In this environment, The unspoken give and take "Golden Rule" always applies . But I try to do my thing and not to expect too much :)
2 people like this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
6 Dec 15
Normally on here you follow people who you like what they write about and people you like to interact with. That is basically how I do this one. But I also like to go to recent work and see if anyone I don't follow has something interesting to say too.
@SIMPLYD (90722)
• Philippines
4 Dec 15
Very true . I also don't follow people who doesn't even appear in the comment section of my posts . It's one gauge that they at least have read your post .
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
4 Dec 15
Yes you are so right on this one. I might not comment on every single post from a person I follow but I do comment on the ones that are most interesting to read. At times some mindless questions don't interest me much. However if there is nothing else out there I will answer a few of them.
1 person likes this
@inertia4 (27960)
• United States
2 Jan 16
I have to agree. And I know we all know that it is not always easy to get to everyones discussions all the time. Like this past week for me was not easy. I have my kids here until Sunday night. So, I get on whenever I can. Like now. But that doesn't mean I can stay on here right now for hours. But I totally agree with this post. Don't follow anyone if you have no intention on liking or commenting and reading a post b that person.
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
2 Jan 16
I can't either. i need to work and make a living. This site is a social site and I come and go now and then. Depends on work and what is happening. But when I do come back I like to try and find some stuff people have written and comment on it. I know I don't always make comments on all of their entries but one is good and it is nice to let them know I've read what they have written.
1 person likes this
@slund2041 (3314)
• United States
4 Dec 15
I read your post. I am behind right now on all my notifications, and readings. I will leave comments when I can. I have been super busy lately, with first my brother in law and his wife visiting from New Jersey, and now my husband has been bad off sick.I will catch up when I can though.
@slund2041 (3314)
• United States
7 Dec 15
@Gabugs Thank you so much! He has Chronic COPD and gets Pneumonia often.
1 person likes this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
6 Dec 15
You and me both. I am very behind. I have not been on the site for 2 days now. I have a little time right now to try and catch up. So here I am responding to the comments left to me. Sorry I am a little late on this one. Normally I am faster but I needed a major break to finish up some stuff for me and to get away from the computer for a few days.
@Gabugs (1895)
• United States
7 Dec 15
@slund2041 Hope your hubby gets well soon.
2 people like this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
4 Dec 15
No you are not. I noticed this too. I don't get notifications. I think it is just to narrow down the search and put the new posts of people you follow under people. That is all I can see on this one. If I delete everyone I follow then my people section is post free. So following at least puts their discussion there for me to find.
1 person likes this
@BethieAnnie (818)
• Dayton, Ohio
4 Dec 15
Your profile says that you are from Tahiti. It is tempting to follow someone who is from what is said to be a magical paradise. I wouldn't take it personally though. I think you can not interact with everyone, and many have false hope about their own time investments.
1 person likes this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
4 Dec 15
Humm I am wondering why I have responded to over 1.300 discussion. Yes it says so in my stats on the page. Responses is how many posts I have read and commented on them. I have also commented on over 5000 discussion. So believe me it is not for my lack of not interacting that makes me feel this way.
Believe me when I tell you this one. I have no false hopes about this site or the time I invest in it. I come and go. The interactions pay the best if people would interact back. So I will let you know I am not in a cloud when it come to here.
I have been here around 7 weeks now and I have responded and interacted over 6000 times. I can't see why you would say this one at all. I guess you might not realize that that little number behind your name tells a lot. You have interacted on this site just 509 time. Thanks anyhow.
I was basically talking about people who follow and could care less to even interact with anyone at all. They follow in hoping you will visit their stuff and interact with them. This is a false follow and does no good.
