Thursday, April 01, 2010

Why Do You Follow?

For those who are lurking, now is a great time to comment! Why do you follow?

Some poeple have tons of followers. Some have less followers but many comments. (And be prepared for a guest post from Just Jemi on this subject, because she IS the master!) And some poeple follow a lot of people.
Why do you follow someone?

So that they will follow you?
Are you focused on promotions and trying to amass a lot of followers?

To learn?
To honestly gain more knowlege?

To postition yourself as an expert?
Are you better qualified than those you follow?

To gain friendship?
To expand your circle of friends?

To share your experience?
To genuinely inspire those around you?

Leave your answer below!

And if you want to state why you follow me as well - great! Whatever I am doing right, I want to keep doing!

As to my answer? Why does the Spunky follow people? That goes back to my definition of success - "True success is based on the number of lives one can touch in a positive manner."

I don't have hundreds of followers. But that's okay. Those who follow me matter. And I pray I can be an inspiration at some point in your life! Because you have inspired, uplifted, encouraged, and informed me.

25 comments:

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

Good topic and question! I like your answer, too. :)

I think I mainly follow people in order to be part of the fantastic writing community (I've got so many wonderful online friends), share and discover resources, and network.

Elizabeth
Mystery Writing is Murder

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I'm following you so I can learn some of this stuff!

Actually, I'm amazed by the amount of science fiction and fantasy writers here. I've met some nice people through blogging.

Helen Ginger said...

I tend to follow blogs that I enjoy reading. I have to admit, though, I forget to follow. I add people into my own blogs sidebar and then often click from there.

Helen
Straight From Hel

Marvin D Wilson said...

"Because you have inspired, uplifted, encouraged, and informed me."

What you said. Why I follow this blog. (smile)

Well, except for today's post of course. (wink)

The Old Silly

Jane Kennedy Sutton said...

I’d say I follow blogs to learn and share experiences. I enjoy the friendships that develop in the process. I visit your blog, Diane, as often as I can for the information, the fantastic photos, and the introduction to books and authors.

Susan Fields said...

If someone follows my blog, I'll almost always follow theirs (unless I find something objectionable there). I mean, why not? It doesn't cost me anything, and it expands my own personal blogging community. Not all my followers leave comments, but if they do, I'll always return the favor.

TerryLynnJohnson said...

Helen, I use google reader and then I don't have to remember. Whenever I want to read, I'll scroll through all the blogs I follow and you can see updates.

I follow blogs mostly to be part of the wonderful community. I also learn a lot and am often entertained (cue halarious cat pictures)

Jai Joshi said...

If someone is kind enough to follow me then I go with the rule that they must have good taste and follow them back. It's nice to discover friends that way.

I follow you because you give great advice and knowledge from your experiences as a writer and speaker. And because you are so supportive of other writers. Your consistent positive message is something I look forward to.

Jai

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Such wonderful reasons!

Survivormama said...

Some many reasons, I follow hoping to be inspired, and to inspire others, to develope better writing techniques...more friends as well, who can have too many friends? Not me, could you? Following you now, hope to become friends through the blog-o-sphere. May God bless you and give you joy so abundantly you must give some away to others.

Arlee Bird said...

I certainly concur with what's been said so far-- reciprocation, edification, appreciation, etc.

I also follow in hopes of getting followers. When I first started my blog, gaining followers was for appearance sake. As I continued it was to increase readership potential. Now it's just happening and each I gain a new follower, I add a new follower.

I've truly discovered a whole range of fine blogs to follow for many different reasons and I learned from many.

Lee

Bob Sanchez said...

Diane,I follow people to reach out and connect with those who share my interest. That, and all the other reasons others have posted already. :-)

Beth Blair said...

I follow to connect, learn, share, be inspired and keep up with others.

Jemi Fraser said...

Oooo - the pressure! Yikes - now I'm nervous Diane!! :)

I have followed a few people because of contests, but much more commonly I follow people because I feel some kind of connection with them. I like making new bloggy friends :)

Thanks for the kind words!

Carolyn Howard-Johnson said...

I often follow folks' blogs to support people who support me. But I also follow those whose blogs fit with my other projects so that I can refer my audiences to specific posts I think will benefit them.

Best,
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Tweeting writing tips and resources @frugalbookpromo

Michelle (Red Headed Book Child) said...

As much as I would like 1000 followers, in reality, how many of those are really reading and responding sincerely?

I am so passionate about books that I would love to spread the word to as many people as I could but i think I do that with the sincere followers that do read me and comment often.

I am pretty proud that I have the followers that I do and have done very few giveaways to get there.

I just want people to read my reviews and go WOW I need to read that, thanks!

I also like the different personalities of m followers and the friendships I am starting to form. This was a bonus I did not expect.

:)
MIchelle

Tony Eldridge said...

Just added this post to my Friday round-up. One of this biggest reasons I follow is to funnel information I want to be aware of on a regular basis to me quickly and easily. It's also a way to share with someone validation that you enjoy their efforts and hard work.

Allyn Evans said...

I follow friends and people whose content I enjoy.

Roger C. Parker said...

Congratulations on a thought-provoking title and a great post!

In thinking about it, it seems that the answer involves more than just content: relevant content is the starting point, but other issues like conciseness, readability, and style also come into play.

There are blogs that I know offer content, but, I don't consistently follow because they lack some elusive qualities like empathy, enthusiasm, or personality.

But, thanks for a great idea, and thanks to Mark Eldridge for introducing me to your great blog.

Roger

Nancy J. Parra said...

Nice post- great answer. I started following to support people who followed me but then I learned so much and made some very nice friends. I wish I had the time to read the blogs more often.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Lee, I couldn't have said it any better.

Jemi, I can't wait to post your secret!

Michelle, you said it - what on earth would we do with 1000 followers? I couldn't respond to that many. They wouldn'be be genuine connections.
And I am happy we connected!

Thank you, Tony!

Roger, thank you so much for taking the time to come and see me! I try to be Spunky all the time.

DL Hammons said...

I agree with all of the reasons above, but I'll add one more. I am drawn to bloggers who are frequent commentors on other peoples blog. That tells me they are active in the community and aren't afraid to share their opinions. :)

unnamed lad said...

initially i didn't want to do the challenge because i was AFRAID of getting followers. i had 5, now i have 15. the new readers encourage me by their comments. i'd rather be surrounded by a few friends rather then many strangers. not into numbers nor rewards. met some really nice people in this A to Z challenge already. i'm content, at ease, without fear, and can write in freedom. i'm blessed by God and my followers...and Lee

unnamed lad said...
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misskallie2000 said...

I started following blogs about 9 mos ago to read about books. I follow a blog that interest me. It may be the reviews, the postings of the blogger or the subject. If I find out a blog does not hold my interest I will delete. I am following to many blogs now but I keep finding new ones I love. LOL

misskallie2000 at yahoo dot com