I'm about to achieve 3k followers on the Dev.to platform, and one thing I really want is for Dev.to to make the follower count public so that if someone wants to suggest or propose a gig for technical writing, he or she has an idea about the follower count and content type of that Dev.to writer.
What about other's thoughts on this point ?
@thepracticaldev
Top comments (5)
Content is wayyyyy more important. Also, the follower count on dev.to is largely meaningless. I haven't written a post in ages, and get 30+ new followers daily. Most are bots.
Hiding the follower count is a good idea as it discourages people just doing stuff to game the system, or write clickbait articles purely to increase follower count.
Quality over quantity every time.
Goodhart's Law applies π
Vanity metrics are statistics that look spectacular on the surface but don't necessarily translate to any meaningful business results. Examples include the number of social media followers or the number of views on a promotional video.
I think we should focus on reading and writing good stuff, and connecting with each other.
Vanity metrics have a proven tendency to help us focus on things that don't matter.
I really like that those stats aren't visible. I think they cause problems for a lot of places.
For instance, it shouldn't matter when you read someone's post whether they have a lot of followers or not, it should have no bearing on whether you decide to follow them. If you like their content, follow them.
The problem is, on platforms where these stats are visible, it does affect people's reactions. People as a group are way more likely to follow someone who already has a lot of followers. This is a positive-feedback loop and means that the popular people get more popular and the rest languish, regardless of how good their posts are.
It spoils the community. I've seen it happen on so many places.
Yeah! It could be useful, but if I want to hire someone, I won't look at the follower count. Instead, I'll focus on whether he/she writes original content (Top 7 Author Badge), along with many other factors.
While the follower count could be public, it might indeed be useful :)