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Difference between revisions of "Follower buying (Global)"
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''Follower buying'' denotes the acquisition of online followers by purchasing them from an intermediary supplier. Followers are online supporters, admirers or disciples and a feature of user accounts on social media platforms or blogs. They indicate the user’s degree of popularity, since the information about the number of followers is usually public. Buying followers bypasses the investment into slow and arduous gaining of followers by purchasing an agreed-upon number of follower accounts, thus faking the follower interest. ''Follower buying'' gained attention after ''The New York Times'' exposed that accounts of high-profile public figures were linked to fake followers (Confessore ''et al''. 2018). It is possible to buy fake followers for most of the online social media, video and music platforms, for instance Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or the Chinese Sina Weibo. | ''Follower buying'' denotes the acquisition of online followers by purchasing them from an intermediary supplier. Followers are online supporters, admirers or disciples and a feature of user accounts on social media platforms or blogs. They indicate the user’s degree of popularity, since the information about the number of followers is usually public. Buying followers bypasses the investment into slow and arduous gaining of followers by purchasing an agreed-upon number of follower accounts, thus faking the follower interest. ''Follower buying'' gained attention after ''The New York Times'' exposed that accounts of high-profile public figures were linked to fake followers (Confessore ''et al''. 2018). It is possible to buy fake followers for most of the online social media, video and music platforms, for instance Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or the Chinese Sina Weibo. | ||
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''Follower buying'' is closely related to [[shuahaoping]], the purchase of positive comments and user reviews about a good or service, but differs from it in that it does not necessarily include online interaction | ''Follower buying'' is closely related to [[shuahaoping]], the purchase of positive comments and user reviews about a good or service, but differs from it in that it does not necessarily include online interaction. Ordinarily, a ‘real’ follower that subscribed or followed a user account out of interest, engages with the content by commenting or liking. A ‘fake follower’ or ‘zombie fan’ (jiang shi hao) is either a computer-algorithm (a bot) or a human operator who is not genuinely interested in the content (a troll). | ||
''Follower buying'' differs from façade-creating strategies, like the [[Potemkin villages]] or [[window dressing]], in that the spectators of the façade are attracted to become a part of the façade itself. The aim of buying fake followers is often to create a bait for real followers (Gianna Christine 2018). An increase in real followers is a multi-factor process that nearly automatically entails an increase of user’s ‘credibility’ and functions as ‘social proof’ (see Cialdini 1987). This can incite a positive bandwagon effect (Colman 2003) further ignited by the platforms’ recommendation algorithms that tend to suggest users to follow accounts with a high number of followers (Confessore et al. 2018). | ''Follower buying'' differs from façade-creating strategies, like the [[Potemkin villages]] or [[window dressing]], in that the spectators of the façade are attracted to become a part of the façade itself. The aim of buying fake followers is often to create a bait for real followers (Gianna Christine 2018). An increase in real followers is a multi-factor process that nearly automatically entails an increase of user’s ‘credibility’ and functions as ‘social proof’ (see Cialdini 1987). This can incite a positive bandwagon effect (Colman 2003) further ignited by the platforms’ recommendation algorithms that tend to suggest users to follow accounts with a high number of followers (Confessore et al. 2018). | ||