You've just posted your first few articles on Dev.to, feeling pretty good about sharing your programming wisdom with the world. Suddenly, ding - you've got followers! Ding ding ding - hundreds of them! You're practically the next Primeagen, right?
Wrong. So very wrong.
The Great Follower Mystery of 2024
Last week, I embarked on my Dev.to journey, armed with nothing but a keyboard and dreams of connecting with fellow developers. Within days, I had amassed over 600 followers. Amazing! Except...
- They all created their accounts like... yesterday. Which is faster than you can say "npm install"
- Their profiles are emptier than my git commit messages on a Friday work day.
- They engage with content less than a programmer engages with grass
It's like being the most popular person at a party where everyone is actually a cardboard cutout. Sure, the numbers look impressive, but try having a meaningful conversation with cardboard.
The "New User Experience" That Nobody Asked For
Dev.to apparently has this well-intentioned feature where they promote new authors to new users. In theory, this sounds great - help newcomers find fresh content! In practice, it's like setting up a blind date between two people who don't speak the same language and might not even be real people.
What We Actually Want:
- Real Engagement: I'd rather have 6 followers who actually read and comment than 600 who materialized from the digital void
- Quality Over Quantity: Show me to users who've actually filled out their profiles and participated in the community
- Meaningful Metrics: Maybe track "engaged followers" instead of just "followers who clicked a button once and vanished into the ether"
Suggestions for a Better Dev.to
Dear Dev.to, I love what you're trying to do, but maybe we could:
-
Implement a Basic User Validation System
- Has the user filled out their profile?
- Have they read at least 3 articles?
- Do they know what code is? (kidding, mostly)
-
Create a More Nuanced Recommendation System
- Match users based on shared interests
- Consider reading history and engagement patterns
- Maybe don't show my JavaScript tutorials to people who exclusively read Ruby articles
-
Show More Meaningful Metrics
- "Real Human Followers™": 3
- "Potentially Real But We're Not Sure Followers": 12
- "Digital Tumbleweeds": 585
The Silver Lining
At least I can tell my mom I'm "big on social media" now. Sure, my followers might all be digital mirages, but they're my digital mirages, dammit!
A Call to Action
To Dev.to: Let's work on making these connections more meaningful. Quality over quantity, always.
To my 600 ghost followers: If any of you are real and reading this, please leave a comment! Even a "👻" will do. I promise I don't bite (though I occasionally write buggy code).
To actual developers reading this: Let's start a real conversation. What's your experience been like? Have you also experienced the great ghost follower phenomenon of 2024? Drop a comment below, and let's connect - for real this time.
P.S. To my new ghost followers who will inevitably follow me after this article: Hi! 👋 Please consider becoming real people. The developer community could use more actual humans.
Top comments (6)
Really insightful post! The concept of ghost followers is something I hadn't thought much about, but it makes a lot of sense—having a high follower count without meaningful engagement can feel a bit hollow. I love your suggestions for improving the platform with better user validation and metrics that focus on real connections. It’s a good reminder that quality interactions always matter more than just the numbers. Thanks for shedding light on this!
Yeah... the ghosty's, at least as far as I can tell, seem to love this platform. But, perhaps someday we can come to change that... 🤞🏽 here's to dreaming. 😬
Loved this post! I experienced the same thing when I joined Dev.to—lots of followers, but most feel like ghosts. Your post explains it really well. Great job!
I'll just treat dev.to as my notepad, nothing serious ;)
I noticed the same pattern and it happened when I joined a couple of year ago. Quite annoying.
IMO... It doesn't elicit confidence in your product to allow such a mob of (allegedly) bot profiles to run amuck on your platform. I wonder how Dev.to measures the success of its own platform given this is the way they expose our own performance. 😅