Conclusion: Most of the half million people following me on Google+ are ciphers. They have signed up, but have not made a single public post, or posted their own image or a profile, or made a comment. They aren’t home. The only place you’ll see people are in the same small set of 100 “recommended” people they follow, of which I am one.
That is why I have half a million followers. Not because I have half a million fans, but because I am on a default list to fill an otherwise empty street when folks sign up.
More:
http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2012/02/the_ciphers_of.php
See also:
Google+ Users Spent Just 3.3 Minutes There Last Month
http://mashable.com/2012/02/28/google-plus-3-3-minutes/
Report: 92% of Newt Gingrich’s Twitter Followers Aren’t Real
http://techland.time.com/2011/08/03/report-92-of-newt-gingrichs-twitter-followers-arent-real/
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/how-much-of-twitter-is-spam
Who’s a Daily Facebook User? Anyone who clicks “Like”
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2012/02/whos-a-daily-facebook-user-anyone-who-clicks-like/
Dutch language news article:
http://webwereld.nl/column/110097/de-zeepbel-die-facebook-heet–column-.html
