People who follow you just to get more twitter followers

Someone follows you on twitter, and if they look like a normal real person, you might follow them back. That’s what I generally do. Who knows? You might develop some sort of connection with that person. They offer the opportunity to follow each other on twitter, you enter that engagement with a follow.

You were so kind to follow them back, and then the person unfollows you.

Why? There could be many valid reasons why. Maybe they don’t like your tweets. Maybe you tweet too much or too little. But often people just want to build their following list. It looks bad to be following thousands more people than who are following you. So they simply cycle through people.

In the past couple years I’ve followed back 338 people who followed me first. (179 with spudart, 159 with mattmaldre) Of those 338 people, 31 have unfollowed me. I’m not saying that all 31 participate in this follow-unfollow cycle, some may have just not liked my tweets. But here are those 31 people:

@Digital Doulos: We are Christian developers, designers and digital strategists leveraging technology to strengthen The Church and reach the world for Christ. Join us!

‏ @KDBLifestyle: Author of Doodle Lounge, come & meet and interact with people who aren’t out to change the world but want to change their own world. http://www.doodlelounge.com

@kellyryanobrien: fashion-abled, culture investigator, rogue interrogator, and master of wordsmithness. Founder @chicagoblognet Fashion Director @Stylitics

@JeremySchreiber: Strategy development for sales force effectiveness.

@jasonyormark: SVP of Marketing & Social Media at Strategies 360. Mac Enthusiast, Little league coach, Amateur baseball player.

@sethjputnam: Magazine journalist who writes about unintended consequences. Editor of @themidwestyle. I say yes any time Ira Glass asks me for money. Z-O-U.

@dharmesh: Entrepreneur. Founder/CTO @HubSpot inbound marketing and startup blogger at OnStartups.com.

@katiesheadesign :#Mom, Founder/Designer Katie Shea Design, Creator of #REUSABLE Magnetic #Cupcake #Wrappers Designs #Couture #Roses All #Occassions #Events #NYC made in #USA

@Katlynkt47: Work at home. Dinner at music bar.

@shreddel: Chief ambassador at PoshPorts.com, on a global teaching and learning adventure. Obsessed with media, news, travel, art, music, food & wine. I love to laugh.

@laynepitcher: Marketing & Communications Manager for Silverwood Theme Park managing public relations, market research, web content, e-commerce and web analytics.

@studiosatellite: We’re a studio filled with retouchers, designers, creatives, bloggers and just all around fun, smart people.

@SecondCityCEO: Co-Founder of & – Obsessed w/ helping spread entrepreneurship globally. Previously Co-founded InsuranceAgents.com (acquired by Bankrate).

@amandalynjones: figuring it out

‏ @SimonBoylan: Philosopher, writer, mystic, global citizen… Inspired by big ideas, the perpetual ingenuity of humanity and connection with like minds. http://simonboylan.com

@KristinScheel: Holistic Attorney, Mediator, Collaborative Lawyer, Peacemaker, Yoga Teacher. Healthly life, healthy earth enthusiast. Founder of The Turquoise House on Yale.

‏ @MindfulSpark: Tweets throughout the day to encourage you to develop mindfulness & foster value-based living. Complement to @habitspark.

@freshome: Design & Architecture Magazine. The best place to be inspired and take your creativity to the next level run by Micle Mihai

@iSocialMrkt: I love technology, helping people, and my nephews (age 2 and 4). I teach social media education online. Need Tips/Advice for social media? Just Ask!

@TheIndie: Encouraging the discovery of new music, indie music, and real music created by artists from all genres. Free downloads, MP3s, contests & tips. We do Indie 100%

@petenaotg: Lover of God, people, tech, & jokes. Follow me if you’re into any of these 🙂

@ilovepiccsy We love to discover, curate, catalog, and share images. Check out piccsy.com and blog.piccsy.com for the best images online.

@quiltsbyjess: Making the world more colorful, one stitch at a time. http://www.quiltsbyjess.etsy.com

@twisturthinking: Spare time: Astronaut/physicist/heart surgeon. Professionally: Founder/President of Twist. We help people think creatively to get to ideas and build communities

@PhotoArtQuotes: Art and Photography quotes to inspire your photography. Some from the famous, some from the not-so-famous.

@SunFlowrFineArt

@Art_of_Day: Art of Day features & promotes artists. Art,sculpture,painting,illustration,drawing,pastels,photography. The art of day revolving art tweets!(ArtofDay)

@pvaughter: Lover of Tech, Social Media, Conferences, Travel, Music, Sequins, @michiganstateu & Sunshine. Chicago transplant, now living in the Rockies. Betrothed to @tcar.

‏ @amyreich: Illustrator,licensed artist,textile designer,singer, yoga teacher, mama to toddler!

@MelissaGalt: Keynote Speaker|Marketing Consultant|Biz Coach|Lifestyle Expert|Interior Designer|Visionary|Adventurer|Romantic|Optimist|Giver| Single&Seeking|HUMAN