IG Follower Pruning

Some of you may have noticed that my follower count on Instagram is alternatively growing and shrinking. I wanted to write a post about this just to explain what's going on.

If you've read my other posts you know that the Instagram algorithm basically works by evaluating post performance by showing it to a limited number of followers, before deciding where to rank it in the feeds of remaining followers. As well intentioned as this is, it has the effect of commodifying followers. The more engaged followers I have on Instagram, the more likely my posts will be seen by the other people following me. Therefore more engaged users are more valuable. Conversely, if a good portion of my followers do not interact with my posts then my other followers are less likely to see those posts. Ultimately, on Instagram, it is beneficial to identify those not regularly engaged with my posts and to remove them from my followers. I find this arrangement kind of tragic, but it's what Instagram has decided is best for Instagram.

For those irritated by this arrangement, please find me on Mastodon.social, as well as Tumblr. Since neither of those platforms have a ranked feed it is unnecessary to remove users from following me.