Like it or not, you can buy it
Just like the real world, we crave attention online. Some want less, some want more, but we all want it to a certain degree. We want people to follow us on social networking websites, to like' our photos and share our thoughts, and our witticisms and observations to reverberate through the internet. I have to admit I am no different. I have spent plenty of time in my five-odd years of existence on Twitter, in front of a flickering blue page on either my desktop or cellphone, composing seemingly complex thoughts in 140 characters, participating in silly games that occasionally trend (like #filmtitlesthatcouldbepo*nos ), hashtagging commonplace occurrences, frequently changing my Twitter bio with pompous declarations ( caffeine-drinker, reader and traveller; not in that order') or hipster-speak (social ninja'), tweeting people I would never engage in a real world conversation" all of it for some attention. And, I fear, somewhere in the deep recesses of my mind, there is this thought that what the real world had so far failed to notice would somehow be magically discovered on Twitter. That with a mug shot and few tweets under my name, people will finally recognise me and flock to follow and hear me. Perhaps this occurs in other minds too. But then reality hits you like always, even online.
I sat down in front of my Twitter page a few weeks ago to take stock. My single- minded five-year-long endeavour on Twitter had yielded a measly 209 followers. No one had ever favourited' or even retweeted me. It was as if no one even knew I existed here. Thankfully, I had been judicious in following only 195 individuals" a respectable followers-to- following ratio, you might agree.
Now I have over 5,000 Twitter followers. I purchased them. I went online, made an order, wired Rs 2,000 and went to sleep. Two days later, I woke up to the sound of my cellphone chirping with emails notifying me that some 5,000 individuals were following me.
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There is a large and growing black market for fake likes' and followers on social networking websites on the internet. Here, a person can buy"in a variety of packages and plans"anything one could possibly want of a networking website, be it Facebook likes' and followers, Twitter followers and retweets, YouTube page views and likes', or even LinkedIn connections and endorsements. Most of these sellers promise to gather genuine followers, but they are almost always bots.
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Dale Bhagwagar, a film publicist, admits that two of his clients, both upcoming actresses, bought themselves Twitter followers about two years ago. "One of them bought some 22,000 followers and another about 5,000 followers on Twitter. I was surprised, but who was I to say anything? The two of them were very happy. Since then, I have noticed that this has become common practice in the industry," he says. According to him, it is crucial nowadays for every upcoming actor or singer to be on Twitter. "But barring a few top stars, why would people be interested in following them? Everyone, thus, buys a large number of fake followers to inflate their follower lists," he says.
Posted by Priyanka
Source: http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/living/like-it-or-not-you-can-buy-it
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