Asymmetric follow refers to a social network allowing many people to follow an individual or account without having to follow them back.[1] It is also known as asynchronous follow[2] or sometimes asymmetric friendship.[3]

Asymmetric follow is a common pattern on Twitter, where someone may have thousands of followers, but themselves follow few (or no) accounts.[4][1] In September 2010 Facebook started experimenting with a similar feature, which Facebook calls "Subscribe To."[2][5]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b James Governor (2008-12-05). "Asymmetrical Follow: A Core Web 2.0 Pattern". redmonk.com. Archived from the original on 19 October 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
  2. ^ a b Eric Eldon (2010-09-03). ""Facebook Tests New "Subscribe To" Option for Friends and Pages"". Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
  3. ^ Jolie O'Dell (2009-05-10). "iTunes 10 and Ping Are Here, Bringing Mixed First Impressions". Mashable. Archived from the original on 27 November 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
  4. ^ Tim O'Reilly (2009-05-10). "Goodreads vs Twitter: The Benefits of Asymmetric Follow". Archived from the original on 5 December 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
  5. ^ MG Siegler (2010-09-03). "Project Dance Party: Facebook's Secret Twitter-Like Follow Feature". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 15 November 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-21.