Another theory for followers/following may be similar to what Kevin Kelly writes about in this quite brilliant blog post.
Keven writes,
One solution is to find 1,000 True Fans. While some artists have
discovered this path without calling it that, I think it is worth
trying to formalize. The gist of 1,000 True Fans can be stated simply:A creator, such as an artist, musician, photographer,
craftsperson, performer, animator, designer, videomaker, or author – in
other words, anyone producing works of art – needs to acquire only
1,000 True Fans to make a living.A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and
everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They
will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even
though they have the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for
your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions
show up. They come to your openings. They have you sign their copies.
They buy the t-shirt, and the mug, and the hat. They can’t wait till
you issue your next work. They are true fans.
I like this, but I still think you won’t find out who those 1,000 true fans will be unless you meet a whole lot of people. I may be bending his thesis to fit my own, but I still think mine is more valid. Why would you limit yourself to just 1,000 fans? What if one gets mad at you? Are you going to fail because you suddenly have 999 true fans?
See what I mean?
