Do You know how #FollowFriday started?

The history of the Twitter hashtag trend

By Jeremy Muncy · May 30, 2009 · 43 Comments

Today is Friday, the most famed day of the week. Why you ask? It’s the end of the workweek and the beginning of the weekend (for some). But, for the Twitterverse, it’s a day where you could see your follower count substantially climb as a result of a grassroots hashtag simply called #followfriday.

Sure, Follow Friday has been around for a few months (a little over four) but do you really know anything about it? Who started it? How it got started? Why does it work?

What are your feelings on #Follow Friday?
Do you participate or do you despise it? Let us know

Well, Follow Friday was born in a dirt-floored log cabin in the hills of Tennessee… wait that isn’t right. Let’s try that again. Follow Friday began with one simple tweet back in January ’09 from Micah Baldwin, it simply said:

Its intent was simple, recommend people you follow to people who follow you. That’s it, pretty cut and dry isn’t it?

You may notice that the original Follow Friday tweet is missing something, a very key element. That’s right, the first Follow Friday tweet didn’t feature the famed hashtag. Mykl Roventine suggested this a short time later.

Micah Baldwin recounts his first day of Follow Friday on his site…

I sent direct messages to a few of my friends: Chris Brogan, Erin Kotecki Vest, Aaron Brazell, Jim Kukral and Andrew Hyde (who decided to not participate, calling it a “spammer lovefest”) asking them to retweet a simple message “Follow Fridays – suggest someone to follow / everyone follow / use the hashtag #followfriday”

And, then I headed into the office and my first meeting of the day.

When I got back to my office, and finally fired up my machine, #followfriday tweets were flying all over twitter. It was wild.

Near the end of the day, almost every half second, a tweet went out with the hashtag #followfriday.

#FollowFriday trends over the last five months

You might be asking yourself, why does Follow Friday work? Well, the main thing that helps make Follow Friday a success is… it’s easy. It takes very little effort to type out a few friends Twitter handles and slap a #followfriday hashtag on it.

But, probably the main reason it works is, people want followers. It’s about ROI (you invest time suggesting someone, they’ll invest their time suggesting you)… thus completing the Follow Friday circle of life.

Sure, Follow Friday is trendy now… but six months from now it could be just another Internet fad causality. It’s hard to say for sure, but with Twitter growing by the minute and users wanting to increase their follower count, I’d say you could expect to see #FollowFriday stick around awhile.

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There are 43 Comments. Add Yours.

Guest
May 22, 2009 at 6:47 am
Reply

I didn’t realize that #ff was so new, just been around since Jan.
Guest
May 22, 2009 at 8:36 am
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is it just me, or does it not look like follow friday is losing some steam based off that graph?
- Jeremy Muncy
  May 22, 2009 at 9:12 am
  Reply
  
  That’s the first thing I noticed when I saw the graph… but I do think it’s a bit to early to say for sure… it’s a very interesting trend to keep an eye on though.
  
  –
  Jeremy Muncy
Swann
May 22, 2009 at 1:37 pm
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On my point of view, the #followfriday tags work also because of the sense of community which is created. You have even more the feeling you’re part of a cool community : the “followfridayers”.
Guest
May 22, 2009 at 2:50 pm
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To me follow friday is one of the more annoying things happening on twitter, but you can’t deny the overall appeal of it.
Samantha
May 22, 2009 at 9:48 pm
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I think that strategy already reached its peak. As I can see, there’s a huge decline in this activity. Anyways, this can be helpful in Twitter Community. No doubt about it.
areisdesigns
May 23, 2009 at 12:05 am
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So it is still Friday where I am, and I haven’t done a Follow Friday Tweat Yet. I think I will go ahead and take the plunge and try it.
- Guest
  May 23, 2009 at 12:23 am
  Reply
  
  oh crap, yeah me too. forgot about follow friday. thanks wpn.
Kevin Carey
May 23, 2009 at 1:04 am
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Great idea for a recurring post – the history of a meme. How did all these things get started? Who posted the first LOLCat, etc. I would find that series very interesting.
- Jeremy Muncy
  May 23, 2009 at 1:23 pm
  Reply
  
  Interesting idea. I was thinking along the same lines.
  
  Telling the history of certain Internet trends would be a neat series of articles. We’ll see if we can make that happen.
  
  Stay tuned.
  
  –
  Jeremy Muncy
- Guest Judith Patterson
  May 24, 2009 at 8:07 am
  Reply
  
  I like the suggestion by Kevin Carey that this be a series so Twitters can get a sound history of this ever evolving Twitterville. I find #FollowFriday a bit to compulsive without much thought. I personally would like to see a #FollowFriday reference to one (maybe two people) but the real gem would be the note that accompanies it where the person says why they are thrilled to have found that person/company to follow. I think the person referring and how they think and feel is as interesting and important as the person/product that you are being referred to (and gives a lot of important information). This gets rid of the “you scratch my back and I scratch your back” and one’s precious time is not lost opening and reading stuff you are not interested in (thus leaving a negative feeling for that person/product). I truly like to forage for my own people and products to follow and NOT be part of the pack.
Mark
May 23, 2009 at 2:51 am
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#followfriday is just another example of social media masturbation.
- Guest
  May 23, 2009 at 9:39 am
  Reply
  
  best comment ever.
DaveZatz
May 23, 2009 at 8:13 am
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But WHY do people want more followers?
- Jeremy Muncy
  May 23, 2009 at 1:26 pm
  Reply
  
  The more followers you have, the more people who see your tweet… and loads of people market their business / services through Twitter.
  
  –
  Jeremy Muncy
  - DaveZatz
    May 23, 2009 at 10:54 pm
    Reply
    
    Maybe I still don’t get it. Perhaps my followers do.
Official Safety and Security
May 23, 2009 at 1:45 pm
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I’m mainly on Twitter to socially market my safety and security web site and raise awareness for its products so this sounds like a really cool idea. I don’t know if it will work but I think I’ll give it a try.
- Jeremy Muncy
  May 23, 2009 at 2:09 pm
  Reply
  
  The best part about #FollowFriday is it takes little effort… give it a shot next week.
  
  –
  Jeremy Muncy
Dan Foley
May 24, 2009 at 10:06 am
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I was a later comer with #FollowFriday but once I started it a couple of months ago, I came to enjoy suggesting people for others to follow. It is part of the spirit of social networking.
Robyn
May 24, 2009 at 11:20 am
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I was curious as to what #Follow Friday was. Thanks for the article

I have meet alot of interesting people on twitter, #FF would be a tool to let followers know how much value others offer in their communications.

might give it a go for fun. : )
Ricky
May 24, 2009 at 1:05 pm
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its such a good idea.how did you find the source of followfriday ?
- Jeremy Muncy
  May 24, 2009 at 8:25 pm
  Reply
  
  Hello Ricky,
  
  I had been curious about the origin of #FollowFriday for a little while… so I decided to do some research on it, used various blogs, Google and even Twitter.
  
  I found it pretty interesting… so I decided to write this article on it.
  
  Glad you enjoyed it.
  
  –
  Jeremy Muncy
Melanie Kissell
May 24, 2009 at 1:19 pm
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Jeremy,

In addition to my online endeavors, I also have two part time jobs outside the home. So … Friday is (and always has been) my favorite day of the week – for all the obvious reasons. I look forward to participating in the #followfriday campaigns, BUT …

I’ve noticed that my approach is usually quite different than a lot of people. I don’t just “list” a pile of people that I think would be great to follow. Between you, me, and the lamp post, I hate to see that practice. Know what I mean? Someone will just post: “Please follow so-and-so and so-and-so and so-and-so”, etc. My question is … What’s my INCENTIVE to do so??! Quite frankly, there is none. And, if the motive is to just rack up some numbers, count me out.

I’m a “sense and sensibility” kind of gal. I limit the number of followers I endorse to less than a dozen each Friday. Most importantly, I recommend each person INDIVIDUALLY and I make a habit of giving a specific reason “WHY” I feel they are worthwhile to follow. Here’s an example …

You’re good at what you do, but you may not be good at getting customers. Follow @wendymaynard – The Marketing Maven #followfriday

Enjoyed this article, Jeremy, and looking forward to reading more from you,

MELANIE
- Jeremy Muncy
  May 24, 2009 at 8:11 pm
  Reply
  
  MELANIE,
  
  Thanks for the kind words about my article, and I appreciate your insight into your #FollowFriday techniques.
  
  I like your approach about limiting the number of people you endorse and how you explain the reason why users should follow them.
  
  Thanks for reading.
  
  –
  Jeremy Muncy
  - Melanie Kissell
    May 26, 2009 at 12:54 pm
    Reply
    
    I’m impressed, Jeremy …
    
    The fact that you replied to my remarks indicates that you are a true professional, one that has earned my respect. I will be looking out for future content from you.
    
    Write On!
David
May 25, 2009 at 5:51 am
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I was wonderong what #Follow Friday was. Thanks for the article

Twitter is growing really fast as I am sure you have noticed.

David Batchelor
LifePath Unlimited
- Jeremy Muncy
  May 25, 2009 at 12:53 pm
  Reply
  
  Glad you enjoyed the article.
  
  Twitter has grown exponentially over the first half of the year.
  
  –
  Jeremy Muncy
Nazar
May 25, 2009 at 11:57 am
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I have not heard about the concept – but I think it is great.
Matches Malone
May 26, 2009 at 9:56 am
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Or, did you?
@euonymous
May 28, 2009 at 11:10 am
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Thanks for writing that up. Nice little piece of Twitter history. Without knowing anything about #followfriday I remember that when I started to see the hashtag it was immediately obvious what was going on. That’s another reason it was successful. Nobody had to explain it to anyone. KISS… it works.
- Jeremy Muncy
  May 29, 2009 at 9:51 am
  Reply
  
  I’m glad you liked the article.
  
  …and yes “K.I.S.S.” does work.
  
  –
  Jeremy Muncy
@hotreel
May 31, 2009 at 11:57 am
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Thanks for this tutorial.
It caused me to stop and think about how we can use Twitter in an innovative way.

Not seeing anything similar, I then went over and started the hashtag: #celebritywatch

It calls for people to add their favorites to the list.

Your post here was absolutely the source of inspiration.
Thanks!
Melani
May 31, 2009 at 5:47 pm
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I may have to ‘unfollow’ a few people who just don’t get #ff. They load up multiple tweets with almost every person they follow, with no reasons for any of them. I find that disgusting and it really turns me off.

Having said that, this article does reinvigorate me about the original reason for #ff. I agree that it’s purpose was instantly recognizable and I love the beautiful simplicity of it. What’s more, I get unexpected ‘thank-you’s’ from people I put in a #ff tweet, so it feels good, too!
dog house plans
June 1, 2009 at 12:35 am
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#followfriday is very helpful in Twitter Community. Number of twitter users is growing so fast as expected.
Ecash10
June 13, 2009 at 9:00 am
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I simple, unintentional thing sometimes explodes to greater goodness
Pat Vanden Bosche
June 14, 2009 at 1:53 pm
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Someone sent me a #followfriday last week, and I didn’t know what it was. Until I read your article here. It’s amazing how quickly you can get so much further behind in trends and not even know it, just when you thought you were catching up… but now I know… and knowing is half the battle! LOL Now I will know what to do on Friday!

Pat
just me
June 19, 2009 at 11:42 am
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Are you defiantly or definitely going to participate! We only want your joyful participation!
Guest
July 17, 2009 at 1:10 am
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It’s totally pointless and offers no benefit. It’s a total waste of time.
- Joe
  July 17, 2009 at 1:41 pm
  Reply
  
  Pointless? Let’s see, you follow someone because you like how they think, have things in common with you and respect their viewpoints. Then they tweet names of other people who are like minded. You then get to follow more people who think like you, express new ideas you can use, make you smile, and point to links that you find useful. Yeah, you’re right, complete waste of time. I think I’ll just spend hours using Twitter’s search function. That’s a much better use of my time.
Prince of Thrift
July 31, 2009 at 10:49 am
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I have seen my name in a number of followfriday comments, but it has not resulted in the large influx of followers. I have been active on Twitter a few months now, but have no where near the my target of a minimum of 1000 (good) followers.
Jay_pe
August 28, 2009 at 3:22 pm
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Any story behind why Twitter includes Follow Friday in the Trending topics and don’t include hash tag? BTW, i am pushing the limits on #Followfriday ever since I joined. I now send out close to 60 tweets 140 characters worth of follows every Friday. Wondering when Twitter limitations kick in.
cd
September 4, 2009 at 2:19 pm
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followfriday is only a waste of time if people are just doing endless lists. i don’t look at them.

when i do them i do an individual post for each one and say why i follow them. that way i think people actually read them and might be interested in following.

all but about 10 of my followers i’ve got through followfriday, so i think it’s an integral part of twitter!
Guest
April 28, 2010 at 12:41 pm
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That, lead to this:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2763/4503056433_5ecef5f586_b.jpg

(twitter graffiti)