Understanding Quora's Automatic Following Feature and Its Impact on New Users

Have you ever signed up for Quora and found yourself automatically following people without any apparent action on your part? This article explores the reasons behind Quora's automatic following feature, its benefits, and potential frustrations for new users like yourself.

Why Does Quora Automatically Make You Follow People?

1. Interests and Topics:
When you sign up or select topics of interest, Quora may suggest users who are active in those areas to enhance your content feed. This feature aims to ensure you see content that is relevant to your preferences.

2. Personalized Recommendations:
Quora uses advanced algorithms to recommend users who frequently provide answers related to your interests. This is done to improve the relevance of the information you see, making your experience on the platform more engaging and informative.

3. Popular Contributors:
The platform might automatically follow influential or popular contributors in your selected topics to ensure you receive high-quality content. This ensures that you are always up-to-date with the best information available on the topics you are interested in.

4. Engagement:
Following certain users can increase engagement on the platform. You'll receive notifications about their activities, which can help you discover more content and stay connected with your interests.

The Intrusiveness of Automatic Following

As a new user, you might find automatic following to be intrusive. It's understandable to want control over who you follow and why. A new user who signs up might be bombarded with notifications and emails about their follower and following activities, which can be overwhelming and time-consuming. Quora's automatic follow feature, while designed to enhance user experience, might create a dilemma for those who value privacy and control.

Before I could even start using Quora from an official profile, I was already getting notifications daily. Without even performing a single activity, I found myself being contacted by followers and notifications about following activities. This became a significant inconvenience and an undesirable feature for a new user.

It's important to note that the automatic follow feature can save time and effort. For instance, if you're not interested in connecting with all your personal friends, you can use Quora's suggested follows to find more relevant and interesting profiles based on your interests.

Co-Founder Charlie Cheever's Perspective

Charlie Cheever, Co-Founder of Quora, states:
'We've found that people have a much better experience if they can start off with some people and topics to follow.'

Mr. Cheever's perspective aligns with the benefits of the automatic follow feature. It can help new users quickly find and follow the most relevant and engaging accounts, saving them the time and effort of manually adding numerous accounts based on topic relevance alone.

Controlling Your Follows

Fortunately, you always have the option to manage your follows. If you don't want to follow certain people, you can easily unfollow them. This gives you the control to tailor your Quora experience to your preferences.

For those who find the automatic following feature intrusive, here are a few tips to manage your follows effectively:

Visit your account settings and review who you are following. Unfollow profiles that do not align with your interests. Utilize Quora's suggested follows to discover new and relevant profiles. Set up your interests and topics to filter out irrelevant content.

Conclusion

While Quora's automatic following feature can be seen as an enhancement to the user experience, it's important to recognize the potential downsides, especially for new users. However, with the ability to control and manage your follows, you can tailor your Quora experience to your preferences and ensure that your time on the platform is both enjoyable and productive.

References

Content Credits: This article is written based on my personal experience and insights into Quora's functionality. For a deeper understanding, users are encouraged to explore Quora's official documentation and community forums.