Pied Pipers?

Like Me! Friend Me! Follow Back! ( "Rank Me, Rank Me, Dammit!!" )
I referred a mate to WAU a week or so ago.
Before he'd even got his profile pic up, I received an email from him asking: "Why have all these people started *following* me? I haven't done anything yet!".
So, I snuck a look at his followers.
A few of them were obviously "scummy", from people following anyone and everyone because they had a scam technique or "proposal" in mind. One of them had already been banned by the time I glanced at his profile.
However, I did notice that some of the community are following 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, even 40,000+ other Members. I can only imagine that's why Muffin blogged about being overwhelmed by email notifications earlier today!
I raised the question of "following vs. followed" in chat and got answers ranging from, "It's a hangover from Facebook, Twitter, et al.", to "I'm interested in everyone.", and even one along the lines of "It's just a way people game the system, along with commenting in profiles, to try and up their own ranking.". I trust the latter isn't really a reason for following en-masse?
I must confess, in the interests of transparency, I also learned that amongst my fellow Eurotrash contingent, a follow from Steve is considered the absolute ultimate accolade. His follow-to-followed ratio is 1-100, and only 72 Members have received such acclaim and benediction in the last 4 years.

Is that "scarlet" woman flirting with you actually another boy?!

I'm now curious, because I've only ever followed someone whose experiences I'm genuinely interested in, or occasionally just because their weird ramblings provide sheer entertainment value.
Yes, Yes. If you PM me, I'll let you know which-is-which!
Oh, and I certainly have all my email notification boxes in Account Settings ticked because I definitely want to know when someone I follow has something to say.
However, I'd love to know what you do and think. Have you built a WAU following *organically* or maybe based on actual interaction in chat? Is it *follow me, follow back* or are you seeing follows as a numbers = ranking tool? Do you ever sneak a peek at a follower's ratios or wonder why someone has decided to follow you?
So, are you *followed* at WAU or *following*?
I'd love you to kiss-and-tell!
Rich. x
Photos © Tomasz Trojanowski, used with kind permission. Legs by Sam, styled by @That Helpful Lab Rat. Ruby Slippers, on loan from the Vimini Cricket collection. Irreverence, @RICH.