How did you know about those to follow in the first place? They are known because 1) they care to publish their opinion, and 2) they tell others about their wo

How did you know about those to follow in the first place? They are known because 1) they care to publish their opinion, and 2) they tell others about their work. 2) is also known as marketing, a.k.a. advertising. We're often told it isn't enough to do good work to advance our career, we have to tell others about it as well. How well you present your story has big impact on how far reached and well received your work can be. Bottom line is, you are influenced by marketing/advertising, whether you want to admit it or not. You following someone is for sure not solely because of the quality of their work.