Seems intuitive, though interesting to see some actual data. I'd love to know how much the author's "real followers" increased after the artificial boost. This

Seems intuitive, though interesting to see some actual data. I'd love to know how much the author's "real followers" increased after the artificial boost. This reminds my of Gary Becker's paper[1] which notes "demand by a typical consumer is positively related to quantities demanded by other consumers" as an explanation of why restaurants don't raise prices when demand is higher than supply (e.g, maintaining inertia for a 'hot' restaurant). In this context, it would appear the more popular someone appears, if only superficially, the more popular he is likely to become. [1] http://www.unc.edu/~fbaum/teaching/PLSC541_Fall06/Becker%20JPE%201991.pdf http://www.unc.edu/~fbaum/teaching/PLSC541_Fall06/Becker%20J...