Twitter Ratio and Why to Unfollow

The first twitter ratio you hit is around 3000 and it looks for about a 1.0 where your followers and the people you follow are accounted for. They don't want you to follow 100,000 people to try and increase your followers which would defeat their organic ranking.

Your TFF Ratio (Twitter Follower-Friend Ratio) is the ratio of your followers to friends (or people who you follow). The higher the ratio, the more Twitter heat you pack.

• A ratio of less than 1.0 indicates that you are seeking knowledge (and Twitter Friends), but not getting much Twitter Love in return. Check your pulse, you might be a bot.
• A ratio of around 1.0 means you are respected among your peers. Many people think that a ratio of around 1.0 is the best - you're listening and being listened to.
• A ratio of 2.0 or above shows that you are a popular person and people want to hear what you have to say. You might be a thought leader in your community.
• A TFF Ratio 10 or higher indicates that you're either a Rock Star in your field or you are an elitist and you cannot be bothered by Twitter's mindless chatter. You like to hear yourself talk. Luckily others like to hear you talk, too

Twitter even has a special section for unfollowing.

Why would I want to unfollow someone?

• Typically, users unfollow other users when they no longer wish to see that person's Tweets in their home timeline. You can still view them on an as-needed basis by visiting their profile, unless their Tweets are protected.
• If you are unfollowing a user because their updates seem like spam, please read our guidelines on reporting spam on Twitter.

Isn't there a better way?

Services like Just Unfollow are great for reducing inactive followers and I can see the ratio being a major impact in the future when Ads are implemented in a much more prominent way.

The Scoop from Fast Company

I don't monitor my unfollows, so I don't unfollow people who unfollow me on Twitter--and probably wouldn't even if I knew they'd hit the unfollow button. I follow people because I find their tweets interesting or educational, not because I want them to follow me back and rack up my follower count.

Here are four I've tried [to let me know when people unfollow me], so I know they are reliable:
* Followerwonk
* Who Unfollowed Me
* Qwitter
* NutshellMail

That said, I suspect many people on Twitter who "unfollow back" did not want to out themselves to me in public, and that there are a many Tweeters who, as you have observed, engage in that practice.

I don't "courtesy follow" anyone, but I can imagine professional circumstances in which it's more awkward to not follow someone back--like a colleague, or a business contact--than it is to just follow them back out of politeness.

I can easily see this impacting the future of social media even more than it does now. The ratio will impact the need for ads and how competitive your specific industry is on Twitter.