It is a useful metric for the plumbing, but measuring people based on how many ppl follow them has a yuck vibe.
Hiding from the main UI could be a great improvement worth testing.
You can still burr...
I think follower counts have their merits, but I see the problems with it. A good replacement for a general follower count could be "number of followers that I follow too." That is not as easy to game and is way more meaningful than just random people following someone.