[benihana]

>I don't get why people beg for followers at the end of their blog posts.

You don't understand why people promote themselves? You made it to the end of the blog post, which likely indicates that you enjoyed the content. Why wouldn't he say "hey follow me on twitter so that if I write another post that doesn't make it to HN front page, you can hear about it," to try to get some extra followers? Would you prefer he ask you to follow him at the beginning of the post?

[dhconnelly]

There's a huge "Follow so-and-so" Twitter button immediately following the writing, so I'm pretty sure that the corny self-promotion didn't need to be part of the article itself. I read lots of articles where this happens, and it's always jarring.

[pjscott]

I'm about as aware of those buttons as I am of individual grasshoppers in tall grass during summer, i.e. not very. They're everywhere, and I hardly ever want to press them. See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banner_blindness

[robryan]

The suggestion text has been shown to work better than just placing a button. Building up your personal brand can be worth a lot in the long run, so why not?

[michaelgrafl]

I don't like being manipulated. Every time I see a "You should follow me on Twitter" kinda thing I make it a point to not follow the author, or maybe even unfollow them.

Holding your readership in higher regards than a meaningless metric can be worth a lot in the long run, too.

[ashray]

Manipulated ? He just said in other words - "Hey follow me on twitter if you want to stay updated". Is that manipulation according to you ?

I actually looked for the twitter button on his site so that I could follow him - since I did enjoy the post and would like to see more from him. Didn't feel manipulated though.

[Qualman]

I think the idea is that, if I like what he has to say, I'll just do it. He doesn't have to ask, and doing so _inside_ the post shifts the whole thing from inspirational anecdote, to well-written justification of why you should follow his Twitter.

[michaelgrafl]

I agree. It devalues the article because it becomes part of an agenda instead of standing on its own.

[michaelgrafl]

Fair enough.

The way he embedded the suggestion seemed contrived and inorganic to me. If some one puts a link to their Twitter account beneath a post, I know what to do if I want to follow them because of their output.

If I have confidence in my output I will trust my audience to find the right degree of involvement they want to have with me. No need to push it. Maybe I'm weird that way, but I think the OP knew exactly what he was doing, and stuff like that rubs me the wrong way because I find it undignified, harshly put.