I certainly would not argue that there is explicit value in knowing delta Twitter followers, and wasn't what I was suggesting. If you're trying to retrofit causation to a clutch of assorted metrics you happen to have lying about I totally agree you're going to come up with some misleading conclusions.
What I would say, however, is taken as one - albeit low weighted - input into a system (my brain) that might x-ref against some other indicators of different significance might lead to the conclusion "there's unusual activity afoot". The # of Twitter followers doesn't tell you much about what's happening but might indicate that something is happening.
What I would say, however, is taken as one - albeit low weighted - input into a system (my brain) that might x-ref against some other indicators of different significance might lead to the conclusion "there's unusual activity afoot". The # of Twitter followers doesn't tell you much about what's happening but might indicate that something is happening.