I have been going through the algorithm on Git Hub to see what sort of things effect your posts on X. There is a system called Tweepcred that is defined as:
“Tweepcred is a social network analysis tool that calculates the influence of Twitter users based on their interactions with other users. The tool uses the PageRank algorithm to rank users based on their influence”
So Tweepcred will rank users based on sort of a pagerank algorithm similar to what google uses when you search for something. You are assigned a page rank score which represents your influence in the network.
Things that hurt Tweepcred for new users
New users are put at a disadvantage based on the weighted score given to account age by the algorithm. Some things you can do is gain followers quickly by making replies and using lists as we discussed in our previous posts. You want to make sure your following to follower ratio is not negative. What this means is you need to maintain more followers than accounts you are following, but this is difficult when you are first starting your account. Having a negative ratio can impact your tweepcred which will deboost your account. You can see below some key components of the calculation:
Using the Code above we can begin to understand the friend/follower ratio on X and why it matters.
The friend/follower ratio is calculated by dividing the number of people you follow by the number of people who follow you. For example, if you follow 100 people and 50 people follow you back, your ratio is 100 divided by 50, which equals 2. This means you have 2 friends for every follower. But platforms like X tweak this formula a bit so it works even if someone has no followers or friends. They add 1 to both the number of friends and followers to avoid any errors in the calculation.
This ratio tells a lot about how a person uses their account. If your ratio is high, it might mean you follow a lot of people, but not many follow you back. This could look suspicious or spammy. On the other hand, if your ratio is low, it means more people follow you compared to the number you follow. This is often a sign that people find you interesting or influential.
What does X do with this Code?
X uses this ratio to calculate something called a user mass score, which is a way to measure how trustworthy and active an account is. If someone follows more than 500 accounts or has a friend/follower ratio above 0.6, it might lower their score. This is because following too many people without gaining followers back can look like spam behavior. To adjust for this, X reduces the scores of accounts with high ratios, especially if the number is way above normal.
Why does this matter? Well, it helps X figure out which accounts are real and which might be fake or spammy. People who follow tons of accounts but don’t have many followers often don’t engage much or post useful content. By focusing on this ratio, X encourages users to interact meaningfully and build genuine connections. It’s a way to make sure the platform stays useful and enjoyable for everyone.
Focus on the Friend/Follower Ratio
If you want to improve your friend/follower ratio, there are some simple things you can do. Start by focusing on quality over quantity. Instead of following tons of random accounts, follow people who share your interests. Post content that your followers will find interesting and useful. Engaging with your audience by replying to comments and sharing thoughtful posts can also help attract more followers. Use the reply guy strategy that we discussed in a previous post. You can also use the list method to quickly reply to relevant accounts. I will post links to those articles below.
The friend/follower ratio is just one of the tools X uses to measure account activity, but it’s an important one. It helps keep the platform balanced by promoting real engagement and discouraging spammy behavior. By understanding and improving your ratio, you can build a better reputation and stronger connections on X.
Just One Component of TweepCred
This is just one component of the overall TweepCred score given to your account. In this series about how to make money on X. We will look at the other components that effect tweepcred. As you grow your account, you will want to do everything you can to maximize your reach. This will help you make more money faster, but it isn’t a sprint, it is a marathon. There are no shortcuts that haven’t been tried and found out. Click the buttons below to see our other two posts within this series.
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