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Missing Followers - September 2009 - The Good News, And The Bad News

Just recently, we see in Blogger Help Forum many anguished queries
Where are my Followers?
or conversely,
Where are the blogs that I'm Following? / Why is my Reading List empty?


We had this problem earlier this month, and that problem was later fixed. Now, it's back again.

Looking at the posts in Blogger Help Forum - and the comments made to my earlier post Missing Followers - September 2009, and taking each blog URL provided, I have looked at each blog. To a blog, I see the Followers gadget, and contents, with no problem. And Blogger Support, having done the same, sees the Followers too.

In other words, there is good news, and there is bad news here.
  1. If you are not seeing Followers on your blog, nor on my blog, do not be despondent. Chances are, many of your readers - and Followers - see your Followers just fine. That's the good news.
  2. If you are seeing the Followers on your blog, and think that you aren't involved, don't be complacent. Chances are, somebody reading your blog, and contemplating Following it, sees no Followers, and / or no link to Follow your blog. That's the bad news.


This problem is plainly common to the blog readers, not just to the blog owners.

If you have access to a second computer, or even a second browser, you may regain access to your Followers that way. If you have no second browser or computer, try clearing cache and cookies. Remember the side effects from doing that, however.

If either of the latter suggestions help, that's good news and bad news, again. You'll have access to your Followers - but some of your readers, who are probably in the same situation as you, won't see your Followers, and won't know to try either solution.

Blogger Support needs to solve the problem, if we're going to get on with our lives.

Help us, and help yourself, if you're seeing this problem, or if you know anybody or are getting a report from somebody with the problem.
  • Do you not see Followers on just one blog, not on many blogs, or not on all blogs that you examine? Can you not see Followers on my blog, for instance?
  • When you do not see the Followers on your blog, or on my blog, are you logged in to Following from your blog, and / or from my blog? Does your Followers gadget (the place where a Followers gadget should be) contain a "Sign in to Following" ("Sign out", alternately), or is it completely blank?
  • What is unique about you, that might explain you having this problem? Where are you located? What Internet service do you have ("cable", dial up, DSL, "satellite")? What operating system, what browser? What security software? Any of these details could be relevant here.


(Update 4/24): This problem is stated to be resolved. A more authoritative citation will be provided, when available.

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Comments

Carl Paolo said…
omg that s 0 cks
Anonymous said…
I guess since I removed the Following widget on all my blogs, and most often just copy the link into my Dashboard, I do not feel affected by this. I have tried directing some at the forum to links that may help them. I have started looking at some of the blogs and I do not see their Follow gadgets, but for its title. Even here, I see the blank space. I use Linux and Firefox 3.5.3.
Melissa ;-) said…
Yesterday I first had this problem while at work and on IE (only security is that which came with Windows). I could not see followers in anyone's blog, logged in or not. I saw the box and the word Followers in gray, but it was not clickable. At home I still had the problem in Firefox (different internet provider, AVG and Spybot). I completely erased all history at home and all cookies and now everthing is fine both at home and at work.
Anne Lorys said…
I am not seeing followers on my blog, your blog, or on any other blog I have visited in the past two days.
Can you make this part a bit clearer?

"are you logged in to Following from your blog, and / or from my blog? Does your Followers gadget (the place where a Followers gadget should be) contain a "Sign in to Following" ("Sign out", alternately), or is it completely blank?"

I am located in Texas.
Windstream DSL.
Windows XP, IE 8.
Norton Security.

Should I consider switching to typepad, or do they experience the same recurrent bugs as blogger?
@eloh said…
I don't see mine, yours or on any of the many blogs I have visited in the last two days.

Is there something that I am supposed to do to correct this problem for myself?

When it happened a couple months ago, it seemed to resolve itself.

I've been doing a blog of the week and put this blog address up there so other people that may not know about this site can find you.
Quilt Works said…
Hello! I posted a detailed post earlier with asnwers to a long list of questions I found in one of your posts.
I have an update. Eearlier this morning all my followers were gone in both internet explore and mozilla. But at this moment in time Mozilla *is* showing followers. If you have changed anything, this might be a good clue. As of this moment I see followers in my 2 blogs as well as in your blog using Mozilla, and I see no followers in my blog and anyone else's blog using IE.
I am using internet explore (8.0.6001.18702) and mozilla (3.0.12). I am using Windows XP

* What security software? Any of these details could be relevant here.
I am using Semantic Client Firewall and Spybot for removing cookies, but I have used them for a while and followers used to work with both of them in play.
Hunter said…
Definitely having this problem for the last couple of days.

I don't see my followers. I don't see followers on other blogs (or the 'follow' buttons). This is also true for your blog.

That being said, clearly some people aren't having this issue, as I continue to pick up new followers. I can see the number in my dashboard but can't access who these new people actually are.

I'm in Orlando, FL. Currently using IE on a Windows PC. I could see my followers this morning in Firefox on my mac.
Hunter said…
As a follow up to my earlier comment, I am not able to see anything in Firefox on my mac either.
I cannot see my followers either in the widget (the widget is there it says FOLLOWERS but it's just an empty box now) or from the Dashboard (although the Dashboard says that I have 4 followers).
I cannot see the followers on other peoples blogs either.
I am using IE7 and AT&T and Windows XP.

I'm new at blogging, so I would appreciate any information on this!
mizdarlin said…
I clear my cache and cookies every day, religiously-that is not the problem-I cannot upload the Followers gadget, never have been able to-i have checked to 'see' it on other computers, it is not there!
I don't know why I have never been able to download it-the gadget 'acts' as if it is working, but nothing shows on my blog..at least not today..usually I get a weird box that eithe says that IE can't 'find' it or an empty box with nothing, as if it were transparent..It definitely is a drag, and I try almost daily to get it loaded onto my blog, but it ain't happening!
now you are telling folks that it might actually be there, but they can't see it on their own blogs...what does that mean for those of us who have never seen it? Has it been there the whole time, and the people who e-mail me and tell me they want to but can't because there is no place on my blog to do it-are they not 'seeing' it either?
Isaac Gradman said…
I have cleared cookies and my cache and still see no followers of my blog. Yet, I still get emails saying new people are following me. But, I've never been able to access the list of my followers. And my dashboard says I'm the only follower I have. Please help!

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