Neynar

>> best predictor of quality is "who likes your stuff"

this is very true

_who_ liked your cast is the top heuristic we use to clean up our Trending Feed API and it works most of the time 🪐

docs.neynar.com/reference/feed-trending

If you think in terms of Google PageRank, replies and likes, not follows, are the equivalent of links.

Follows = stated preference
Replies and Likes = revealed preference

Very true and good observation. Some people seem to follow compulsorily and live unresponsive like ghosts. 

Hopefully your new solutions and Power Badge will overcome this situation as much as possible.