Qwitter plays on Twitterer's insecurities

A new service, called Qwitter, has debuted today, allowing users to find out when others stop following them on Twitter. From time to time, you are going to lose followers, whether it be because you have said something that your followers don't agree with, or because they no longer find your tweets relevant or interesting. Services like Facebook and Twitter intentionally don't expose the data for when someone de-friends or un-follows you because it can potentially be a sensitive issue. Qwitter is trying to tap into the "too curious for their own good" market.

After signing up for the service, when someone stops following you on Twitter, you will receive an email stating who stopped following and after which tweet. Qwitter's site gives the following example.

John Gruber (gruber) stopped following you on Twitter after you posted this tweet:

What's the difference between Arial and Helvetica?

Qwitter might satisfy some people's curiosity, but the knowledge that the person was not going to find out when you stop following them has been wiped away. You now have to be more conscious of your un-following habits.

[AndrewRich]

Quick, unfollow everyone who was on the bubble, before they get this.

[cvaldes1831]

Wow, if I only knew who had signed up for Qwitter, it might almost encourage me to use Twitter.

[Kathryn Jones--2008]

Sometimes I'm stymied by the obsession with who's following who. I absolutely Love twitter, I value it for the way it allows me to connect with people all over the world, for the vast amount of information I find there, from links to breaking news, and just because its plain old fun... but twitter is not the real world. While I do have significant relationships with a lot of the people I follow, a huge number of my twiends are people I don't really know at all, not in any truly meaningful sense. Controlled comments of a 140 characters or less do not an authentic relationship make. To choose to follow or unfollow someone is often more like choosing teams for a fifth grade kickball team than a relevant commentary on the value of a person's friendship.