I always had an issue with the "follower" terminology too. My first thought (before reading your post), was also that "friends" might be more suitable, and it is, but probably not all "followers" are your friends either, even in the broader online sense.

I sometimes refer to "readers" in my posts (and I find myself in this category often), which is broader than "followers" but reflects more accurately people who take an interest in your content, at least tangentially. Of course, from them, the ones that are the most important are those with whom you have two-way communication, and so we exchange opinions and maybe influence each other because there is no absolute truth that one or another holds. I understand not everyone has time to comment, thus I include in this category people who express their appreciation of the content through upvotes.

Congrats on reaching 1200 friends and for growing their number faster lately!