"friends" might be more suitable, and it is, but probably not all "followers" are your friends either,

Yeah, "friends" sounds too "close" as while I do know many people who are following me (even in real life), the majority are "observers" and can't be called "friends"...

I like the term "reader"... I have a similar issue with the show that I'm running in Ecency Discord on Wednesdays... It is again about the "terminology" and I don't like to use the term "audience" as in some way it sounds "too passive"... So, I like to use the term "participants" I try to involve them in discussion, and when they are active participants, they are not "just an audience"... It's very similar to the debate about "followers" (at least in my head... lol...)