diff --git a/contrib/buzz/simple_wrapper.py b/contrib/buzz/simple_wrapper.py
index eb12f85..7689a28 100644
--- a/contrib/buzz/simple_wrapper.py
+++ b/contrib/buzz/simple_wrapper.py
@@ -12,14 +12,14 @@
   "Simple client that exposes the bare minimum set of common Buzz operations"
 
   def __init__(self, api_key=None, credentials=None):
+    self.http = httplib2.Http()
     if credentials:
       logging.debug('Using api_client with credentials')
-      http = httplib2.Http()
-      http = credentials.authorize(http)
-      self.api_client = apiclient.discovery.build('buzz', 'v1', http=http, developerKey=api_key)
+      self.http = credentials.authorize(self.http)
+      self.api_client = apiclient.discovery.build('buzz', 'v1', http=self.http, developerKey=api_key)
     else:
       logging.debug('Using api_client that doesn\'t have credentials')
-      self.api_client = apiclient.discovery.build('buzz', 'v1', developerKey=api_key)
+      self.api_client = apiclient.discovery.build('buzz', 'v1', http=self.http, developerKey=api_key)
 
   def search(self, query, user_token=None, max_results=10):
     if query is None or query.strip() is '':
@@ -52,3 +52,19 @@
   def get_profile(self, user_id='@me'):
     user_profile_data = self.api_client.people().get(userId=user_id).execute()
     return user_profile_data
+  
+  def get_follower_count(self, user_id='@me'):
+    return self.__get_group_count(user_id, '@followers')
+  
+  def get_following_count(self, user_id='@me'):
+    return self.__get_group_count(user_id, '@following')
+
+  def __get_group_count(self, user_id, group_id):
+    # Fetching 0 results is a performance optimisation that minimises the 
+    # amount of data that's getting retrieved from the server
+    cmd = self.api_client.people().list(userId=user_id, groupId=group_id,
+                                        max_results=0)
+    members = cmd.execute()
+    if 'totalResults' not in members.keys():
+      return -1
+    return members['totalResults']
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/contrib_tests/buzz/test_simple_wrapper.py b/contrib_tests/buzz/test_simple_wrapper.py
index 505dfee..15060c0 100644
--- a/contrib_tests/buzz/test_simple_wrapper.py
+++ b/contrib_tests/buzz/test_simple_wrapper.py
@@ -41,6 +41,24 @@
   def test_wrapper_rejects_search_with_none(self):
     wrapper = SimpleWrapper()
     self.assertEquals(None, wrapper.search(None))
+  
+  def test_wrapper_returns_minus_one_for_hidden_follower_count(self):
+    wrapper = SimpleWrapper()
+    self.assertEquals(-1, wrapper.get_follower_count(user_id='108242092577082601423'))
+  
+  def test_wrapper_returns_positive_value_for_visible_follower_count(self):
+    wrapper = SimpleWrapper()
+    count = wrapper.get_follower_count(user_id='googlebuzz')
+    self.assertTrue(count > 0, "Got %s instead" % count)
+    
+  def test_wrapper_returns_minus_one_for_hidden_following_count(self):
+    wrapper = SimpleWrapper()
+    self.assertEquals(-1, wrapper.get_following_count(user_id='108242092577082601423'))
+
+  def test_wrapper_returns_positive_value_for_visible_following_count(self):
+    wrapper = SimpleWrapper()
+    count = wrapper.get_following_count(user_id='googlebuzz')
+    self.assertTrue(count > 0, "Got %s instead" % count)
 
 class SimpleWrapperRemoteTest(unittest.TestCase):
   # These tests make remote calls
@@ -88,5 +106,13 @@
     self.assertTrue(url is not None)
     self.assertTrue(url.startswith('http://www.google.com/buzz/'))
 
+  def test_wrapper_returns_positive_value_for_hidden_follower_count_when_authorised(self):
+    count = self.wrapper.get_follower_count(user_id='108242092577082601423')
+    self.assertTrue(count > 0, "Got %s instead" % count)
+
+  def test_wrapper_returns_positive_value_for_hidden_following_count_when_authorised(self):
+    count = self.wrapper.get_following_count(user_id='108242092577082601423')
+    self.assertTrue(count > 0, "Got %s instead" % count)
+
 if __name__ == '__main__':
   unittest.main()
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/functional_tests/test_services.py b/functional_tests/test_services.py
index 37a005e..da4672a 100644
--- a/functional_tests/test_services.py
+++ b/functional_tests/test_services.py
@@ -123,19 +123,19 @@
     buzz = build('buzz', 'v1')
 
     # Restricting max_results to 1 means only a tiny amount of data comes back but the totalResults still has the total.
-    following = buzz.people().list(userId='googlebuzz', groupId='@followers',
+    followers = buzz.people().list(userId='googlebuzz', groupId='@followers',
                                    max_results='1').execute()
 
     # @googlebuzz has a large but fluctuating number of followers
     # It is sufficient if the result is bigger than 10, 000
-    follower_count = following['totalResults']
+    follower_count = followers['totalResults']
     self.assertTrue(follower_count > 10000, follower_count)
 
   def test_follower_count_is_missing_for_user_with_hidden_follower_count(self):
     buzz = build('buzz', 'v1')
-    following = buzz.people().list(userId='adewale', groupId='@followers').execute()
+    followers = buzz.people().list(userId='adewale', groupId='@followers').execute()
 
-    self.assertFalse('totalResults' in following)
+    self.assertFalse('totalResults' in followers)
 
 
 class BuzzAuthenticatedFunctionalTest(unittest.TestCase):