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Social Business: What do you think about Klout? #socbiz #ls11 #ibm #ibmpartner

There are huge debates on the value of Klout.  (Don’t know what it is ?  Go to Klout.com and check it out!) Klout currently tracks a user’s Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and Foursquare activity. It is reportedly looking at Google+ integration!!

My Klout score to date is 61. 

I have been reading about it for a while.  

From the Klout blog: “We think you are influential. Klout isn’t about figuring out who is on the ‘A-list.’ We believe that every person who creates content has influence. Our mission is to help every individual understand and leverage their influence.”

Do you use Klout?  I have noticed some putting their Klout score on their business card (which is interesting as it changes weekly for me!)

Let me hear from you!   Sandy

4 Comments

  1. Jeremy Victor (@jeremyvictor)

    Sandy,

    As much as it seems on the surface that Klout should be ignored because of its minimization of our lives to a number, for those of us involved in social business, social media, and content marketing, it is a mistake to not believe it has meaning in our world today.

    I had several occasions where I’ve been surprised by the way Klout is being viewed and used in decision making. One recent example was being in a conversation with a president of a custom content publishing company, he mentioned that one of his advertisers had noticed that his chief editors had a “low” Klout score.

    Times they are changing, and Klout is just another example of that.

    • Sandy Carter

      Yes, I agree. Do you only hear about Klout or other scores as well?

      I just saw it on a business card this weekend. Things are a changing!

  2. Kevin Green (@KevinMGreen)

    Hi Sandy,

    Klout alone should not be used as a benchmark of influence. While it certainly provides a valuable snap shot, the Klout score is mostly definied by actions and reactions. These do not indicate influence. The best example is Charlie Sheen having a Klout score of over 80 24 hours after he started his Twitter account. He had only tweeted 12 times. However, because the rush of followers he gained (solely for the purpose of watching the train wreck) his Klout score went through the roof. Is that influence?

    Some say that it is because the #winning hashtag was everywhere for a few weeks, but what was truly influenced? Did it add value or have an impact on an individual?

    Klout has made significant strides recently with the addition of +K as a peer validated influence metric, but we’re still a long way away from having any tool that we should consistently rely on for measuring/defining metrics.

    My biggest concern with circulating numeric scores is the overwhleming desire to get the “high score” by increasing activity rather than increasing value.

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