Do you have Klout?

Have you ever wondered if what you say online really matters to anyone? So did Joe Fernandez, the founder of Klout.com. Klout is awebsite that measures influence of users on a smattering of social media networks such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and blogging platforms. Many people have taken to regularly checking their Klout score, which is updated daily, and the website has become the standard for measuring the online importance of individuals and businesses. The score is on a scale from 1 to 100 and takes into consideration your True Reach, Amplification, and Network Impact. (Fun fact: the only person with a score of 100 is Justin Beiber.) The idea of Klout is a great one, although unoriginal. Anyone who has ever taken a standardized test like the SAT or has gone through the college admissions process in the last two decades may recognize that. Klout is exactly the same thing: it allows for the direct comparison of individuals and businesses using social media. And this is why Klout matters.

I will hesitantly admit that I’ve been stalking my own Klout score and working to improve it and solidify the topics I am influential about for quite some time now. I have done this though reaching out to people both within and outside of my network of influence. I pushed myself to initiate online conversations with people who are influencers of certain topics (for me, that means talking to foodies and chefs). Along the way I have hoped that this skill of reaching out to influencers would translate to the real, physical world, which I think it has as I have been testing it out during networking opportunities.

Klout users felt the world shake under them and begin to crumble two days ago when Klout announced that they changed their algorithm for calculating scores in an effort to take a big “step forward in accuracy, transparency and…technology”. Many users saw a huge drop in their scores although Klout claimed, “A majority of users will see their Scores stay the same or go up but some users will see a drop.” In response, uproar ensued and the #OccupyKlout trend took off all over the web.

With these changes several questions arise. Are these changes really an improvement? Do the changes matter? Is there importance placed on Klout scores professionally? Are those people who are upset about their Klout score dropping simply suffering a blow to their egos? Are you actually influential online and can that be measured with a number? Just as the social media industry is now doing, I’ll leave those questions for you to grapple with.

Here’s what Klout has to say about their changes: http://corp.klout.com/blog/2011/10/a-new-era-for-klout-scores/ and http://corp.klout.com/blog/2011/10/a-more-accurate-transparent-klout-score/.