Klout, the controversial service that claims to be able to measure our influence, say that their algorithm has become more accurate, since I ditched the service last year. Like many users, I was amazed how inaccurate Klout scores were and asked for my account to be deleted.
Today, there are well qualified people being refused jobs because their Klout score is too low. That’s how highly some people regard a persons Klout score. It’s also claimed in Wired Magazine that some airlines are offering free upgrades to Klout users with high scores and restaurants are offering better service.
I needed to know if these Klout-based decisions stack up now or of Klout is still as unreliable and easy to fool as it was when I last used it.
So, I had an idea…
I decided to set up a Klout account today, to see what my Klout score will be by simply connecting it to my active social networking accounts and using them as normal – Rather than playing the Klout game.
In other words, I want to find out what Klout score I will get, with me refusing to use Twitter, Google+ and Facebook the way Klout suggest users should, which is pretty much to use social networks non-stop, never stray off-topic and to tweet about Klout every time their pop-up boxes tell me to!
My Klout score on day one of the experiment is (drum roll please) 10 out of 100!
Klout V Clout
A common belief is that Klout is easily fooled into giving influential status, to people who have no real world clout or influence, so long as they spend huge amounts of time doing what Klout says is important. This is why we see kids and long term unemployed people, who play with social networks all day, with a higher Klout score than self made millionaires and business leaders. I want to know if this is still true or if the boffins at Klout have managed to tweak their service, so that it now knows the difference between someone with zero influence who RT’s links non-stop on Twitter and someone with real influence. I recall a year or so ago that Bill Gates had a lower Klout score, than the unemployed son of a friend of mine!
I have no idea how Klout will score me over the coming months. For those of you who don’t know me, here are some of my influence metrics, so you can get a handle on how they might score me:
- This blog was mentioned in The Guardian newspaper recently, for being the most influential marketing blog in the UK and the second most influential UK blog.
- My work is read by over 100,000 people a week (often a lot more).
- My Google+ account is in the top 1%, with over 13,100 people circling me.
- My Twitter account has around 6,500 followers, including Robert Scoble, Mitch Joel, Brand Republic and the Editor in Chief of Mashable, Lance Ulanoff. (Apparently, Klout takes the influence of those who follow us into account.)
I will keep you updated regarding my progress. It will certainly be interesting to see how Klout decide to score me; as someone with some real world influence, who isn’t trying to game their algorithm!