It's All Virtual

Introduction

In a widely read (and shared) piece in Wired titled “What Your Klout Score Really Means,” Seth Stevenson describes Klout as “a service that purports to measure users’ online influence on a scale from 1 to 100.”

The most talked-about aspect of Stevenson’s article is the story of how Sam Fiorella was turned down for a VP position (at a marketing agency) because his Klout score was too low. Fiorella’s score, at the time, was 34 and the job was given to someone with a score of 67.

My Views on Klout.

Opinions on Klout seem to be at two extremes: either you love it or you hate it. I find myself in the middle: I find that “metrics” (like a Klout score) are useful for comparing things against a standard of measure, but I wonder whether aspects of Klout’s measurement “algorithm” are completely valid (add to that the fact that the algorithm itself is clouded in some secrecy).

Previously, I shared my thoughts on the changes Klout made to its scoring model.

Get More Klout, If You Want To.

OK, so here’s the piece in the article that no one is talking about. Stevenson spoke to Klout product director Chris Makarsky and asked him how he could boost his Klout score. If you care about your Klout score, check out these tips:

1. Improve the cadence of your tweets – that is, tweet a lot more.
2. Concentrate on one topic, instead of spreading yourself thin.
3. Establish “relationships with high-Klout people,” as a way to extend your influence.
4. Keep things upbeat. “We find that positive sentiment drives more action than negative,” said Makarsky.

So there you have it. I’d be interested in your take on Klout. Does Klout score matter to you?

Related Links

1. The author, Seth Stevenson on Twitter (@stevensonseth).
2. Sam Fiorella on Twitter (@samfiorella).
3. My profile on Klout. I was at 59 before their scoring change and currently stand at 51.

Other Tips to Get More Klout

1. Mashable: 7 Surefire Ways to Increase Your Klout Score.
2. Ask Aaaron Lee: 6 Unofficial Ways to Increase Your Klout Score 
3. Inc.com: The Right Way to Increase Your Klout Score

Note: I invite you to connect with me on Google+.

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 5th, 2012 at 7:04 AM and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.