Klout is an online company that seeks to measure a person’s influence online. It does this using a 1 – 100 point scale. Those who are more influential receive higher scores (Klout Website). However, is it possible to really measure a person’s influence online?
The Mechanics of Klout
A person can find out what their Klout score is by registering for free at www.Klout.com. Klout will then ask you to link your Facebook, Twitter, Google +, Youtube, Instagram, and an assortment of other social media sites to your Klout User Profile (Klout Website). The thought is that the more active you are on social media sites the more influential you are online.
Klout Topics
In addition to receiving an overall Klout score, a person can add Klout topics of influence. Topics may include interests such as marketing, fitness, or even style. Anyone on the internet can help a person acquire a higher ranking on each of these individual topics by giving them a +K (Klout Website). It acts similar to a Like on Facebook. The more +K’s a person receives, it is believed that the more influential they are on that particular topic.
Quantity over Quality
In essence, Klout is rewarding people who post a lot or receive mentions on sites like Facebook and Twitter. But does this really measure influence since Klout does not distinguish from the quality of the information disseminated by these individuals. After all, it is the frequency of postings and mentions that is at the heart of a person’s Klout score.
Klout obviously uses an algorithm to calculate a score. But, it is not clearly known what factors influence the score, and by how much. This is likely proprietary information and not something Klout is willing to share with the public. Such a practice is common and understandable given that Klout does not want to allow for similar companies to copy what they are doing. But, it does beg the ultimate question, can a company even quantify a person’s influence online by giving them a numerical score?
Reference
Klout Website. (2012). Retrieved from www.Klout.com.
Joshua Sutterfield