So yesterday a few people asked me to write about this - so I am. I want to make it clear that I am not utilizing my soapbox to slam a company, especially a startup. I'm not that kind of writer. I believe that in certain cases Klout is spot on. However, in their last format I have severely disagreed with what I have seen - not only for my results but for others. So I started asking around with colleagues about their experience and oddities they have noticied. The below is a reflection of many of those findings and experiences.
Moving forward, and to the point of the title, I have recently realized that Klout is not for me. It appears as though there are several other people I respect that agree with me as well (one fine example: @LizStrauss in her article from the 5th "Klout, My Story and Why Opting Out Was My Only Choice".) Similar to Liz, I went through a lot of the same emotions while I stuck with it, hoping that it would eventually pan out.
HE WHO IS NEW
... until one day a friend of mine signed up to twitter for the first time and his Klout score was higher than mine after the second day. With 4 followers, 2 tweets 2 replies and one retweet I'm sure he had risen to a very high level of influence. Of course why wouldn't he be far greater in the eyes of Klout judgement than the 6000 tweets I have made since 2007.
Why ? It was something Klout called "The Equality of Networks" as cited in their November blog post. Apparently, the reason my friend had a higher score was because he ...
- attached all of his networks. Most people that I asked said that whenever they attached a new network, even ones they were not utilizing for brand growth and simply as placeholders, their score went up. As many of my readers know, I don't use Facebook (another story for another time) and apparently I have taken a hit because of it.
- had only a few friends on Facebook, and they were all highly influential themselves.
So ... long story short I created a fake twitter account and a face Facebook account as a test. In about two weeks (from purposefully gaming the rules of the system) it soon rose to a higher prominence in a short amount of time as well.
PERHAPS. AND OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
What I am about to say may not be entirely true but please be aware that I have tried my best to research in order to turn a hypothesis into a statement.
- Perhaps ... CONSISTENCY REIGNS SUPREME. If you miss a single day tweeting or heaven forbid a weekend, you are going to drop significantly. The reason is, just like in High School if you missed a test, you got a ZERO for that day (unless of course people are talking about you while you are not in the room ... a likely possibility for many). I checked a twitter account that merely streamed tech news through an aggregator looped through Yahoo pipes and it was in the 50's. How influential is that ?
- Perhaps ... YOU MUST BE AWESOME RIGHT NOW. I believe there is a window that gets measured. Picture a timeline in your mind ... If this window was to read left to right, every day that it moves to the right a piece of your awesome gets forgotten about on the left. What I once was, is no matter to what is.
- Perhaps ... THERE IS A +K "KULTURE". I noticed that many people who were giving out +Ks were for people who gave them a +K. Perhaps I didn't jump in and start drinking the coolaid ... because it seemed as though +K's mattered for how "influential" you are. Which is entirely wrong. Also of note: prior to deleting my account I was influential on the topic of "Bedroom." While this is certainly true, but not accurate to my public brand.
- Perhaps ... YOUR PLAYGROUND NEED ONLY BE ROCKSTARS. I try to follow a lot of people back. I don't get to everyone. However, I have noticed that some of the algorithm favors those who only follow a limited amount of people with high influence. A further addition of the "kulture". A marketing tool to be envious of.
IN CLOSING. I CLOSED IT.
So, therefore I believe it is not an accurate representation ... for now. If I see a turnaround perhaps I will give it another shot. PeerIndex does seem to have it down more accurately. However, don't make the mistake of comparing PeerIndex scores to Klout scores as they are Kapples to Poranges.
Above you will find a small picture on where to delete your account. It is rather difficult, and in an obscure location. (I'm sure that was an overlooked accident) OF COURSE "Use of Data" is the place everyone thinks to go to ...
