Why Klout sucks but doesn’t have to

November 8, 2011 in Entrepreneurship with 11 Comments

Klout sucks (as a scoring system, not as a company) for a few reasons but the primary reason that it sucks is that my score, as of writing, is 56 and Warren Buffett‘s score is 39; which is ridiculous from every viewpoint. In my view, that’s reason enough to question Klout but I’ll support my comment with additional reasons, and would love your feedback. There’s no way anyone would believe that I’m more influential than Warren Buffett on anything, ever – and if they did make that claim, I would dispute it with vigor.

Warren Buffet on Klout



 

Klout claims to be “The Standard of Influence”. If they revised their claim to “The Standard of Influence for people who spend lots of time on the web” then I would be OK with this. I think it’s relatively easy for Klout to correct this problem. One simple tactic that would go a long way toward correcting this problem is to pull in all the articles either written by or about Buffett to include in the calculation. With this simple effort, Buffett would skyrocket and I would plummet and this would be more representative of true influence.

Want a second reason why I think Klout sucks? My score increased by 20% over the weekend a few months back. I didn’t do anything nor did others say much about me that would have justified this huge increase in my influence. Klout didn’t make any announces with regard to an algorithm change or anything else. I emailed them to ask why this happened but they didn’t reply. Again, I’m talking about a jump, not a drop, but realized that it was ridiculous and unfounded.

Why should I even care about this? Klout didn’t do anything to me and I have met and like the guys. I care because business people are making decisions that are based on this score and it’s frankly not that important, yet. Now, I will admit that sometimes it works well, but not always.

The last reason that I’ll mention is how they pull in some of the social networks – check this out. Most “serious and influential” bloggers (whatever that means) likely use the installed version of a platform (certainly in the case of WordPress) as compared with the online version (it’s an SEO thing). Klout scores those using the online version but not the installed version such that users of the online version receive influence but the installed version users do not. Who cares? Well, if Klout is going to include a platform then they should make sure that they include the version that those who most likely have some higher influence (like Chris Brogan or Brian Clark) would tend to use. Again, not a huge deal but if people, likely mostly marketers but possibly hiring managers and others, are going to use Klout scores as a true representation then they should get this stuff right, or simply change their tag-line and claim.

Hey Jodee – perhaps you guys at PeopleBrowsr can pull in this other stuff to make Kred a more accurate representation that Klout. While you’re at it, try to include real-life stuff like events, talks, etc.

What do you guys think – I’m I full of crap? By the way, my score is apparently in the top couple percentage of all Klout scores so this isn’t from the viewpoint of sour grapes – it’s just about something that is pulling the wool over the eyes of many, and should be a conversation.

Thanks for reading, and for your comments.

Mike

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  • http://twitter.com/RipperP Phil Ripperger

    Good points Mike. My Klout score has experienced several similar and inexplicable changes over the past few months.  

    I had the opportunity to see Jodee’s presentation of Kred at Pivot a couple of weeks ago and really like their idea of incorporating people’s offline influence. In which case, the Oracle of Omaha would undoubtedly leave you in the dust!

  • http://www.wehelpyourock.com/ Mike Walsh

    thanks Phil – indeed, I think that’s a better approach and look forward to the day when I am left in Warren’s dust, where I belong :) .

  • http://asalesguy.com Keenan

    Spot on, 

    Klout’s entire mission should be nothing less than the most accurate representation of a person’s, reach, influence, credibility etc.  Anything short of that is a fail.  

    Love the idea of including mentions, articles written, talks, etc. 

    If someone gives a Tedtalk that deserves some serious Klout. My gut is telling me that is not captured or weighted currently.  

    I have faith in your “yet” statement!  We’ll see!

  • http://www.wehelpyourock.com/ Mike Walsh

    Thanks for your comment Keenan. I think they’ll incorporate that stuff and then it will become really valuable to individuals and companies.

  • Anonymous

    Mike – I think your overarching point is a good one although I’d frame it less as Klout sucking and more about how it’s measure of influence is very narrow (something you point out in your post). I too have wondered how someone like you (or me) could have more influence than Warren Buffet. Although interestingly, Justin Bieber (yup, that guy) has a Klout score of 100 and our president, @barackobama:twitter is an 88. So relatively speaking, they are holding their own.

    The way I like to think of Klout is one data point amongst dozens that help sort out who is effectively moving conversations online. Unfortunately, what tools like Klout don’t cover are offline conversations, media coverage (to your other point) or private conversations.

    Either way, great post. Thanks for getting the juices flowing.

    Best,
    Aaron | @aaronstrout:twitter  

  • http://www.facebook.com/AndyDigital Andy Gonzalez

    Mike, 

    First of all I want to say

  • http://twitter.com/AndyViral Andy Gonzalez

    While I admit that we have no business having a higher score than Warren Buffett, for the most part, Klout gets it right. Klout is not only an indicator of influence but a measure of social existence and relevance. If Warren Buffett is not creating content, not sharing ideas and only influencing 308 people within his network, than he is socially (social media) nonexistent and deserving of his score by Klouts standards of measurement. In the end, that is want it’s all about…Satisfying Klouts standard of measurement.

    Thanks for the great article!

  • http://www.wehelpyourock.com/ Mike Walsh

    Andy – that’s exactly the point. Warren Buffett is affecting thousands, tens of thousands; but it’s not reflected because he’s not heavy on twitter, facebook or LinkedIn — he frankly has other things to do.

  • http://www.wehelpyourock.com/ Mike Walsh

    Aaron – excellent feedback! Yes, I try to point out that the algorithm sucks because it’s narrow, and that Klout, as a business; is something that I’m really impressed with. I’m also very impressed by the young entrepreneurs. When they get the algorithm right, it will be incredibly valuable because it will become a meaningful filter. I think it’s currently a decent filter within an echo-chamber, which is actually a bit dangerous, in my shitty little opinion. Thanks for your thoughtful comment buddy!

  • Guest

    Klout sucks…I have a facebook following of 100k fans. My youtube videos have views in the millions. I release albums and have sold over 5 million albums in 10 years. My twitter account is not that huge about 1,500 nor  is that old…started it a couple of months ago. And my Klout score was 39. Unbelievable…they are really off. 100% inaccurate. Friends of mine who are unknown have higher klout scores. So these guys are a total fraud.

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