Marie-Lynn Richard

Klout is a strange social network that claims to calculate your social reach. However, the way it works is dubious to me. Take into account this laughable pop-up that grants me a ‘Klout Addict’ achievement for accessing the site THREE (3) times! If this wasn’t funny, I would be insulted. Not only is this ‘achievement’ entirely self-serving for Klout, it’s completely ludicrous! I only access Klout to keep an eye on its continuing self-destruction. I have a Klout score of 42, which I have not dissected to understand why but it gives me access to a lot of ‘perks’ which are interesting to dissect. In fact, Klout’s ability to provide perks to strategically influencial social media users is its ONLY commercial value (see below).

I am in no way influential in social media because most of my social media activity is directed ONLY to my Facebook friends 75% of whom are people I really know. All of my social media efforts are aimed at getting my clients and friends efficient at blogging and tweeting. My higher Klout score cannot even count in the fact that I have been driving online communities for 20 years. In fact as I use precious little spare time I have right now to make portfolios of my online activities I smile at my eBay and Etsy feedback which are tied to actual commerce and not only lip service! But since Klout offers achievements based on a user’s activities promoting themselves and Klout, it cannot be a sincere and accurate measure of one’s influence. In a perfect world, influence is measured regardless of the subject’s (or their staff’s) efforts at brand promotion.

Also, I hate how Klout uses my Facebook friends list to con me into adding Klout member who haven’t even signed-up for the service yet.

DISCLAIMER: I’ve been working on a vaguely similar concept as Klout since 2007. However, it is an idea propagation and influence measurement system that cannot be gamed by its subject, social media self-promoters or online celebrities. How Klout is viewed and used is of some scientific interest to me and I will continue to watch it.

I cannot wait to see what kind of achievement I will unlock in a few months when I log onto Klout for the FOURTH (4) time!

Example of a Perk offerred to users with a klout score of 35 or more.

Wahooly earns you equity

Wahooly and Klout have partnered to give a select group of influencers the opportunity to get a piece of the “next big thing”. 20,000 positions are exclusively available for Klout users with a score of 35 or higher.

Wahooly is making it possible for you to earn equity in emerging startups by using your influence as an investment.

Overview found here on January 11th, 2011. This is an interesting concept. However it seems to me that people with a Klout of 35 or more would already have, in their surroundings, plenty of aspiring start-up developers who can use their insight and help. This creates a much more interesting and valuable collaboration in the end.