Dear Klout and the data gurus behind the “much improved” algorithm,
I remember back when you first hit the social media scene. We bloggers and heavy social media users flocked to your site, signing up for an account and linking our Facebook profiles. We wondered what our score be. How will we stack up against one another? What did we need to do to improve our Klout? What kind of score did Oprah have? Or Justin Bieber? There was some merit to what you were trying to do. Social is a big deal now and you were trying to create a smart metric to measure that social influence.
As time went by, you introduced Klout topics, more platforms to link up and the ability for your users to award others with +K. This is when my doubts grew. First of all, too many users had at least 1 topic that made no sense (Me tweeting about the Cincinnati Reds?!?). Second, one Twitterer giving someone else a +K for a topic they were supposedly influenced about? Friends immediately ganged up on one another in order to make a user influential on ridiculous topics like Kim Kardashian or boobs. And third, while I think you cleverly created a sense of urgency amongst many users with the giving of +K, most of us knew that it was a move that had more to do with pageviews and publicity than anything of merit or true analysis.
Grumblings in the social media realm grew. #ImaginaryKlout was born. Users began to delete their Klout profiles.
You became the butt of all too many a Twitter joke. And an entire Twitter handle was born in opposition to your inaccuracy.
Just last week your blog announced that a “more accurate” algorithm was being introduced and that the “majority of users will see their Scores stay the same or go up”.
But why did the most heavily-involved and heavily-connected users’ scores actually decrease? And decrease by a substantial amount?
And how do you explain those scores belonging to users who have no clue about Klout and have no other social media presence outside of a personal Facebook account, shooting up to the high 30s? More than a couple bloggers have told me they have a sister or aunt or someone they know who is totally clueless about the term “social media”, who are suddenly sporting Klout scores pretty close to their own?
Here’s my personal case in point.
My main Twitter handle is @BelleBeanDog. I’ve had it for quite some time, logged roughly 38,000 tweets and have over 3,200 followers. I regularly interact with people, have my tweets retweeted and all the important engagement-type stuff. I also have my blog’s Facebook fan page, Google+ profile, Instagram, FourSquare, YouTube AND LinkedIn accounts connected to this Klout account. My Klout score* with your algorithm change is now 52 (Full disclosure: It was 63 before the change, a drop of 11 pts).
A few months ago I started a second Twitter handle, in my own name (cuz face it…am I really going to be @BelleBeanDog forever?). @LizJostes has only my personal Facebook account connected to it. I log, on average, just 1 tweet a day and get ZERO engagement on that account. But with the new algorithm? My Klout score increased to 53* (I think my previous score was 49. I’m not sure since I barely use this account).
Yep, that’s right.
My barely-used-barely-connected-and-zero-engagement @LizJostes Klout score is higher by 1 point.
Not only does this not make sense, but to me it’s the final nail in the casket of Klout’s kredibility.
And speaking of Kred-ibility, how do you think your algorithm will stack up against your soon-to-be-launched competitor, Kred?
Signed,
A heavy social media user who used to think you had some merit
So tell me, what are your thoughts on Klout? Have your thoughts changed over time?
*Klout scores as of 10.28.11
**The Klout score of @BelleBeanDog dropped to 51 as of 10.30.11
- – - – - – - -
Psst! MugSwap is BACK! Click to more info!
Hear hear! 58 to 46, here. And what really bothered me is that the they employed “revisionist history” on their graphs. The old numbers are GONE. How absurd is that!?
Wow, this is very interesting. I haven’t had a chance to check if my score changed drastically. But now I need to check…. When I say need, just out of pure curiosity. My husband is always saying who cares about Klout, it doesn’t mean anything. So maybe he is right after all. I just do it for fun, I didn’t expect anything from it. Thank you for your info, it was very interesting. Take care, Terra
I know Klout is bunk because I’m influential in the following topics:
yogurt
time travel
cleaning
Seriously. SERIOUSLY?
I gave up on Klout 2 months ago when my score just kept dropping no matter what I did. I was at 72, stopped caring and my score dropped an average of a point a week (I tweeted maybe 50% less), and with the new algorithm, it went to from 63 to 53.
I still don’t care about it. But Kred? I’m interested
My solution…a taco punch.
I hate Klout’s face. Seriously. Just one more stupid thing I need to NOT worry about
I check into Klout for the shiggles due to the random topics people get.
My score was pretty good, so when they introduced KloutPerks, I was interested. Then, I found out I was eligible for an AXE BODY SPRAY perk. WTH???
My score dropped about 10 points. I’d probably be bothered by it if I monetized my blog & there was a potential to lose business due to Klout’s new & disproved algorithm.
I’ve never put much stock into Klout. I just don’t have the time, as a working mother, to play on Twitter. My score really didn’t move at all with the change, but then again, maybe because I’m not so engaged, that worked well for me! LOL
And, from neither of those accounts are you influential about boobs. Shenanigans.
Early on, I was curious – and from that point forward, I’ve been just giving +K to anything marginally sexual or alcohol-related. Because I’m 12.
Liz, I love that you just proved this is all a scam – I’ve been wondering why so many bloggers were fretting over this the whole time.
I do hope they make improvements – the idea is a great one, it just needs some major math nerds to come in and make it more accurate!
In the meantime, I have been enjoying some of the Klout perks, so I’m not going to complain too much
Mine dropped from 60 to 52 also and how can Klout say that we should have the same score. Obviously you are more influential than I am. The only thing that I like about Klout were the perks. What can I say, I love free stuff. Other than that I am so over Klout.
Liz, you amaze me with how well you are able to explain, and help us understand.
Klout, I never understood Klout.
I think it’s nice that people give out Klout, but I don’t know what for, or how to do it. But it’s always nice to read a tweet that says, +K for writing or parenting.
I’d like some +K for badassery.
I think I’ll do that in real life, if someone impresses me: Hey, +K for that badass apple pie you brought to the PTA. But no one would know what the heck +K was.
Seriously, tremendous write up on Klout explained.
What I don’t get is influential moms named on twitter, and they have like under 500 followers and 112 tweets and they never interact or RT.
HUH?
Oh, I would PAY to be influential on badassery!!
Personally I never “got” what Klout was suppose to do and how it was beneficial to my blogging goals.
http://www.ManOfLaBook.com
I was already losing faith and once my score plummeted I gave up. The only thing their new algorithm is doing is attempting to engage a whole new group of people who have no clue what Klout is. Great post Liz.
Yes! And the only way I can figure they say “most” scores went up is because all the Average Joes who have a Facebook account and aren’t really a part of the social media scene, had scores that tripled in some cases!
Thanks for this clear explanation. It popped a red flag for me that my engagement has been improving yet my score dropped 14 points with the re-do. I thought this was perhaps bogus, but also thought “Well, hey, maybe I’m just bitter.” As I was planning on using Klout as one of the social media numbers in my book proposal (to prove my platform), I was feeling a little discouraged. This really helped change my focus. Thank you for your clear SoMe vision, as always.
Glad I could re-encourage you, Debi!!
I can’t decide if I’m glad I never wasted my time figuring out what Klout is or sad ’cause I’m out of the loop.
Probably hungry.
Yes, what seemed like a cool social media thing is turning out to be a PITA.
Great way of explaining it. I’ve never really looked into it too much or paid that much attention. I just signed up then never went back. Its one of those things I dont really understand.
I totally agree with you! Klout has lost it’s Kredibility!
I read on one of the boards last week that it seems Klout is putting more weight on Facebook interactions (personal pages, not fan pages) than they are putting for twitter. After seeing your example above, I think I totally agree with that!
Interesting that you say that. I have a “case in point” for the personal vs fan page, too. It was fairly recently that they allowed you to link fan pages, so once they did, I moved my personal FB page to my Liz Jostes handle since it made more sense to keep all my BBCD stuff together. The very second I switched it and attached my fan page to BelleBeanDog, my Klout went from 69 to 63.
So, yes, they definitely favor the personal FB vs fan page!
I Always thought Klout was kind of a bunch of bull, but I played along just because it did become fun to give people +K in ridiculous things — and as you said, that’s exactly the problem. It’s a game rather than true social media influence. I’ve never understood Klout or how they determine anything. One of my topics is skinny jeans…why? I don’t even wear skinny jeans. The only thing I’ve ever gotten from Klout is a $25 Macys gift card and a $15 ITunes GC (which, admittedly, is pretty cool.) Did you see the OccupyKlout handle? that was pretty funny, too.
Speaking of game, did you see how they now award people badges like 4Square?!?!
Seriously.
How can they expect people to treat them as a valid metric when they give out BADGES?!?!
That is hilarious! I never took Klout seriously, so this isn’t THAT meaningful to me….except I recently saw a job posting for a social media position, and an applicant’s Klout score had to be over a certain number!
Crazy!
Well, that company needs to do their research. They may be passing up “more qualified” and more connected people if they look at that.
Ours dropped 5, which is annoying because we have it in our media kit and can’t decide if we should tweet more or go in and change it. Has Kred already launched?
No, it hasn’t. And I don’t know how much longer til it does.
I went from 65 all the way down to 52. To say that I was less than impressed is an understatement. Klout is quickly losing credibility with me and while I realize many companies use that to gauge your involvement at this point I don’t know that it’s worth it.
It’s a shame that companies are. The idea behind Klout is an intriguing one, but there is a LOT of work to do in order for us to consider it valid.
I’ve never understood the purpose of Klout and why someone would want to know their “influence” anyway. @Mom-101 has a great post about the subject: http://www.mom-101.com/2011/09/klout_will_tear_us_apart.html
That said, you’re so right. How your personal Twitter handle is higher than your main Twitter handle makes absolutely no sense at all, furthering my belief that Klout should be renamed, A Whole Bunch of Bologna.
Thanks for the link to Mom101. I went by, read it and commented.
Yes, when you look at my example, with these accounts side by side, there’s no way to say it makes any sense.
I dropped 11 points too. I love getting to give Klout, but don’t understand the new system.
The whole thing just reeks of high school to me. Sometimes I feel like social media has become nothing more than a popularity contest. It almost makes me want to go back to blogging in a bubble, like I was last year before I ever signed up for Twitter. Back then I was blogging for myself, not for “klout” or “kred” or whatever the next ridiculous measure will be.
I do love #ImaginaryKlout, though!
And have you seen how you can earn badges at Klout? Like, you hand out +K 50 times and earn a badge?!? To me, that’s branding yourself as a game vs anything credible.
::slow clap::
This is very well-written and truly a great post about how it doesn’t make any sense. My Klout has never been “great,” but it did fall. I think part of the problem is their algorithms aren’t very clear cut or transparent. Companies that are using it to gauge applicants might be disappointed as it becomes clear that it’s not exactly accurate.
(Not that my non-math self has ANY clue how to truly measure “reach”)
I hate to think that people are using this as a measuring stick, but I know some are.
I’m one of those who believe klout has no credibility, so I’m really glad you wrote this. Your example showing your own two twitter accounts illustrates your point perfectly…there’s no possible way to explain why a barely used account should have a higher klout score than your main account. It’s ridiculous.
Yes, it’s really pretty cut and dry. When you compare my 2 Twitters side by side, there’s nothing to say other than their algorithm isn’t good.
Klout people are a bunch of fools. I noticed the same thing about a friend from high school who’s Klout score shot up into the 40′s when they re-did things. LAME!!!
Exactly!!! Looking at those Facebook-only people is a PERFECT example of issues with this algorith,
I never put a lot of importance in Klout right from the beginning. The list of things they said I was influential in made no sense. Plus I was uninterested in a system that penalized me for being offline with my family for two days. I stayed off twitter for one weekend and my score dropped 11 points. After that I had no use for them. And if I ever wish to look for a job to do with social media and they put a ton of importance on Klout scores then that job will not be a good fit for me. I refuse to make my online life my whole life just to earn a couple more pointson some scoreboard.
I think this whole Klout thing is dumb and I am going to close my account.
I also dropped from 65 to 50. My concern is not that my score dropped (50 is the new 60!, after all). My concern is that I track, over time, Klout scores for a number of my corporate accounts to measure social media engagement.
While a Klout score on any given day may fluctuate, the trend over a few months is a good indicator of engagement, and whether we are learning from mistakes or capitalizing on opportunities.
I now have about a year’s worth of data that is useless as the algorithm changed. What I need is consistency in the way accounts are measured. I don’t need Klout tinkering with the algorithm to get more subscribers.
That’s a shame about your data!
One thing I never understood was how quickly your score would drop by being away from Twitter for just a day, but then you could tweet your butt off and it would only slightly increase.
First of all #ImaginaryKlout! YAY. I feel famous and like such a trendsetter!
Second. Your score was 63? Mine was 69 (a number I remember) which is ridiculous because honestly you deserve to be more influential than me. You tweet more, have more followers, you have more than one blog and you are ACTUALLY influential about stuff. Now if you want to know about the topics I was influential about, say “glasses,” “Dave Matthews Band,” “Pizza” and “Atlanta” we can talk.
You ARE a trendsetter, Ali! Don’t sell yourself short.
Interesting about my 63. Once Klout allowed you to connect your fan pages, too, I switched my personal FB account to my Liz Jostes Klout profile since it made more sense to keep All Things BBCD together. The very moment I disconnected my personal FB and added my fan page instead, my Klout fell from 69 to 63.
I rarely go over to see it anymore! Last time I was there, I’d been steadily dropping…and doing nothing any differently than usual.
Not a big deal to me anymore.
Ever since BlogHer when I maxed at 66 (thanks to my Eyedews campaign) I steadily dropped down to the low 60′s because, well, you know. I tried to have a social life and family outside of the webs.
Like you I am now down to a lovely 53. With no topics. For weeks my topics on vodka, celebs, surfing and Chelsea Handler have been absent.
I want to stab Klout in the taint.
oh my god, I love you.
And I love you right back.
It was the whole stabbing Klout’s taint thing, wasn’t it?
it might have been…except that I loved you before that. But stabbing Klout in the taint pretty much sealed that deal for me.
You’re so easy. Precisely why I love you.
I know. Damn us all who want to live outside of the internet.
And have you noticed that you can plummet for being gone for just a few days, but then you can spend a whole day talking back and forth on twitter, but your score only creeps slightly upwards?!
The whole thing is so bizarre. It went from a potentially informative measuring tool to a high school clique….all the same people giving the same +K’s over and over and over again. And I know next to nothing about war, and travel and tourism for that matter!
I just joined a few minutes ago. A bit behind the mark I know. But it says my topics of influence are TEA JUICE and LABS. So very confused! I am a mom blogger! And I don’t drink tea….
What ever will we do without our hotel sized samples of Axe hair gel for MEN?
Klout is stupid.
I just don’t know how the world will go on without mini-Axe bottles.
I have a Klout account but I really pay it no attention. The whole thing is really bizarre.
I have played along with Klout because it’s nice to acknowledge my fellow bloggers and give them K+. I first noticed that Klout probably wasn’t that accurate when they said I was influential in chocolate. I realized it was because I was hosting a giveaway for a brand of purses called Chocolate New York and was getting a lot of re-tweets from that.
I’m not sure if it’s something that PR people even care too much about, and the whole change in algorithm makes it even less appealing to me. I work full time and can’t always play on twitter for hours to improve my artificial Klout. Thanks for the article – I stumbled and retweeted.
Thanks so much for the stumble and retweet! It seems a bit of a mixed bag as far as PR people caring, which is unfortunate. I hope it’s just a passing fad and quickly falls by the wayside.
So I was all into Klout. Like the eloquent Surfer Wife (who I fracking LOVE), I topped out right around BlogHer at like 78 or something ridiculous. Now? I am lucky to be in the 50′s. I stopped caring when school started and I didn’t have time for all things social media anymore, but I have had this inkling that “things just ain’t right” for sometime, and this post proves it.
Suck it, Klout.
I love it when you talk dirty to Klout.
Awesome post.
As soon as I became influential about UNICORNS and SNUGGIES, I knew the whole thing was a sham!
So ridonkulous.
Totally ridonkulous. Though I kinda think being influential on Snuggies would be kinda cool.
I suspected from day 1 that Klout was total bs. Watching all the mommies get excited and competitive about their numbers it was hard to hold back. Influence is a difficult thing to measure. You have to know what you’re looking for. As a marketing professional, I evaluate bloggers differently based on what my clients goals are. If I have a client that sells a product, I may work with websites that influence buying decisions, if they’re marketing a book, I work with sites that provide book recs, etc. The idea that a number can indicate influence, whatever that means, is ridiculous.
Reading through some comments, its scary that there are people within PR who ARE using Klout as a measuring stick in determining who they will work with.
Scary. If I were a client, I would NOT be happy.
My Klout score also dropped.
By 10points.
I am not convinced this is an accurate tool and actually think its a way for them to drive traffic to their own site.
I’m done with Klout.
I was always suspicious of Klout, but more so with the change. My score went up, by just a bit, but I kept hearing that bloggers like yourself who are a lot more involved in Twitter than I am had big drops. That made no sense to me. Finally, I saw my sister in law’s score was only 2 points below me. She NEVER blogs, and isn’t even on Twitter, but her score is only 2 points below mine. What?!
Ya know, I think looking at “facebook only” users vs those who are actually in the SM realm is a great way to show their algorithm just isn’t right.
Here, here!
I went from 64 to 51. Good times.
AND? My topics include the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Minnesota Twins (all twins’ mothers get that one, apparently) and Antibiotics. For the fail! Yay!
Minnesota Twins, Pittsburgh Penguins AND antibiotics?! That’s a regular ol’ homerun right there! Ha!
I just checked my alter ego account and thankfully that score isn’t higher than my normal account.
Ha! I totally forgot you had an alter ego!
I always thought it was a crock (krock?) and this recent change proved it.
I was skeptical of this from the beginning. I decided to hang back and see how/if Klout worked. Glad I did. I have recently learned about some privacy issues for people who aren’t on klout but a relative is. This company is gaining a bad rep.
The “scary” part is those who are simply on FB and not part of the social media realm. They have an existence on Klout but have no idea about it or that people can see their avatars, etc., on Klout’s page.
I’ve always been confused by how they actually calculate it. No matter what I did I never left the Explorer box. I do like that I got a perk…once