Klout sucks

Klout makes great blog fodder

Image via CrunchBase

Over the past few weeks, it seems like a lot of prominent bloggers like Jim Connolly and Erica Napoletano have written about why they deleted their accounts from Klout.   Here is a bit of perspective on Klout from each of them.

Erica Napoletano – “And today, I’ll tell ya — it’s all a bunch of noise.”

Jim Connoly – “One thing that has come back to me again and again, is that Klout is the darling of smoke blowers.”

This past weekend, I posted a specific thought about Klout on Facebook and received several comments from several people I respect, most of them negative.

Karla Porter You may already know but I think Klout and similar are a crock and don’t take part at all. I see my reach on the social networks and websites via their analytics and engagement.

Rayanne Thorn Klout is Krap.

Lisa Demmi Not sold on Klout honestly.

Buzz Rooney Klout schmout.

Patrick Barbanes Mike, I  see Klout as a distraction, a metric dreamed up and cobbled together to present data that is less important to me than other metrics.

All in all, not a very encouraging set of comments about a tool that purports to measure the social influence of those who use it, and this is a pretty small cross-section of the Klout user audience.

This quote from the Wizard of Oz pretty much sums up Klout for me.

Dorothy: Oh please, Professor, why can’t we go with you and see all the Crowned Heads of Europe?
Professor Marvel: Do you know any?

Here is the thing I find most interesting and perplexing about Klout.  I don’t know about 75% of the people who list me as one of their influencers on the site.  I guess this means they read what I write about on Twitter and Facebook, but we don’t talk,  or I am not paying enough attention.

I honestly don’t care about my score. It hovers at 61 all the time, no matter what I do.  What bothers me a bit is the thought that a group of people out there who don’t really actively engage with me on any of the various social platforms.  Yet they think enough of me to take the time to list me on a website that most people I know seem to despise.  I know I can reach out to these people through the same platforms.

One thing Klout lacks is a good method for users to engage with members of  the quasi community they have created around me and my alleged influencer status.  This is not the only thing they lack.  Check this  Facebook comment from Rayanne Thorn.

If they had the “right” formulas/algorithms, they wouldn’t keep changing… My score has dropped to 45 and peaked at 71. I hover at 61, too. It is a waste of time worry about your “social influence” – It cannot possibly measure what your followers do with what they have learned from you online once they go offline.  THAT is influence.

I agree with Rayanne.  I am still interested in knowing more about people who think enough of me to mention me on Klout. Not for the fame, but to understand what interests them and to further that relationship.   That is probably the greatest value of a site like Klout.  Given the resounding negative feedback I mentioned earlier, it seems like Klout has a lot of work to do.

Klout really isn’t much more than a game / marketing tool / revenue stream for its creators. They appeal to our ego and our competitive nature and use those traits shill products.  It concerns me that when someone takes the time to mention me, Klout doesn’t help with much with furthering the connection.   The one thing Klout seems to be really good at is being great fodder for blog discussions.

They aren’t very good at connecting with their customers, especially for a site that trackss the social reputation of its users.

To close out my Facebook conversation, I posted the following  question to Klout:

“By the way, does anyone from @Klout read the comments and dialogue about your brand on Facebook? Please feel to reply and let me know.”

So far, no response.  The question and the offer remains open.

Klout?  Klout?  Bueller?   Anyone?

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Tagged as: Facebook, Klout, Lipton, Michael VanDervort, Social influence, Social network, twitter, Wizard of Oz