Where Influence Measurement Tools are Stymied
Measuring online influence is not an exacting science springing forth from today’s social media vehicles, even though that’s what Klout tells you. They’re using a façade of what’s happening today to cover up the simple fact that influence has existed for centuries and can’t be measured as easily as they state. In fact Klout, Kred and the other tools work very hard to make us believe that the awareness they are measuring is equal to influence.
Once Upon a Time With Klout….The Final Chapters
“We believe influence is the ability to drive action.”
Since when did the premise that simply “believing” something give one the ability to define anything as true? If I believe that chocolate makes one hungry, is that the “Standard” of hunger?
How can we trust our reputations and our own brands to a company who simply “believes” they are the standard measurement in which only their “belief” defines what it is that they measure? Be very careful. Klout is playing a very dangerous game with our brands. Klout maintains their claim that they are not selling our data. However, I will make a case today that will show you that Klout not only sells our data but also engages in activity that is a direct breach of the terms and conditions of Twitter’s public API.
Once upon a time, I Believed in the Fairytale of Klout
In my world, a Scientist has data which they carefully record trials are run and experiments are engaged to prove a hypothesis. When a data supported and document experiment is found to support a hypothesis, the experiment must then be duplicatable or the results are deemed invalid. No Scientist in the Science world would ever toss their hands in the air and say, “Sorry we have a glitch and we are in Beta, so just be patient with us!”
How to Get Your Profile and Data Completely Disconnected from Klout
Many users have been asking me over past few days how to get their profiles removed from Klout. Not surprisingly, your profile can not be removed from Klout.com. However, Klout is now offering an option to “disable” your profile from public visibility with a graphic that states “this profile has been disabled”. To do so, you need to send an email request to help@klout.com. Once your profile is “disabled”, be aware that Klout is still collecting and utilizing your data from Social Media Platforms. To prevent them from collecting and utilizing your data, please note that you need to revoke access of Klout applications in every social media platform that was linked to your Klout Account. Since Klout did not include complete information on revoking their access to your data, please find the below instructions on how to revoke Klout’s access.
Have you been put in Klout timeout?
If you are still under the spell of Klout, be sure that you don’t spend much time engaging and supporting your friends who are new to Social Media. Intrestingly, spending your time supporting and mentoring our new friends might land you in Klout Time Out. It’s seems Klout doesn’t assign influence to true Social Media relationships. Klout is an example of a brand gone bad. It is time that Klout educated their staff on the importance of Social Media relationships. Has Klout ever heard of the word Community?
Is Klout On The Way Out?
In my opinion and the opinion of many, Klout is a game of online manipulation and popularity. There is no indication that Klout measures influence. However, it is clearly seen that the once respected Klout score is now measuring popularity, supports spam and gathering information to enhance their Klout Perks program.
Manipulating Influence Scores Makes No Sense at All
Influence is not: The number of friends or followers you have, the number of retweets or replies, likes and comments you receive. It is not the number of posts you write, nor the number of blogs and subscribers you’ve gathered. It is not your page rank number. It is not the number of Stumbles, or your job title. It is not the number of books you’ve read or written, and it is definitely not the your Klout Score.
