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Klout

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Klout
File:Klout-logo.jpeg
Type of businessPrivate
Type of site
Social Networking
Available inEnglish
FoundedSan Francisco, California, USA
Headquarters
San Francisco, California
,
United States
Area servedWorldwide
Founder(s)Joe Fernandez
Binh Tran
Key peopleJoe Fernandez (CEO), Binh Tran (co-founder)
Employees40[1]
URLklout.com
AdvertisingNo
RegistrationOptional
LaunchedSeptember, 2009
Current statusActive

Klout is a San Francisco-based company that provides social media analytics to measure a user's influence across his or her social network. The analysis is done on data taken from sites such as Twitter and Facebook and measures the size of a person's network, the content created, and how other people interact with that content.[2] The company has been subject to substantial criticism, both for its business model and its operating principle.[3]

Klout Score

Klout scrapes social network data and creates profiles on individuals and assigns them a "Klout score". Klout currently claims to have built more than 100 million profiles. Klout is not an "opt-in" service, but individuals who register at Klout can ensure that all of their social networks are accessed and therefore evaluated in their Klout scores. Klout also builds profiles of individuals who are connected to those who do register at Klout.

Klout scores range from 1 to 100, with higher scores corresponding to a higher assessment by Klout of the breadth and strength of one's online influence. Klout scores are supplemented with three nominally more specific measures, which Klout calls "True Reach", "Amplification", and "Network Impact".

True Reach is based on the size of a person's "engaged audience" of followers and friends who actively listen and react to his or her online messages. Amplification Score relates to the likelihood that one's messages will generate actions (retweets, @messages, likes, and comments). Network Score reflects the computed influence value of a person's engaged audience.[citation needed]

The accuracy of Klout Score has been questioned several times[4] by different researchers. Klout Score has been used by social media marketers as a barometer of influence.[citation needed]

In regards to their score, Klout in early May of 2012 stated that they serve roughly one billion API calls per day, which is 80 times the data they served at the same time in 2011. Klout also stated that the new API is more "Klout-focused" and less Twitter focused. [5]

Method

Klout measures influence by using data points from Twitter, such as: following count, follower count, retweets, list memberships, how many spam/dead accounts are following you, how influential the people who retweet you are, and unique mentions. This information is blended with data from a number of other social networks such as comment, likes, and the number of friends in your network to come up with a "Klout Score" that measures a user's online influence.[6]

The business model is then based around connecting businesses with individuals of high influence. Companies have paid to get in contact with individuals with high Klout scores in hopes that free merchandise and other perks will influence them to spread positive publicity for them. According to Klout CEO Joe Fernandez, about 50 of these partnerships have been established as of November 2011.[7]

Criticism

Several objections to Klout's methodology have been raised regarding both the process by which scores are generated, and the overall societal effect. Critics have pointed out that Klout scores are not representative of the influence a person really has, highlighted by the fact that President Obama has a lower influence score than a number of bloggers.[8] Additionally, some social critics argue that the Klout score devalues authentic online communication and promotes social ranking and stratification by trying to quantify human interaction.[9] The site has also been criticized for violating the privacy of minors, and for exploiting users for its own profit.[10]

John Scalzi has described the principle behind Klout's operation as "socially evil" in its exploitation of its users' status anxiety.[11] Charles Stross has described the service as "the internet equivalent of herpes", saying that his analysis of Klout's terms and conditions reveals that the company's business model is "flat-out illegal" in the United Kingdom, where it conflicts with the Data Protection Act 1998. Stross "strongly advise(s)" his readers to delete their Klout accounts and opt out of Klout services.[12]

Randall Munroe made Klout the subject of the xkcd online comic on May 18, 2012. In comic # 1057, Randall requested to be punched in the face if he ever joined. Ironically, this introduced many readers of the comic to Klout who would never have heard of it otherwise. [citation needed]

Notable events

  • February 2011: Klout receives Series B funding from Kleiner Perkins
  • May 2011: Klout launched v3 of klout.com
  • May 2011: Klout integrates with Facebook
  • May 2011: Klout re-brands Klout Perks
  • June 2011: Klout introduces +K
  • June 2011: Klout integrates with LinkedIn
  • July 2011: Klout integrates with Foursquare
  • July 2011: Klout partners with Spotify for their U.S. launch
  • August 2011: Klout integrates with YouTube
  • September 2011: Klout integrates with Google+[13]
  • October 2011: Klout changes its scoring algorithm lowering many scores and creating complaints[14]
  • November 2011: Klout partners with Wahooly for their beta launch[15]
  • November 2011: Klout adds an "opt-out" functionality
  • January 2012: Klout was able to raise an estimated $30 million from a host of venture capital firms.[16]
  • February 2012: Klout acquires local and mobile neighborhood app Blockboard.[17]

Similar metrics

References

  1. ^ "Klout". TechCrunch. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
  2. ^ Lauren Fisher (July 20th, 2010). "How can you measure influence?". Simply Zesty. Retrieved 22 October 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ Why I Deleted My Klout Profile, by Pam Moore, at Social Media Today, originally published November 19, 2011; retrieved November 26 2011
  4. ^ Sekander, Yousaf. "Here is how to game Klout". Elevatelocal. Retrieved 25/10/2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  5. ^ Rao, Leena. May 4th, 2012. "Klout Releases New, Speedier API; Now Serves 1 Billion API Calls Per Day." http://techcrunch.com/2012/05/03/klout-releases-new-speedier-api-now-serves-1-billion-api-calls-per-day/
  6. ^ Ben Parr (October 16, 2010). "Klout Now Measures Your Influence on Facebook". Mashable. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
  7. ^ [1], from Chevy Gives 3-Day Sonic Drives to Those With Big Klout; by Advertising Age; posted November 28, 2011; retrieved December 12, 2011
  8. ^ The TRUTH About Your Klout Score: How Your Phony Number Is Calculated; by San Francisco Chronicle; posted December 2, 2011; retrieved December 12, 2011
  9. ^ [2], by Social Media Today
  10. ^ "Delete your Klout profile and be more than a Klout score". 2011-12-12. Retrieved 2011-12-12.
  11. ^ Why Klout scores are possibly evil, at CNNMoney.com, by John Scalzi, published November 15, 2011, retrieved November 26, 2011
  12. ^ Evil social networks, from Diary: Being the blog of Charles Stross, author, and occasional guests; by Charles Stross; posted November 7, 2011; retrieved November 26, 2011
  13. ^ Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011 (2011-11-22). "Google+ Now Impacting Klout Scores, Active Users See Scores Go Up". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2011-12-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ Ingram, Mathew (2011-10-27). "Should You Care How High Your Klout Score Is?". Businessweek. Retrieved 2011-12-13.
  15. ^ Wednesday, December 28th, 2011 (2011-11-03). "Klout: Talk-Up a Startup, Get Some Equity". Mashable. Retrieved 2011-12-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ Ingram, Mathew January 4, 2012 " Like It or Not, the Reputation Graph Is Here to Stay." http://www.businessweek.com/technology/like-it-or-not-the-reputation-graph-is-here-to-stay-01042012.html
  17. ^ Rao, Leena February 7, 2012 "Klout Acquires Local And Mobile Neighborhood App Blockboard." http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/07/klout-acquires-local-and-mobile-neighborhood-app-blockboard/
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