klout for dummies. (guest post)
WTF is Klout and why do you want it?!
The lovely Tara has asked me to answer the question of the month: WTF is Klout?! I blog at a little place called Krystal's Kitsch and I recently graduated with my Master's in Technology. This by NO means makes me an expert on all things computer, but sometimes I like to pretend. So, let's talk Klout!
We've all been seeing the +K's on Twitter or Facebook -- giving people props for their specialties in a variety of subjects. Blogging, photography, Justin Bieber (as Tara gave a +K to Jen about! Ha!). But, how does it determine our specialties, our influences, what DOES IT ALL MEAN?!
Let's start from the beginning. If you haven't heard of Klout, it's basically a new social media website that encourages users to interact with each other in order to raise their "score." Everyone has a Klout score--even if you're not a member of the site. Your score means how influential you can be. Do people read your tweets/updates -- but more importantly -- do they LISTEN to what you say and ACT? Klout looks at your Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Tumblr, Blogger, Flickr, Last.fm, Instagram, and YouTube.
Klout claims they are not about follower or friends counts -- instead they look at retweets, @messages, how many likes you get and comments. If you talk to a lot of people online that are considered to have a high Klout... then you, yourself, will also score high! Does this make sense?
Your score is broken down into:
So, you've got your score... now what?!
Just a note - Klout scores range from 1 to 100. Justin Bieber has a 100. I have a 56 and Tara has a 59. You have a "title" based on what score you have. I'm a specialist and Tara is a broadcaster. She has more friends than me, yo.
Bottom line - Klout is just a fun way to feel popular on the interwebz while companies pay Klout for access to those social media users who truly influence their friends and followers.
And, PS, Klout was listed as one of the Top 50 Best Websites of 2011. It's definitely something to pay attention to. :)
The lovely Tara has asked me to answer the question of the month: WTF is Klout?! I blog at a little place called Krystal's Kitsch and I recently graduated with my Master's in Technology. This by NO means makes me an expert on all things computer, but sometimes I like to pretend. So, let's talk Klout!
We've all been seeing the +K's on Twitter or Facebook -- giving people props for their specialties in a variety of subjects. Blogging, photography, Justin Bieber (as Tara gave a +K to Jen about! Ha!). But, how does it determine our specialties, our influences, what DOES IT ALL MEAN?!
Let's start from the beginning. If you haven't heard of Klout, it's basically a new social media website that encourages users to interact with each other in order to raise their "score." Everyone has a Klout score--even if you're not a member of the site. Your score means how influential you can be. Do people read your tweets/updates -- but more importantly -- do they LISTEN to what you say and ACT? Klout looks at your Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Tumblr, Blogger, Flickr, Last.fm, Instagram, and YouTube.
Klout claims they are not about follower or friends counts -- instead they look at retweets, @messages, how many likes you get and comments. If you talk to a lot of people online that are considered to have a high Klout... then you, yourself, will also score high! Does this make sense?
Your score is broken down into:
- How many people you influence (True Reach)
- How much you influence them (Amplification)
- How influential they are (Network Score)
So, you've got your score... now what?!
- Keep track of your score and its ups and downs. If you get a higher score one day, you're doing something right...and you want a high score to get perks!
- Try to get Klout perks! This is the best part of the site in my opinion. By registering, you're eligible to receive perks. Companies have paid Klout to find influential people to send freebies too! I've signed up to receive $10 off climbing supplies (um, not sure why I would need this but I did), $25 to a sports ticketing website, and I have some AXE coming !
- You can give people props for being knowledgeable on a subject. Look up a user by their Twitter name in the search and give them a +K in whatever subject Klout has determined they are noteworthy in. My subjects are beer, weddings and Florida. Tara is super amazing in blogging, Houston, and food! Look up what Klout thinks you're influential in and let us know!
- You can create lists of your favorite Klout users to see what they're up to.
Just a note - Klout scores range from 1 to 100. Justin Bieber has a 100. I have a 56 and Tara has a 59. You have a "title" based on what score you have. I'm a specialist and Tara is a broadcaster. She has more friends than me, yo.
Bottom line - Klout is just a fun way to feel popular on the interwebz while companies pay Klout for access to those social media users who truly influence their friends and followers.
And, PS, Klout was listed as one of the Top 50 Best Websites of 2011. It's definitely something to pay attention to. :)
17 comments:
ahh i am so glad someone has finally explained it! i have kinda been a bit like huh!? for ages.
apparently i am influencial on england, bergen and surgery! so yeah erm fair enough i guess although i have only ever had 2 surgeries in my life and rarely discuss them!
I have Klout. My score is now 35. Apparently, I'm influential about movies, dogs, and weddings. Also on my list; diapers and internet explorer. Two things that I never use. Weird.
Whoohoo!! Thanks for explaining! :)
Oh yeah... My Klout style is a Socializer.
So glad you posted this...needed a little bit more information on what exactly Klout was and you NAILED it! Great post!
Ugh. My score was decent and it just dropped out of nowhere. Stupid klout.
Thanks so much for explaining! I think I understand now! I was so confused before!
I'm influential about Florida, Britney Spears, celebrities, Disney, Sonic, babies, Moms and some other really good ones. I love my Klout topics :)
No wonder I puffy sparkly heart Krystal. I mean, Klout makes so much sense now. Well, at least more sense. But, Tara, I am not influential about the BIEBS! Yuck. Hahaha jk. Anyways, I'm off to give out some Ks!
Thank you for explaining this. I kept seeing stuff on twitter but I was too lazy to actually look it up. Seriously, crazy helpful. I'm scared to know my score... probably like a 2 :(
Well, I'm glad I finally know what it is but I doubt I will be doing it! Ha.
I love how random your specialties can be. For example mine last week were blogging, dolls (WTF?!), and bacon (I'm a damn vegetarian! Where does bacon come in?). Off to give you ladies both some Klout :)
I'm so glad to see this cleared up a little for me. I think I joined Klout once, but I was confused so I left quick.
This was super helpful. And while I don't really care about my score, it's fun to see what I'm influential about! I didn't know about the perks, that's pretty cool.
Finally! I know what that site is and means!
mines at 31... weird.
This definitely makes muchhhhhh more sense now! Thanks for sharing, Tara and great post, Krystal!
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