Klout: How many people will quit now that the algorithm changed again?



Contributing Writer
Photo: Wet Suit Credit: Steve Todey


Klout entertains on multiple fronts: especially in people’s reaction to their “influence” measurement.

Back in November 2011 when Klout rolled out their (literally) game-changing algorithm, a glut of people wrote tweets and posts about how they were quitting Klout.  If Joe Fernandez wouldn’t assign them the arbitrary influence number that they felt they deserved, they were taking their ball and going home.  It wasn’t until Christopher Penn wrote a blog post pointing out that many unaffiliated businesses were using the Klout API to inform their data that the posts subsided.  (Or maybe I just stopped reading)  Incidentally the Wall Street Journal identified some of the companies using the Klout API here.

I’m not here to bash Klout.  Their influence score is fairly irrelevant except to their bottom line.  They have the unenviable task to engage and affirm their users while qualifying and segmenting them for advertisers.  The real test of Klout’s effectiveness is whether companies continue to do business with them and by that measure: so far so good (I assume that the fact that I received an email from them indicates that they remain in business).

The Klout Communique

So I received an email from Klout yesterday describing new developments on the site:

- a new algorithm change that they are rolling out which purports to consider more data points
- a feature called “moments” which bears an intentional resemblance to Kred’s “recent activity” feature
- a nicer design.  

The phrase “algorithm change” sparked my interest.  I was desperate to learn more.  Then I read Jennifer Van Grove’s VentureBeat report that 10% of Klout users may see a meaningful drop in their scores.  In other words…. it’s on.

The Social Media Olympics Round Two

That email signalled the beginning of the REAL Social Media Olympics.  The (one and only) event: social influence loss aversion.

If you want to know whose Klout scores decreased check Twitter.  You will see some of the most priceless, vengeful tweets ever committed to the internets.  These tweets feed each other, each one escalating the next, with a palpable tension and vitriol that occasionally can make you forget that they are critiquing a tool that qualifies users using gamification and cheap enticements.

Shortly after Klout’s last change, I sat through a chat mediated by Megan Berry (formerly Klout’s Marketing Manager, now of LiftFive) that easily could have been the most abrasive and tense events I have experienced in social media (Arab Winter notwithstanding).  People were bombarding her with questions and insults, talking to her like she was the person solely responsible for changing Klout’s algorithm and thus stealing their influence.  People love to feel important, and to Klout’s credit that arbitrary influence number affirmed these people.  Some people kind of lost their mind over it.  And it’s going to happen again.

I could try to interject some perspective or pragmatism into people’s reaction to Klout’s changes and it probably speaks to my lack of influence that it would fall of deaf ears.  It probably speaks to my love for cheap thrills that I don’t even try.

Thank goodness for Klout and for the people who want to quit it – you  make the internet a more enjoyable place.  Let the indignities begin!

Disclosure

In the spirit of full disclosure I should point out that I am currently the number one influencer on the topic of David Hasselhoff on Klout.

Photo Credit
Jim Dougherty

Jim Dougherty

Writer and chief of miscellany at leaderswest.com

I aspire to give people something to think about rather than tell them what to do. My favorite Google Alert is “social media research,” I am increasingly compelled by Gen Z, and I appreciate good writers agnostic of where they write. At one time I was Kred’s 12th most influential social media blogger and Klout’s most influential person on the topic of David Hasselhoff. Transplant from Seattle living in Cincinnati. Haven’t entirely adopted the local sports teams yet.

Jim Dougherty

@jimdougherty

Jim Dougherty

Jim Dougherty

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  • http://just-ask-kim.com/ Kimberly Castleberry

    I haven’t seen any of my colleagues experience sharp drops from this. Which means it’s hard for me to say if it did much of anything at all really. Fluxuations within 3-5 points are normal anyways. *shrugs* I was expecting to see something interesting (read: massively different) today and didn’t. 

  • jimdougherty

    Thanks, Kim for reading and commenting.  What I understand from reading about it is that they’ve tried to eliminate some of the fluxation so hopefully you’ll see that.  In the last update, Twitter users took a big hit when they incorporated Facebook into the equation.  My guess is that the 10% are heavily invested in Facebook – not that it’s particularly relevant except for where the complaints will come from.  You are truly exceptional and I appreciate your comments so much, Kim!  Have a great day!

  • http://danielghebert.wordpress.com/ Daniel Hebert

    My score increased by 13 points! I wonder what changes in the algorithm made it jump that high.

    Hopefully the gamers get punished for this, and that they stay punished (can’t find new ways to game). And hopefully Klout can re-gain their reputation, and actually be used as a good measure for influence. It would be nice some day to look at a klout score, and topics, and actually believe that the person deserves that influence. There are just too many ways to cheat the system nowadays, that Klout can just not be used as an accurate measure of influence.

  • http://twitter.com/TheFurMom Kimberly Gauthier

    I haven’t looked to see what my Klout score was.  After the last change, my score dropped from a crazy high number down to 8 then it immediately adjusted to 60.  This happened in one day.  That’s when I stopped looking at it as a measure of influence and as a fun game and a way to give props to fellow bloggers.

    Kimberly (on my way to Seattle, WA on the Sounder)

  • http://twitter.com/LindaSamuels Linda Samuels CPO-CD

    Hi Jim,

    The last time Klout made their “adjustments,” my score dropped significantly. I was not happy about it, felt a bit betrayed, but got over it. With this latest round of tweaks, my score has increased by 14 points (50 to 64.) So while I don’t understand the whys or the hows, this change is less problematic for me than the last round. And so it goes. Change is inevitable. We will adjust and evolve as the social media landscape changes, and so will Klout.

  • http://twitter.com/vanderbraak Dylan LW Vanderbraak

    The only thing I ever liked about Klout was the ability to hand out +K. That is like patting others on the back. A cool feature. But it would only make sense if the “numbers actually add up,” and not if statistics are unreliable. At the time (Oct 2011) numbers fluctuated so much that I thought they were totally unreliable, so I quit Klout altogether.

    What I see now on Twitter is people shouting out “Look ma, no hands, I am so cool” whenever their Klout scores rises. That just tells me people like to brag, like to keep up with the Joneses and are so darned proud that they actually do keep up. To me, personally, that is a turn-off. Who cares about the Joneses? Or about Klout, for that matter?

    What I really find offensive is people comparing Klout scores. A tweet like “At someone: Your klout is so-and-so (but mine is higher).” That gives me the impression they are trying to say “I am better than you.” Or even: “Why should I even bother tweeting w/ you.” It might very well be that this is not their intent. It might also very well be that I simply don’t understand their motives, and as a result don’t understand their actions. Regardless, to me it’s a major twitter turn-off.

    For those of you who -are- into Klout, I honestly hope you have fun with it. But I also hope you are aware of how easily certain tweets can be perceived as condescending. That’s all. Love to all. Make today rock ..! Nanu nanu. Dylan

  • alisonsimons

    I enjoy Klout but have doubts about its accuracy.  For instance, a topic on which I am supposedly influential but have never written a single word on any social media site is Britney Spears.   That said, like Daniel, my score went up by a few points with the new algorithm.

  • http://www.wonderoftech.com Carolyn Nicander Mohr

    The last time Klout adjusted their algorithms, my score plummeted. Now it has jumped 14 points, from 52 to 66. Apparently they are taking real world importance into account so that Justin Bieber no longer has higher Klout than Barack Obama. Does this mean I have to start worrying about paparazzi showing up at my door? ;-)   

  • http://www.proservicesks.com Frank Woodman Jr

    I’ve seen almost all of those I follow or deal with on Klout see their scores go up and some quite a bit. Mine went up 9 points with the new algorithm which seems to follow the average 10/15% I’ve seen. But remember we aren’t seeing all of the change and I somehow feel that Klout learned from their last change to be careful and make any drops slowly. So my take on it is that we’ll have to wait and see how Klout scores play out over the next few weeks.

    But the long and short of it is that Klout is still a very long ways from really showing any score that means much beyond how much activity your account has. And most of the changes I’m seeing in reading their post is that they will be discounting activity like RTing and committing when it’s done by largely a small group of the same people.

    No more will one person’s RTing ten of your posts everyday count for nearly as much as 10 different people a day RTing your posts. And that’s a good change as it stops a good part of the scamming the system that goes on. Now if they will just stop giving credit to all those people who RT posts with 10 peoples @ names in them just to get credit for the mentions which in this case are worthless.

    So I’m one who plays at Klout but doesn’t take it very seriously. Sadly it seems more and more that some do think it’s much more meaningful than it is. But it’s not the first “metric” of social media to be abused or over rated and I’m sure it won’t be the last. I just hope that someday Klout will finally become a useful tool.

  • http://twitter.com/petertrapasso Peter Trapasso

    Jim,

    Many people at the top of the Social Media food chain experienced sharp drops. I could not be happier with a Klout score of 74! And on Kred you are #2 in Outreach of the Top 50 Social Media Bloggers as well. Congrats!

    Pete

  • jimdougherty

    Thanks so much Frank – appreciate your insight and comments. Everyone that I know had their Klout score rise pretty substantially, which is a smart move by Klout. They also added +Ks to their metric, which incentivizes people to use the platform more often. I totally agree that they appear to have learned from their mistakes. I don’t know that it should be a useful tool to people as it ranks how effectively they think you can influence your network to buy things, but for many it intimates status and if it makes them feel good – good for them!

  • jimdougherty

    Thanks Alison! Of course Klout is wildly inaccurate – they’re taking social signals and trying to make sense of them. That said, I just gave you a +k about Britney Spears.. just to keep Klout guessing!

  • jimdougherty

    Thanks, Dylan! I agree with everything you say – I love +Ks, in fact the @bethmcshane Kloutslam is one of my all time favorite leisure activities. But you’re right, it doesn’t add up and it isn’t relevant to anything except ego. If people really wanted to be influential about meaningful things they would make it a priority rather than waiting for Klout to tell them about how important they are! Cheers for reading and commenting!

  • jimdougherty

    Fourteen points! I think all CPOs should be so influential – the world would be a more organized place! Thanks for reading and commenting, Linda!

  • jimdougherty

    Here’s my problem with what you wrote, Kimberly: you are on the Sounder train in the AM, so you are going from one of the most cherished places I’ve loved and worked (Tacoma) to one of my favorite cities and hometown (Seattle)… and you’ve officially made me jealous! Congrats on your Klout score by the way – and I really appreciate that perspective. When you look at anything as a means to affirm people instead of how it feeds your ego, you always are going to be more influential. Great lesson in Klout and in life!

  • jimdougherty

    Congrats, Dan! I think it’s well deserved – I won’t give Klout props for much but a +13 for you is a good start! My feeling about gamers is who cares? I looked at a couple of people comparable to Jeffrey Gitomer and Sally Hogshead, and its silly to think that some blogger could influence action on the scale that they could. Cheers!

  • malharbarai

    Jim – Since the first time they changed algorithm, I was believed that all Klout wanted was more users. The scores were just a way of gaining numbers where it can sell Perks. And now since they again felt the emergence of Kred and PI, the algorithm change again to make it more lucrative.

  • jimdougherty

    Great insight – Klout does seem to have done a better job of reinforcing their relationship with its users this time around… much to my chagrin! Cheers for reading and commenting!

  • jimdougherty

    Vino Pete sports a Klout score of 74! Holy cow – seems Klout got something right! Cheers for reading and commenting!

  • alisonsimons

    Hilarious. Gotta keep ‘em on their toes.

  • http://inspiretothrive.com/ Lisa Buben

    I’m awaiting to see more about the changes. They had to compete with PeerIndex with perks. That could be part of it. Mine went about almost 10 pts. Not sure why the difference yet. Their formula appears to be like a secret sauce recipe :)

  • jimdougherty

    Ha! Thanks Lisa – seems many people are very pleased with the recent update – must be good sauce!

  • jimdougherty

    Hi Carolyn, I was surprised to find out that you don’t already have paparazzi. Maybe that could be a Klout perk – paparazzi above a certain threshold. Politicians could champion it as a jobs program!

  • http://www.writingriffs.com Steve Kayser

    Good post and analysis. I am not a big believer in Klout – and am especially not a believer in how soem companies are using it – to vet potential writers/bloggers. My Klout went up with the change this time. Last time it dropped. Maybe next time It’ll be the same. From the Social Media Mecca of the World … Cincinnati, — Steve Kayser

  • http://www.writingriffs.com Steve Kayser

    What social signin app is that for comments?

  • http://www.facebook.com/igetamped Katharine Johnson

    ok, my score dropped 31… that’s right thirty-one!! points in one day…. ummmmm??? I’m baffled. Anyone understand. A few points may have made sense, but 31????

  • jimdougherty

    Disqus. Actually tried Facebook and it dorked up the entire site!

  • jimdougherty

    I got a note from Klout saying they adjusted their settings for Facebook. It recommended disassociating the account from Klout and then giving permission again. I did it, but truthfully haven’t been following my Klout score enough to know if it did any good. I hope that solves the problem?

  • jimdougherty

    Thanks, Steve! Klout is a strange beast – it shouldn’t be particularly relevant but a lot of people buy into it.. which is what they need to leverage social audiences for advertisers. Before moving to Cincinnati, I got the impression that a lot of the social reputation of Cincinnati was due to Chad Johnson’s dynamic tweeting, but there really is a sense of social immersion especially for Facebook that is very endearing! Thanks for reading and commenting – watch out for rain this weekend!

  • http://blogsnewsreviews.com/ Astro Gremlin

    I can’t even work the interface since they changed it. Kudos on the David Hasselhoff leader-board dominance.

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