Why Klout's Social Influence Scores Are Nonsense 98
jfruh writes "Klout is a new social media service that attempts to quantify how much 'influence' you have, based on your social media profile. Their metrics are bizarre — privacy blogger Dan Tynan has been rated as highly influential on the topic of cigars, despite having only smoked one, decades ago. Nevertheless, Klout scores have real-world consequences, with people deemed influential getting discounts on concert tickets or free access to airport VIP lounges (in hopes that they'll tweet about it, presumably)."
A product for a problem that does not exist (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:A product for a problem that does not exist (Score:5, Insightful)
You could think of Klout as performing the valuable public service of identifying the sort of people who would take Klout seriously, sort of like those chemical attractant baits used on flypaper and similar insect traps.
Re:A product for a problem that does not exist (Score:4, Interesting)
There's definitely a "nerd-centric" influence for klout. It really measures online activity more than real-world influence. A big problem with it is that it doesn't account for non-measurable factors, such as power and art direction. In the industry I'm in, fashion, art direction determines your overall influence . And its editors figure out who have the best art direction, since the public trusts their editing skills more than computer algorithms.
And you don't even need to be on the internet to be taken seriously. Karl Lagerfeld doesn't use the web- he still sends "email" via fax machines. The top fashion magazines barely have usable websites, yet they'll always remain far more influential than any blogger ever will, because Klout can't actually measure influence, because, again, computers are never going to be able to replace human editors at that.
Klout really is fundamentally doomed. Klout can only work as a paid service if they can hire paid & specialized editors that measure influence of each property, which is an expensive business plan.
The bigger problem I see is that too many Venture Capitalists are trying to find cheap computer profits to problems only solvable by expensive human experts. Sorry Venture Capitalist, it's just not going to happen. Go back to making money the old-fashioned way, by earning it.
Re: (Score:2)
What is this "fashion" you speak of? I'm 45 and still wear pretty much the same kind of clothes I wore when I was 10; sneakers, jeans, t-shirt. Gotta love IT work.
Re:A product for a problem that does not exist (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
What's funny is, now that daughter is getting into geek stuff (Star Wars, comics, Doctor Who), I'm getting t-shirts with some of the same things I had back in the 70's. For now the kid thinks its cool when I dress like this. I'm sure that'll change when the teen years start.
Re:A product for a problem that does not exist (Score:4, Funny)
Perhaps they could build one for Aspergers-wannabes
They have [4chan.org]
Re:A product for a problem that does not exist (Score:5, Funny)
Why can't we just stick to the system that has worked for decades? Judge a man based not on his Klout, but by his penis size or the value of his car.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:A product for a problem that does not exist (Score:5, Funny)
I prefer this: http://klouchebag.com/ [klouchebag.com]
I bet my Klout score (Score:3)
No twitter, facebook, etc. accounts, and use pseudonyms in most places. But I do have a LinkedIn account under my real name.
Re: (Score:3)
Re:I bet my Klout score (Score:5, Funny)
No it isn't. You can't just make this stuff up, you know, there are British people on the internet now.
Negative klout? (Score:3)
I never signed up for klout, but one time I facebook-statused about an app and a friend that I thought was going to buy it did not. My amazon reviews are usually rated less helpful that
So, now I'm starting to wonder...do I have negative klout? Maybe people pay us for negative reviews and give us free samples of their competitors products?
Kout's real strength.. (Score:1, Insightful)
.. Is to judge one's ability to brown nose and game pointless metrics.
So yes, they're able to pick ideal middle management candidates.
Nah. (Score:3)
No, I'd say their real strength is their ability to score how many spammers follow you on Twitter. If you frequently tweet keywords that attract spambot followers, you'll have a very high Klout score.
Re: (Score:3)
Klout does quite a bit of spamming on their own...
I was getting constant requests to add their Facebook app before I finally banned it...which is annoying, but not necessarily their doing I know. But the thing is, _even when you clicked no_, it still redirected you to their website! Only app I've ever seen do that. That alone was enough to convince me that the company is full of jerks and I want nothing to do with it. Of course, the whole concept didn't help them there....everything I've seen about the proj
Re: (Score:2)
leads me to believe it's created and run by a bunch of self-centered egotistical assholes
And this is different from other social media and Facebook-hangers-on HOW?
Re: (Score:3)
.. Is to judge one's ability to brown nose and game pointless metrics.
Sounds a bit like Slashdot karma-whoring.
XKCD! (Score:5, Interesting)
XKCD says it all!
http://xkcd.com/1057/
Re: (Score:3)
John Scalzi [scalzi.com] said something similar a few months before that, though not quite as extreme.
Never heard of Klout (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3)
I hope it does. I hope all attempts to establish "gatekeepers of reputation" fail. Klout, Angie's List, LinkedIn, and to a lesser extent in this case, Facebook. All of them, dead.
Re: (Score:3)
Unfortunately, that will leave us with the old guard: Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax... And if you think that facebook is a screwjob run by sociopathic weasels...
Re: (Score:2)
Just the old guard is better than the old guard plus the newcomers, when it comes to privately-controlled worthiness metrics.
Re:Never heard of Klout (Score:4, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
I still have my CueCat!
Klouchebags! (Score:3, Funny)
If I had a person stick their Klout score on their resume I'd beat them with a wiffle bat.
Related: http://www.klouchebag.com/
Re:Klouchebags! (Score:5, Funny)
I sincerely hope "wiffle" is how you spell "aluminum" in your nation or culture.
Re: (Score:1)
If I had a person stick their Klout score on their resume I'd beat them with a wiffle bat.
Related: http://www.klouchebag.com/ [klouchebag.com]
Don't you mean, a whuffie bat?
the Chinese is all about the test and not much on (Score:2)
the Chinese is all about the test and not much on undering staining what the test covers.
Re: (Score:1)
You don't study for IQ tests. Either you have the intelligence to do well on them or you don't.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:3)
Whoosh, baby, whoosh!
Re: (Score:2)
Backward News. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Backward News. (Score:4, Insightful)
There was a recent job posting for some marketing company (I forget the name; I'm sure if you do a Google search you'll find it) that wanted a Klout score above 35 to be hired.
1. I have a 48 Klout score and while I work with marketing data analytics, I am not influential on any topics, at all.
2. If someone needs to have a 35+ on Klout, that shows just how irrelevant this number is for a marketing gig.
3. The fact that companies are interested in this number means someone is trying to make it relevant and thus the entire thing is scary as shit.
--
While Klout apparently believes I'm most influential in the "Twin Cities", "Food" and "Games" and one could make an argument for the first two, the third is just batshit crazy.
Klout is meaningless and should be completely ignored.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:3)
It looks like that company was Salesforce. Quite frankly, I'm not entirely surprised. Their HR department is completely clueless, and wings things on a regular basis.
Re: (Score:2)
3. The fact that companies are interested in this number means someone is trying to make it relevant and thus the entire thing is scary as shit.
This can actually work, unfortunately. Look at the credit score, for example. Nobody wants to think/research by themselves, they just want somebody to tell them: this is good, this is bad and take away all responsibility.
Stupid, but before you know you may find yourself wondering, if the sites you are using report to Klout.
Re: (Score:1)
Call me old school (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:1)
To hit tables, son. THAC0 is what the n00bs use.
Re: (Score:3)
D20 is the bane of mankind.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
+2 vs. undead
Klout itself is nonsense. (Score:1)
How is Klout useful for me?
Caste system. (Score:4, Insightful)
Social warfare is getting to be bad enough. We don't need to further relegate people into different classes. Do we really want some sort of Hindu caste system? Klout needs to be Klobbered.
Re: (Score:3)
Social warfare is getting to be bad enough. We don't need to further relegate people into different classes. Do we really want some sort of Hindu caste system? Klout needs to be Klobbered.
Empirically speaking, it appears that we(in the aggregate) practically live for the chance to build absurd little social hierarchies, even when circumstances are such that the hierarchy won't significantly affect resource allocation... It's like we are just a few service packs away from being damn dirty apes or something.
Re: (Score:2)
Empirically speaking, it appears that we practically live for the chance to build absurd little social hierarchies
Pfft... spoken like one with a 7-digit user ID. ;-O
Re: (Score:2)
That literally made me LOL.
Re: (Score:2)
That's a good point. Boarding an airplane these days is a perfect example.
Re: (Score:3)
Clod? (Score:1)
Login with Twiiter or Facebook account, fuck you! (Score:3)
title says it all.
Any service that requires me to log in thru another source I will NOT use. It's bad enough i have a facebook account, but to actually use it, hell no. I hide from my relatives for a reason.
Re: (Score:2)
Right. Klout is essentially a promotion for Twitter/Facebook as a single sign-in system.
Re: (Score:1)
Not sure if this is a joke or not - klout is one service where single-sign on actually makes sense!
Because jfruh has a low one? (Score:2)
My Klout score (Score:2, Interesting)
OK I'll check it out.
tappity tappity ENTER
KLOUT "Sign in" with Twitter (don't have) or Facebook (don't have) ....and I'm over it.
I'm also bothered by misspelling Kommon words for effekt.
Re: (Score:2)
It's misspelled for branding reasons. At least it still has all the vowels and looks pronounceable.
Answer with no question (Score:2)
I don't need some fancy new social media site to tell me that most of what I say on the Internet is delusional rants and unsupported claims.
But it's fun! (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
I'm almost tempted to sign up just to see what it will say.
I'm the most influential person in the world on...designer ski boots? Oh yes, pay me big money, bitches!
Surprise.... (Score:2)
A post from Cpt. Obvious. I guess you will be hard pressed to find people on Slashdot who actually think the Klout score really says something about another person.
The purpose of the Klout score is, that some day people somehow will pay Klout for increasing their Klout score ;-).
Wrong metrics (Score:2)
Their metrics are bizarre ...
... if they were using /. UID numbers and ./ Karma and the /. friend/foe network and all that, I bet the results would be far more informative.
I think /. should allow klout linking... I think it would really further my career to be known as highly influential WRT goatse, TRS-80s, and being grouchy.
Re: (Score:2)
I've read up on it, the phenomenon is pretty funny, but what I'm after specifically is the delicious lulz from self-important "social media gurus." Can anyone find anything? Bonus if there are pics and the person looks like a total hipster.
Real-world consequences (Score:2)
Klout scores have real-world consequences, with people deemed influential getting discounts on concert tickets or free access to airport VIP lounges
Wow, that's some really horrible real-world consequences... Can we move along...
Re: (Score:2)
Welcome to Slashdot.
Re: (Score:2)
Welcome to New Slashdot.
FTFY
Do newmedia douchebags like it? (Score:3)
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/26/using-a-social-media-rating-to-help-people-not-judge-them/ [nytimes.com]
http://parislemon.com/post/29563509395/under-the-influence-of-klout [parislemon.com]
http://uncrunched.com/2012/08/16/why-i-changed-my-mind-on-klout-and-invested/ [uncrunched.com]
Yes? Then ignore and move on.
Klout is krap. (Score:3)
Warren Buffett and Bill Gates have lower Klout scores than Justin Bieber. Until this summer, so did President Obama. And as far as I could tell, Steve Jobs never had Klout at all. And this is a metric that I'm supposed to take seriously? I think not.
privacy blogger Dan Tynan cigars (Score:3, Insightful)
Did anyone else read this and think it was just some sort of inside joke or coy insult to insinuate Tynan blows a lot of smoke up things?