I’m just about out of Klout! (Klout goes Krazy again!)
My last Klout post was: Has Klout gone Krazy? (You ruined my Tweets Joe!)
I was enjoying today, writing my Kred blog post for Wednesday’s publication, looking forward to getting into some social media satire after lunch and suddenly Klout collapsed again!
I was having a quick gossip with some Empire Avenue friends and they told me the horrific news! I looked at my Klout score earlier this morning and it was 62, my network had grown and I was steady at 62, not quite the 72-74 I’m used to, but OK I guess by recent standards. But NO, now I’m way down at 51!!
What’s going on Klout???
I'm nearly out of Klout!
I just went to the Klout blog to see what’s up and what reason Joe’s found for hammering us all again. Maybe he heard us mention Kred? There’s no explanation on the blog but there are some angry comments, mine included! The amusing part is that the most recent post is entitled “What does Klout Measure?” Looking at today’s fiasco, no one is too sure any more!
Klout goes Krazy again!
What’s the story Joe? I’ve been super busy with social media lately and if I hadn’t my PeerIndex scores and my Empire Avenue price would have reflected that sudden inactivity. So what makes Klout special? How come things are dropping so dramatically? Earlier today you told me my network was great, it was growing and doing fine, suddenly that’s all wrong?
How true is my reach Joe?
Suddenly my ‘True Reach’ is ‘Untrue Reach’ are you serious?
Is this just a glitch or another algorithm change?
I was discussing the fact that Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga were such Klout mega stars yet neither really engage or interact with my friend Edward recently. We both thought that social media was all about connectivity, engagement and interaction, broadcasting is old school, right?
Social media and broadcasting aren’t the same are they? But social network influence as seen by Klout must be more about broadcasting if Justin and Lady GG have such high scores? Or is this a transparency thing?
So, unless Klout’s just having a very bad day and quickly get themselves sorted, they’ll be losing countless other followers, great timing for Kred!
It’s a sad day, I wrote lots of blog posts that were either all about Klout or at least mentioned them and I promoted them on StumbleUpon, Twitter, Facebook, BizSugar, Blockube, Posterous and Tumblr. I also promoted Klout to clients, friends, followers and family, I sent seemingly endless Klout K+’s and made up Klout lists that I shared and published on Twitter and Facebook. I did a lot of marketing for Klout and all for free and the love of social media, many of my social media friends did the same and where are we all now Joe?
The Klout crash weekend
How forgiving are we? Is this just an unfortunate event in the colorful history of Klout or has Joe done it again?
Will people drop Klout like a social media hot potato and head towards Kred, Empire Avenue and PeerIndex? Who knows? One thing I do know, we’re getting fed up with it all!
Look out for my blog post on Wednesday, it’s all about Kred and you might like it!
But wait, there’s a social media message from my friend Nits in Thailand:
It's a Facebook problem!
- A Facebook issue?
Whether it really is down to Facebook or not, Klout continues to lose credibility one way or another! If things don’t improve I’m sure a lot of people will just move on to pastures new and leave Joe, Justin and Lady GG to it! (The Klout crowd are getting emotional on Facebook!)
Let me know what you think!
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When I saw my score go down yet again today, I was wondering the same thing Peter…. how much more activity can I do to ‘please’ Klout or for them to notice my influence with my followers. I’m pretty much going to shut the door with Klout…. too much time is spent on figuring out their NEW tracking and how you really can increase your score.
Maybe I should start tweeting with Justin Bieber and Lady GaGa and see what happens. I’m already friends with Oprah – isn’t that enough?!! Except I’m in this for creating credibility, connections, contacts and real people that actually work at their online presence. I enjoy promoting others and do so all the time. But if Klout decides it isn’t enough, what standard are they following. What really is their motive for this platform? I’m confused and really don’t wish to spend any more time on a confusing social site that seems to change just as much as Facebook does.
Sorry for the rant… I’m glad you are sharing this information Peter as I thought I wasn’t good enough anymore to be on Klout, lol. I always appreciate your referrals as well, so I am checking out Kred. Just asked for an invite.
Hello Lynn,
Klout’s on the way out as far as I’m concerned! OK, the drop today was soon rectified and accidents do happen but it’s not looking good. The Facebook Klout page was FULL of complaints!
Your comments here are the same as my good mate Edward’s, they are simply a marketing company, collecting data for corporations, they don’t care about the social media community and that’s it!
I also agree that Facebook does change a lot and it is tiring, my friends at ParentingExtra have moved their business page to Google+ and they say the results business-wise are way better!
I love a good rant, it has to be done!
Kred seems good and I’m looking forward to find out a lot more, research time now!!
Looks like my Sunday (day off) will be spent online, thanks to feeling obliged to write the Klout post!
Take care Lynn, all the very best Peter, aka MarketingM8
Great blog Peter. I didn’t have any issues this time around. But I did notice the Facebook connectivity issue on Klout as well as Empire Avenue. Unfortunately we never really know who’s fault it is when they don’t play nice together. I will be checking out Kred just in case.
Hello Andrea,
Great to hear from you!
As you quite rightly say, who’s really at fault??
I’d recommend giving Kred a look, it might well be just what the social media community needs!
Have a great Sunday, Peter, aka MarketingM8
I got rid of my klout profile at least a month ago. Now I have no klout just a sad little puppy. But apparently, in real life, I do have clout as I was upgraded to a $500/night suite (on a room I booked on points) and given a gift basket at a hotel we stayed at last week. Why? Because I talk with and about them on social media.
In the end, social media is about being social and I am that. I talk to a lot of people all the time. People with high klout scores and people who have low klout scores. I don’t care. Everyone is valuable and you never know when that next great connection is going to come along.
I’ll take clout over klout any day.
Hello Lauri, great to see you here and I couldn’t agree more!
I think the social media community gave too much weight to Klout and I admit I am guilty of it myself. (I recommend you check out Kred though)
But, it’s been a great wake up call and as I say in my post later this week, it’s what we actually do that makes us what we are, in life, digitally or otherwise.
However, I do believe that some form of social media connectivity/engagement measurement isn’t a bad idea, because I’ve seen so called social media gurus at seminars taking hard earned $$’s off the unsuspecting public and I don’t like that! I asked these ‘experts’ what they thought about Klout and PeerIndex and they had no idea what I was talking about. This rings the alarm bells!!
I researched these guys and they’d sent 10 Tweets, they had 5 followers and yet they were charging $1000′s for social media training (including Twitter workshops) and advice. Not good!
I got one of their experts into a conversation about Empire Avenue and Klout and he actually ran away because he couldn’t answer the question! I nearly cried laughing!
This is why we need something as a guide rather than nothing at all.
Great to hear from you, all the very best, Peter aka MarketingM8
Klout is definitely losing ‘Kred’ibility!
I am certain that they are wishing they can grow up and become ‘Pro’ with their ‘Skores’.
But who knows, maybe someday they will have some kind of ‘Peer’ ‘Index’ing capability that gives Klout back what they desire in their business…the real CLOUT!
As stated above by the great comments, Klout needs to get over their defective definition of influence which appears to be a measurement of ‘popularity’ more than the standard for influence.
Klout –> “Social media without the social is NOT social media!” -edwardMBA
Hello Edward and look at me answering a comment after just an hour or two!!
Oh yes, fair comments and it’s all good pun!!
Tomorrow is Social Media Satire featuring, our friends at…. yes… Klout!
Wednesday’s special will feature Kred and I’m interviewing the CEO Andrew Grill Wednesday night!
I haven’t contacted our friends as yet because I connected with them on Flickr and Tweeted a load of their YouTube videos today!
Let’s see what happens and I’ll email them Tuesday, OK?
All the best Peter, aka MarketingM8
It’s all going the other way with me Peter. Klout, up until one week ago was telling me that my FB activity was pretty much zero – a lie ;o) and yet over the last week I have seen my Klout up 10 points.
Not sure what’s going on, but they are beginning to lose credibility, certainly within my circle of ‘friends’, if not further out. When I logged in to Klout this morning it did tell me my FB activity had improved – maybe they were missing that data all along. Who knows, and to be honest who actually really cares. As mentioned above, Kred has a great opportunity right now. Will they sieze the day?
Hello Paul and I don’t know if that’s good or bad for Klout, it’s the inconsistency that seems to be annoying people the most!
I’m still looking at Kred ( http://wp.me/p1fPZU-1SX ) and I interviewed Andrew Grill the CEO and he seemed a very cool guy, down to earth and looking to provide the service people need.
Great to hear from you, all the very best Peter, aka MarketingM8
I disconnected all 5 accounts I manage from Klout. I have to tell you, it’s the best feeling in the world. I too was sucked up in the frenzy of trying to promote, write about, share the beauty of Klout. I had a Klout score of 74 then it went spiraling down to a 40 then up to a 50 then to a 57 then back down to 30 all in a matter of days. Ha! that’s when I realized, something is going on at Klout headquarters and they must be smoking crack.
We’ve written about them in three, maybe four posts, always giving them credit for the good while continuing to put up with their huge weekly faux pas. I have to be honest since this past Monday, I’ve had a huge time suck removed from my daily routine. Giving K+ to people, looking at my analysis, never really comprehending how they could possibly say my influence has gone down while my traffic and RT’s were sky rocketing through the roof.
But like I’ve said and continue to say. My clout comes from clients, readers, and the social networks I support and engage in daily. I’m done with Klout. It’s a great feeling.
Hi Gabriella,
I think you and are in the same boat, took Klout too seriously, helped them a lot with promotion (for free) and feel a tad used and disappointed.
I agree that real clout comes from what you do and how people appreciate it, that’s real clout.
As a community I do believe a measure of some kind is beneficial as a guide for social media people, but it can only be a guide.
Great to hear from you, all the very best Peter, aka MarketingM8
Peter, your Blog post is refreshing in it’s honesty. You’re pissed about your score, and you’re fine with that being your reason! It’s all mildly popular social media experts who are opting out of Klout. It is being taken waaaay too seriously though. Klout is a hot topic, and everyone is talking about it. The other networks like Kred play on people’s self esteem though, offering inflated scores and the score that counts oversharing as a virtue. It’s ridiculous, but I love games, and these are the ultimate games becauset hey have no rules, no point, no winners, and no end, so I’ll play.
Hello Adam,
I’m glad you appreciate my honesty, I tell it like it is and if people don’t like it well, that’s life, right? (Or words to that effect)
I love your last comments, “no rules, no point, no winners and no end, so I’ll play.”
CLASSIC comment and my wife wants to buy you a beer!
All the very best Peter, aka MarketingM8