Klout, Social Media, Social Status, In Addition To Social Class

Will Barratt, Ph.D.

I got an invitation to bring together Klout yesterday.  I had no thought what Klout was hence I spent some fourth dimension chatting on-line in addition to in-person alongside colleagues in addition to reading reviews of Klout.  Officially Klout is touted every bit “making influence measurable” yesteryear tracking your influence through social media.

Once I learned what Klout was I became fascinated yesteryear the social course of written report implications of this  tracking software.  Klout may accept been designed to attention businesses rails the extent to which their tweets are re-tweeted, or how oft people click their Facebook profiles, merely Klout is existence marketed to individuals also.  One of my Twitter active colleagues noted, on Facebook of course, that “I monitor my score in addition to prefer non to come across it drop.”

Paying attending to the rules that Klout uses volition kind your postings toward those which acquire y'all to a greater extent than Klout influence points.  Any game player, specially complex calculator game players, volition mold their behaviour hence that they tin accumulate to a greater extent than points.  Klout, from ane perspective, is a social media game that y'all tin win.  Whether or non the rules of Klout truly reverberate anything inward reality is a affair for a intelligence of measuring validity. 

Since Klout is non a zip amount game (if I win a betoken in addition to hence y'all lose a point) losing has relative in addition to non absolute meaning.  Winning, having to a greater extent than points, is all the same winning.  Now y'all tin accept a real-time assessment of your on -line influence.  Influence volition be, for many people, equated alongside social status.  Influence volition be, for many people, equated alongside social capital.  If y'all accept a high score in addition to hence y'all are a winner.  If y'all accept a depression score in addition to hence y'all are a loser.

Which of us has non done a Google search on our ain elevate in addition to the elevate of someone else to compare our scores?  Which of us has non posted something to Twitter hoping that it volition acquire Re-Tweeted?  Klout tin calculate your popularity inward social media inward existent fourth dimension hence that y'all tin role it to approximate your personal worth, your social status, in addition to your social class.  Or not.