Klout is super hot right now among social media talking heads because it’s attempting to assign a number to measure online influence. We in the social media fishbowl love numbers, because they tell us who is ‘winning’.
But I think there’s a huge potential issue facing Klout and any of the likely competitors that will soon be popping up that will also want to measure online influence. That issue is, what happens when people start trying to game the system? When people begin to understand how to influence their influencer score, then the score won’t be measuring influence, it will be measuring our abilities to game the system.
Any decent attempt at measuring online influence has to evaluate existing behavior, not influence future behavior.
For example, do you remember the backlash that Fast Company received over it’s Influencer Project? Instead of telling us who the real influencers were, FC build a system where the influencers would reveal themselves by whoever did the best job of leveraging their online networks and convincing them to push them to the top. IOW, the project rewarded the people that did the best job of spamming their own networks. It didn’t measure existing behavior, it influenced future behavior.
This is one of the potential problems I see for services that attempt to measure online influence, especially if they have a scoring model like Klout does. Joe did a great job of explaining how Klout works in the last post, but in theory, people with higher Klout scores will likely be more coveted by partner companies. So if you knew how to use Twitter in a certain way to raise your Klout score up to 80, would you do it? Before you say ‘no’, what if the difference between having a Klout score of 70 and 80 was getting a Sony PSP, versus getting to drive a new Camaro for 6 months?
These are real issues that Klout and any of its competitors will have to address. And for the record, I do see potential for services like Klout, if companies are smart enough to leverage the information they provide. As I said in the previous post, I think it starts with targeting evangelists for your products, moreso than influencers.
Klout has been one of those items I have looked at with an uneasy eye. Currently it has helped me do research on conversation versus auto tweeting and has provided some reliable data for me to share with my clients. It is unfortunate to think that the gaming of the system is inevitable. My thoughts are that at least I have somewhat of a knowledge of the gamers and the real people that will help me teach others. It’s an unfortunate world we live in where many people just want something for nothing and are unwilling to show true commitment to achieve something based on hard work and good merit.
Jonathan as long as numbers and rankings are involved, I think people will try to game the system. That’s really all SEO is, gaming the system to get better results. I think it’s inevitable, so it will be interesting to see how Klout and competitors respond.
Okay Mack, you got me. Klout intrigues me. I’m competitive. What can I say. And YES if I had time to figure out the game, maybe I would. Intuitively I think I get how the game is played. But here’s a thought — and I think you and I agree on it. Why does a brand WANT the people who are trying to build their personal influence to the point of “gaming the system”? If building influence is their reason for getting up in the morning how can they help grow brand love for the long haul. I’ll go check out the past post you mention. Passion is the way to go. Influence can be built. Passion, can’t be manufactured.
Hi Robbin! I do agree with you, and my point was that I think companies need to be aware of this. It’s just human nature that if we figure out that a higher score means we get better stuff, then a lot of people are going to figure out a way to boost their score. Which means companies aren’t going to be connecting with influencers, they are going to be connecting with the people that are doing the best job of gaming the system.
Which is another reason why I think it’s better for companies to connect with existing evangelists vs influencers. I think we’ll agree on that point as well 😉
I enjoy Klout, have been introduced to some cool products and had a couple of nice perks from them…. but… I am also offered perks regularly from other sources.. the same rules apply to Klout as to any other brand.
Do I actually really like the product or service ?Is the product,service or company of interest or use to my readers/followers? Is the brand responsive to consumers & acquiring a social media presence in order to provide better customer service?
The answer to those questions has to be “yes” at least for me because in the end having a houseful of crap isn’t worth trading my integrity for.
Mack
Gaming the system is inevitable. However, will it have meaning? If people ignore Klout then the gaming does not matter. Now Klout has meaning and people look at it as a resource to see who is influential but once it is gamed and people start talking about it, it will have no credibility and then something else will come out and the process will start all over again.
If a company wants to know is influential in a certain industry/field, why not just do some searches or ask? Seems simple to me.
Hey Suzanne, thanks for commenting 😉 I am hoping that Klout is already thinking about how their system could be gamed, and are putting in contingencies to prevent this.
To me, the biggest issue isn’t how accurate the ‘influencer measurement’ systems like Klout are, but how effectively are companies using influencers in their marketing and communication efforts? There needs to be some synergies between the influencer, and the products/services being aimed at them. The fit needs to be based on something more than simply having a high influencer score, IMO.
Isn’t this the problem with every score? Once you know how to get good at scoring high, you kinda defeat its purpose.
I remember when I was taking driving lessons my instructor once told me “I am not teaching you how to drive your car, I am teaching you how to get a license”. The difference is substantial, and sometimes unavoidable.
You can’t measure something without altering it in first place.
Is the current stalemate on the U.S. budget the result of congressmen and the president looking at social network feedback. Are they waiting until the public is decoded;u willing to accept the inevitable? @