You may already know that Klout had some methodology change recently. And it seemed to me that they were allowing a user to connect with both a personal profile on Facebook and a page; managed to do just that. All was groovy; I was plodding along with my newly reformulated score and happy as a clam.
Suddenly my Facebook personal profile was disconnected from Klout So I reconnected it. Several times. All this time, my score stayed the same. Then…WHAM! Overnight, my score dropped seven points.
Not acceptable without an explanation. I needed answers and had no intention of resting until I got some.
So I started blasting Klout on Twitter, like the Dave Clark 5 song “Over and Over”. This went on for a few days. Meanwhile, my MODern Marketing 4 U Facebook page was still connected to Klout and it was unclear if my personal profile was attached as well since there was some odd overlapping of text on my settings page.
Finally, I received an email! It was addressed to “Hello, “ suggesting that it’s some manner of form letter that gets sent to annoying people like me. However, I got the answer I was after! They said:
Your Klout account may have experienced a score drop recently, and we'd like to explain what happened.
We only allow users to connect one type of Facebook account to their Klout account: either their personal profile or a Facebook page they manage. You're one of our users who chose to associate a Facebook page with your Klout account.
Great! If that’s the case, why did you let me connect TWO Facebook accounts in the first place? There’s more…
Prior to last week, Klout used Facebook personal profile data as part of your Klout score, even for users with connected pages. Your Score dropped because we are no longer including your Facebook personal profile data in your score calculation. We've made some changes to our product, and are now only using your Facebook page data to better protect your privacy.
Klout made a decision on my behalf; the wrong decision. Thanks a lot guys. And this raised a red flag for me. With the new Klout, they’re showing posts that influence my score on my Klout profile. My Facebook personal profile is for friends only. Does this mean that they are going to publicize my Facebook activity?
Again, I sought answers. And found! Their support page states that they’ll honor privacy settings in Facebook and ONLY show those influencing posts to my friends. Whew! This means I’ll gladly use my personal profile on Facebook for inclusion in their “moments”.
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| A Happy "Kloutist" |
One interesting note. A fellow tweep @kstaxman and I had a discussion via direct message about the whole affair. He thought it amazing that I got a response from them at all.
So Klout, if you are reading this, I’m available to consult for you. I will assemble a crackerjack team for you and train them on the fine art of engagement and communication and thus make your own Klout score of 84 much more realistic. I will gladly drive up to your fair city and meet with you.
And believe it or not, as I'm writing this, the song below is playing on 60’s on 6 right now. No kidding! Wow. This is a sign…
Looks like I’ll be going on a road trip! Thanks Scott McKenzie. May you rest in peace and thank you for all the beautiful music you've given us.
Here’s where you can find me: Klout, my website, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ ...and thanks for stopping by!
6 comments:
I deleted my Klout account. They make me tired. Not worth the hassle...
I enjoy a fresh challenge and and I DON'T take it seriously. It's another methodology for me to dissect...the research side of me needs to explore!
I'm done with Klout. I don't even know what it's for anyway. If companies are only using Klout to make blogger hiring decisions, they are doing it wrong anyway.
Good point! How DOES it benefit us anyway? The "perks" used to be decent, like giftcards for affordable things (like Subway)...nowadays they are % off something offers if you spend $100. Who has $100 to spend on something they don't need?
And as far as making an employment decision based on Klout...would you want to work for that company anyway?
So true Gerry! Love the song you added too! I think Klout is Kloutless, I mean clueless! If you don't visit their site it seems that your Klout score goes down, despite no change in engagement and activity from all the social networking sites. It is too bad if companies are using this site to evaluate if you belong in their company. Great post again!
Thanks Lisa! I think HR folks are "dazzled" by Klout and see it as a simple tool for "scoring" people. I personally do not see that as a good practice and see it as a way out of doing proper research on a potential job candidate. Sigh...
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