Have you been getting Klout invites recently on Facebook?
I have.
It seems lots of people are interested in having their rate of influence ranked and Klout is one of the many programs that will do this.
But how much weight is put on these influential ranking systems. Apparently a lot.
I was driving home from a networking meeting and heard Sam Fiorella’s interview on The Story on American Public Radio.
I shudder to think I would have missed this interview had I not been up way past my bedtime at a networking event.
Sam’s story is intriguing.
He’s a marketing professional with lots of experience and interviews for a job; the interview was going very well.
Then the interviewer asks if he knew his Klout score. He honestly admitted that he did not and when they looked it up together the interviewer’s tone changed. His score was only in the 30s…way too low to be considered influential. The interviewer went on to say that they were looking for someone with a higher Klout score. Needless to say he didn’t get the job. Never mind all his years of experience, he didn’t get the job based on a Klout score. But some young hot shot with a rock star status Klout score did. He didn’t have nearly the experience and ended up failing horribly.
As Sam tells it, he spent the next six months trying to raise his score and was always online even to the dismay of his wife. And he did it; within six months he raised his score to rock star status and the calls began coming in. He was offered speaking engagements because now he was considered an expert. His many years of experience didn’t make him an expert, his manipulation of social media made him an expert. And nothing had changed. He still had the same set of skills, he still had the same number of years in the business…the only thing that changed was his Klout score.
That’s powerful.
An influential ranking system can prevent you from getting a job and at the same time catapult you to stardom.
Do we need such a system?
The logic behind it seems the same for our kids taking standardized tests. It separates those that know or in this case “those in the know” from those who are struggling or maybe have test anxiety.
I had not been paying attention to my Klout score and it seems that I’ve been building influence according to their ranking system. I’m close to rockstar status. If that’s true, I’m going to need a maid, a cook and a driver asap!
Sam gave up on all this Klout business. He opted out from the program and is now the proud owner of a Klout score of zero.
Does it mean he’s less influential? Are his years of experience now nothing more than a moot point?
Nah.
But what happens when you refuse to be measured; when you opt not to play by the rules?
I don’t know.
I think I want to work towards the maid and driver first; I need a break from cooking and cleaning.
Do you know your Klout score?
Are people with higher Klout scores more important than those with lower scores?
Tell me what you think.
