Klout
Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2012 2:03 pm
I'm just as confused as Jimbo seems to be about this. Is Klout (new to me, BTW) indexing Wikipedia editors, or is it indexing BLPs?
Maybe Jimmie Wales can help rescue it:DanMurphy wrote: Then people figured out it was all BS and it's dropping deeper into obscurity every day.
As always, Jimbo's assessment of something is primarily based on how that thing treats the "people he knows".I just looked at Klout for the first time in months and it actually seems to be much improved. If they are starting to look more at things like whether or not someone has a Wikipedia entry, that might be helpful. It used to seem to be a service that rewarded people primarily for having lots of twitter followers and posting a lot, which I think is silly. But now the rankings for various people I know in the Internet world seems at least somewhat plausible.
Klout is vaguely important because some marketers won't have a meeting with you unless your Klout score is above some arbitrary margin. If you're in that industry and have to deal with such idiots, then you have to pay attention to it.DanMurphy wrote:Klout (I prefer the satirical service "Klouchebag") is a fad website that sprang up about a year ago promising to score your "influence" on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. Basically, if you have a lot of followers who tend to pay attention to what you write, you have a lot of "Klout." The scoring algorithm is of course easily gamed, has entirely subjective (and empirically stupid) notions of "influence" and was only really attractive to silicon valley asshats and assorted hangers on.
I was recently talking to one of my academic mentors/"tolerators of dan" (I ended up becoming a hack, rather than becoming a serious researcher; some still lord this over me) about the organization of knowledge in a wired world. He, like Jimbo, suggested using "Lily Cole" as a litmus test for influence and relevance when it comes to important knowledge.When I searched for Lily Cole, who doesn't much use twitter or facebook, klout told me that she's influential on several topics including, much to my surprise "World of Warcraft". This turns out to be because there was some kind of commercial for the Body Shop called "WOW! project" and her line of makeup is featured.--Jimbo Wales (talk) 08:41, 29 September 2012 (UTC)
If you're interested in the answers to these questions (I'm not), you could read Business Insider's lengthy puff piece. Klout uses scoring algorithms "to measure 400 signals, like Wikipedia pages and Bing searches, in addition to social media activity".It's a question all startups have to answer between giant fundraises and figuring out business models.
Some growing companies, like Twitter and Facebook, handle adolescence well. For others it's awkward and takes serious soul-searching to finding a place in the business world.
Klout is one of those companies.
In early 2012, the social importance ranking engine was on fire. Kleiner Perkins, Microsoft, and other big-name backers pumped $30 million into Joe Fernandez's company at a valuation worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Then Klout vanished from headlines. Last week it reappeared. The news wasn't good.
Klout's COO and board member, Emil Michael, resigned. He left for Uber, the latest red-hot startup worth billions of dollars, to be its SVP of Business.
Losing Michael was one of a few snags the company has faced since its 2012 fundraise. The rumor mill has started to churn.
Why did Michael leave?
Is the company burning too much money?
Does it have a real business or revenue?
Are investors fed up?
Is Klout failing?
Yes, definitely do so.thekohser wrote:Shall we merge this?
Why do so many people follow Scoble's babblings? He is an egotistical shithead.+Jimmy Wales invented Wikipedia, but he only has 85.
Mancunium wrote:When A Startup Worth Hundreds Of Millions Goes Dark: Klout's Quiet Year Of Growth And Struggle
Business Insider, 14 September 2013 linkIt's a question all startups have to answer between giant fundraises and figuring out business models.
...
Losing Michael was one of a few snags the company has faced since its 2012 fundraise. The rumor mill has started to churn.
Your Comment Has Been Sent To The Bleachers
You wrote: Alyson, is "fundraise" a noun in your dictionary?
On this post: When A Startup Worth Hundreds Of Millions Goes Dark: Klout's Quiet Year Of Growth And Struggle
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This is the problem with Wikipedia. Senior Wikipedians in good standing insisted on describing two American teenagers as bastards, and to identify them precisely with their full names, city of residence, and complete dates of birth, even though they knew full well that the children were legitimate, and that their legitimacy had never been in question.Dickinson may see the Internet as a freewheeling alterna-reality where he’s liberated to air his “unpopular truths” about the ills of women’s suffrage and employment. But the Internet is also the workplace. It’s perplexing why Business Insider would employ someone as openly racist and sexist as Pax Dickinson is, but it’s positively mind-boggling that Business Insider hired a CTO who doesn’t even understand that the Internet is real life.
I was going to say that. Plus, Business Insider is notoriously one of the greediest websites. It runs hundreds of Javascripts from advertisers, trackers, and assorted dubious business entities. And it is quite fond of dishing dirt on other websites. Yet Google, Bing etc. now index it as if it were a "serious business-news site".thekohser wrote:Yet another reason to remind everyone that Business Insider was launched by a man charged with civil securities fraud by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and that he agreed to a permanent ban from the securities industry and paid a $2 million fine plus a $2 million disgorgement.
There's that word again......"disruptive".It’s also a great startup lesson. If you’re an innovative startup, particularly a disruptive one, people won’t just fight you, or denigrate you. They will HATE you, with real hatred. Facebook went through this. Twitter went through this. Embrace the hatred. The hatred is good. Let it wash over you, and then kick ass.”
P.S. My Klout Score of 46 puts me "in the top 30% of social media users".Introducing the #NewKlout
Today we’re excited to announce the launch of a new version of Klout that helps you not only measure your influence, but also increase it.
This new version was developed with one simple truth in mind: the best way to make an impact online is to share great content.
Login today to get started with #NewKlout.
Sincerely,
The Klout Team