Will Kelly

Despite being a technology early adopter and writer, I’ve only kept a slow and steady clip with my social media presence. My social media presence is focused on LinkedIn and Twitter with a little Facebook and Google+ thrown in for good measure. Somehow along the way, Klout seemed to think I should have an account with them and just signed me up. Not cool. Here are the 10 reasons why Klout has no clout with me:

1. I never signed up for Klout. Somehow, I’ve got a Klout account and never signed up for one. That’s a faux pas on multiple levels in my book. It would be one thing if I signed up for a Klout account but they took the liberty of signing me up.
2. It was confusing to opt out of Klout. They somehow mapped “my Klout account” to my Twitter account. When I first tried to opt out, tried through my Facebook account only to create a new “Klout account”. Epic Fail. No chance I will reconsider them ever.
3. I am a LinkedIn Guy. I’ve gotten a fair amount of professional traction through my LinkedIn Profile over the past few years. As such, I spend time on the proper care and feeding of my LinkedIn Profile. Additionally, I’ve even given presentations about LinkedIn and job hunting for my church’s jobs ministry. LinkedIn has provided me with a Return on Investment.
4. Klout never comes up in conversation. I have multiple personal and professional circles and Klout never comes up in conversation.
5. I would never consult Klout. If I was researching somebody like the people I am meeting across an interview table or a prospective client, I would go to LinkedIn to research them. Klout would never enter the equation.
6. Too many doubts about its legitimacy. There are too many articles online poking holes in their business model. It reads to me as some sort of IPO pump and dump targeted to make a few million for the founders based upon some buzzwords.
7. It’s just like high school. Who made Klout an arbiter of influence and cool?
8. The supposed perks. Why would I work so hard to get their so called perks?
9. Privacy. Klout violated my privacy. I was never given the option to check them out on my own. They just went ahead and created an account for me anyway.
10. The algorithm seems skewed. Looking at some of the people who have high Klout scores, it was difficult to find anyone who I find influential. But then again, I work in the industry and don’t find the opinions of pundits to be that helpful.