Klout @Users and @Brands, we screwed you all but we think we got it now!
Klout might have overestimated their own Klout just after a wonderful video was published less then 24hrs ago by the Wall Street Journal.
Today we’re releasing a new scoring model with insights to help you understand changes in your influence. This project represents the biggest step forward in accuracy, transparency and our technology in Klout’s history. Ash Rust
Klout which has been a leader in measurable social influence and impact had spent the better part of the last year promoting themselves and their scoring system as the leader in connecting brands with influencers. While Klout built its business partnering with some great companies and brands to reach influencers, it would seem that in one swoop they said you got screwed to both their clients and their users.
Klout’s position is that it has made changes to better reflect influence. In one comment, Klout compares itself to Google and the need to update algos for the purpose of producing better Page Ranking results. In the mean time, Klout finds itself in a rough spot having to explain to its big brand clients that they in fact might not have reached the right people.
I imagine the conversation goes like this. Sorry you paid for something and we were completely wrong, don’t count on us giving you your money back but we think we got it right this time…. @Klout
As you can imagine, Klout users have been upset by the change as well, both the comments section on the announcement page and over in #usguys (on twitter) users have been hammering at the disappointment in being lead down one road to only have their work and social influence styles tossed out because Klout mislead them on what they thought was important. 
What’s worse it seems that Klout admits it is giving even weight to social networks meaning that those that have spread themselves out over many social sites may in fact be punished by using Klout and connecting it to more than just twitter.
Perhaps we have given Klout to much of a stake in how we as social users are evaluated, I suggest taking a look at other Sites like PeerIndex, EmpireAve and keeps your eyes peeled for SocialIQ by SooVox which all seem to provide a much more descriptive look at how and why you are measured in social influence instead of a number and a random chart or two.
One thing is for sure, Today Klout upset a lot of their top users and proponents while opening the door for others to enter their market with a statistical example of why they can do it better than Klout.
If your looking for a more positive outlook and what this means for the future of how you use it, take a look at this post by BundlePost.
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Yesterday, my Klout score was over 50, today, it’s at 46. And their chart doesn’t even indicate what it was yesterday.
I’ve always questioned the idea of “Klout”, and am now beginning to question it’s purpose at all.
Do we really need a website to tell us if we are influential or not? I think not.
Craig
I went from a 75 to a 56. It only matters if you make it matter. In this new move Klout is saying that it was wrong – will they be wrong again? True influence is not about numbers, it is about engagement!
I can’t keep up with my Klout score or any of these other rating systems. To me the question is, for whose benefit are these ratings designed. I am constantly solicited to make references for people I do not even know. The veracity of information on the web can be questionable in as much as social media and online communication can be invaluable. To me the most reliable source of information about someone is LinkedIn and even then people request recommendations from me and say we worked together when we have not. So who and what can you trust?
OUTSTANDING from @LoveLu, “True influence is not about numbers, it is about engagement!”… I will add that you NOT judge me by my Klout score but by the content and of my tweets. I continue to form solid biz/personal contacts with tweeps from around the world. I find value in them and they… in me (kinda maybe). Thanks Klout for putting a numeric value on the influence I have with those around me. 🙂
It’s not the score that worries me as much as the power so many gave it as the standard for understanding influence and investing the time of users and brands to use klout as the first analytical tool to understand how we are doing with influence.