Do you have Klout?

After a bank holiday break, we return refreshed and ready to give you your daily dose of the world of the web and design.

For this Tuesday, I'm going to introduce you into the world of Klout. For everyone that doesn't know what Klout is, it is a secret algorithm to measure online influence. This monitors everything you do on social media, the web and tracks you ability to influence people within your peer group.

Klout breaks down people's online “influence” by topic, which should theoretically help you find interesting people to follow on topics you like. Most social networks do this, too, but Klout uses something called +K points. If someone thinks you’re expert on a certain subject, they can visit your user page and award you +K points, which is supposed to further increase your "influence." But like your overall score, it doesn’t have a lot of relevance outside of the Klout echo chamber.

Why is this important I hear you ask? Well some people don't, some people do. Klout gives a score to your social status online. With a trackable number, you can measure one person in relation to others in their field, you can measure improvement over time, you can use it to set standards that people can aspire to.

My Klout score comes in at 41 which isn't too bad as the average is around 50, only Justin Bieber has managed the elusive 100 score and Barack Obama picked up 99 so these people of influence have the potential to help raise your score if you want to engage with them (Obama probably over Bieber any day).

I suggest you setup yourself up on Klout, it's interesting to see where you stand in your field of influence. After that, you need to start building relationships with people. Start and join in conversations. Interact with people one-on-one and provide useful information. Ask and answer questions. Follower and interact with the thought leaders in your field. The more engaging your content is the more likely people are to share it, which shows Klout you really are an influencer. Raising your Klout score isn’t an overnight process. It takes time to build meaningful relationships and fill your social media account with kick-ass content. With time, patience and know-how, you’ll slowly see your influence and following grow. And this time around, you’ll be the most popular kid on the playground.

'Til the next time
James x