Matthew Liberty

From my Brain to This Blog

Klout in the Cracker Jack Box

18 Comments

A picture of an old Cracker Jack box
Image via Wikipedia

I completely understand why so many want to know what they are worth online…to some extent I think we all want to know. It’s no different in real life, you want to know you are valuable in order to be validated; although some people just want to know they are “worth” more than other people.

The two problems I see with Klout: 1) it’s not accurate…yet people are treating it as such 2) because people are treating as a valid device, others are gaming the system…just as humans do in real life with things.

I think the systems will continue to get better and be able to read someone’s “klout” more accurately, but it will never be 100% accurate. I think the people gaming the system are missing the point of social and exploiting a weakness in the system…which again, is human nature.

My belief is that a Klout score needs to be taken with a grain of salt. I believe there are people with low scores that deserve higher, and people with high scores that are simply gaming the algorithms. When I was a kid I loved getting the toy or prize out of a Cracker Jack box or Captain Crunch cereal…that’s what Klout is in a sense, entertainment, a circus sideshow.

At the end of the day I understand both sides, it’s human nature to want to attach a real number to something, like our value, so you know where you stand amongst the cattle. And on the other side you will always have the gamers, the cheats, the ass bags that manipulate systems. Welcome to Earth. In an ideal situation people wouldn’t care about their “scores”, but we do and that will not change, ever.

So keep doing what you’re doing, no matter which side of the fence you’re on, and I will continue to be social and build real relationships with people. Cheers Klout lovers and haters…don’t get lost in the woods!

Below are the other blog posts via #UsGuys/ #UsBlogs group (it’s a Twitter thing), in which a topic is chosen and everyone blogs on that. Cheers.

Round up of all other week three posts:

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Comments

  1. “When I was a kid I loved getting the toy or prize out of a Cracker Jack box or Captain Crunch cereal…that’s what Klout is in a sense, entertainment, a circus sideshow.”

    Great analogy. We put BS in a ballgown, and call it DATA. I think it’s fun. I was more curious about the Dalai Lama’s Klout score than my own. Why not. Fun math, but it does little for rich storysharing, storytelling, and story-listening. (The real carmel popcorn and candy peanuts.)

    Good on ya! Shine on, Matt.

    Mark

    Reply

    • Hey Mark, love that line “BS in a ballgown”…thanks for the comment. I love analyzing things but also feel like there is a line, how long can we talk about Klout, sometimes we have to just let things be and see where the chips fall. Cheers man, have a good one!!

      Reply

  2. You got it, Matt — “a Klout score needs to be taken with a grain of salt”. Same as other metrics and similar to awards and trophies, including the Grammys and Oscars — all well and good as long as they are put in perspective. A judgement of any kind is just that, a judgement established by very imperfect people, with all the biases, faults and errors that come along with that.

    At most, these recognitions serves as a little window into what you’re doing and what people think of your work. We can’t help but feel good when the results are positive; not so good when they aren’t.

    But in the case of Klout, it’s not even what someone thinks of you. It’s what someone’s algorithm thinks of you, and most agree that algorithms are just as imperfect as people. Don’t let the numbers fool you.

    Reply

    • No doubt Paul, and everybody knows the imperfection exists yet people still take the bait…this is a human psychology thing not a Klout thing. As you say, putting things in to their rightful perspective is the issue…and I imagine will continue to be…forever! lol

      Thanks Paul!!

      Reply

  3. No question…we all want to have a way to evaluate our effectiveness – will there ever be any way to truly assess a human being’s ability to be human? it’s a tough thing! I’m completely committed to doing as you plan to, “I will continue to be social and build real relationships with people” – Thx Matthew!

    Reply

    • Indeed a tough question Sam, can you ever get an accurate number on how human someone is? Many still aren’t understanding the “social” aspect of all this, the humanization…they are still freaking out over numbers, scores, and SM ROI…cheers and thank you!!

      Reply

  4. Matt~ You’re so down to earth about the whole thing, and I love it. The best thing about this #usblogs project is that everyone’s take is so very different. I agree that it needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

    Love the prize in the Cracker-Jack box metaphor! I have a lovely photo of myself from high school somewhere in a Cracker-Jack t-shirt 🙂 I love the creativity.

    So much more fun to read these now that we’ve met. I can hear your voice coming through in this piece.

    Jackie
    @jackinessity

    Reply

    • Thanks Jackie…I certainly try to be down to Earth, or at least level headed about things. No need allowing things like “Klout” to get the blood pressure going…lol. Cracker Jacks were the bomb, I must have been craving them when I wrote this.

      It most certainly helps to meet in person and connect #beyond140 as they say!! Cheers Jackie and look forward to all of us hanging out again soon!!

      Reply

  5. Head on the nail with this one man.

    I like your conversational approach. It is not that the gamers are wrong, they are just being themselves. I am not wrong for wanting my score to mean something, but it never will encompass who I am, or even most of my online behavior. We are people, acting like people online. People can surprise you, and can let you down. That is what I got from your post.
    Thanks for sharing.

    @67tallchris

    Reply

    • Glad you were able to see my overall point Chris and I appreciate the comment. People get all fired up over Klout or how people use Twitter, etc.; but what do you expect? We are still human even when we’re online, the psychology is the same. Cheers man and thanks again!

      Reply

  6. Nicely summarized, Matt.

    When some people begin to take Klout seriously (probably more seriously than it deserves), others will try to manipulate their scores–in ways which will make Klout even less reliable than it now is.

    I do believe that Klout has some merit for measuring one’s effectiveness on Twitter–thus far only Twitter, and even that is limited. I’m curious to see how the Klout algorithm evolves, and if it can stay ahead of the gamers.

    Reply

    • I agree completely Karen…but as the algorithms evolve and become better, there will always be a gaming aspect because the gamers evolve too. Either way, if we can get over the human psychology of needing to put a number/ value on everything…the social side of all this would be more enhanced. Worrying about scores takes away from the game…so to speak. Thank you for the comment!!

      Reply

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  8. Hi, everyone! I am glad you have finally started to discuss this topic. Like other kids at school, I loved this old- time caramel popcorn with peanuts, which also included a prize. I always impatiently waited to open a box with a surprise inside!

    Reply

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