My first reaction to seeing my Klout score plummet overnight was disbelief. What had I done wrong?

Apparently nothing, Klout scores have been re-calibrated across the board. Like the poor performing Euro the value of a Klout point has been downgraded. But why?

Could it be that median scores were getting too close to 100? There’s no value in a scoring system where you have too many people near the top end!

Calculating Klout

Klout calculates scores based on the following:

• How many people you influence
• How much you influence them
• How influential they are

Their blog post attempts to explain the changes, but other than saying they think they are now more accurate, I cannot extract a definitive explanation, can you?

Interestingly they also state that the majority of users will not be effected or will even see an increased score. Well looking at the reaction online and many of the people I regularly engage with online, all I can see are scores being adjusted downwards.

Why Should You Worry?

Really you shouldn’t, but in a world where everyone is trying to apply a measure to what you do, Klout has proved a useful reference. Many have worked hard to increase their Klout scores and there are perks for doing so.

Explaining an overnight score drop, of 16 points in my case, can be tricky if you’ve been using it as a business reporting index. A Board that is still not fully sold on Social Media doesn’t take well to sudden downturns in metrics. Luckily I haven’t relied on Klout metrics, but some have.

It’s the Results That Count

Regardless of scores, charts and comparisons, it’s how you perform that matters. The results you bring in for your clients, your company, yourself or for others, that matter. Not what virtual stick some start-up decides measure you with.

In all I think Chris Brogan brings us back to reality with his Tweet last night:
“Instead of worrying about Klout, why not worry about making an impact? Easier to track, too.”

How’s your Klout, and do you care?