Last year I wrote a blog post called, "#FF Yourself," which talked all about what the tradition known as #FF or #FollowFriday is all about. It's a organic system that started seemingly when twitter started that allowed users to highlight their favorite twitter people to follow and share with their communities. There are a number of different ways to participate in #FF and as Twitter has grown, it's really nice to know that a tradition like that has continued. However - other than ego stroking, I'm not sure it really does much to help anyone in the long run outside of a few extra followers (which yes, is always nice). However, this is where Klout's +K comes into play.
Klout, for those that don't know, is a website that helps to find the "influencers" online by measuring activity. In the past year it's grown from just measuring Twitter, to measuring Facebook, About.me, and Linked in as well. I for one see the value in this site, and believe that starting now with more services included, and in the future, they will be the online influence powerhouse with reliable data. As more companies get a better handle on how to use this technology, and the data gets refined to be more meaningful, it could very much be a tool that helps in areas like recruitment, loyalty programs, and blogger outreach. As an example, Vegas' Palms Hotel already has perks for those with high Klout scores.
Klout's most recent, and perhaps most useful addition comes with "+K". Their algorithm will figure out what topics and/or keywords a person is most influential about, and then it's up to that person's followers to corroborate Klout's findings by giving a +K, or an affirmation that yes, this person is influential in the topic of X.
What this now does, is not only demonstrate that someone has a high score, far reach, and knowledge about a subject - but that what Klout is reporting is actually true. Real people out on the interwebs agree that yes, you should contact the person in question if you're interested in X topic.
The only drawback is actually getting people to Klout to do this. Users are given up to 5 +Ks per day, and there are a variety of rules and guidelines on Klout's blog.
I may not think of doing this everyday, but when it comes to Friday and the #FF tradition, I will now give out those 5 +Ks to people that have really inspired me throughout the week, or provided a lot of value in their specific areas, or helped me in some way. I encourage you to think about who in your week has done the same, and give them a +K.
Klout, for those that don't know, is a website that helps to find the "influencers" online by measuring activity. In the past year it's grown from just measuring Twitter, to measuring Facebook, About.me, and Linked in as well. I for one see the value in this site, and believe that starting now with more services included, and in the future, they will be the online influence powerhouse with reliable data. As more companies get a better handle on how to use this technology, and the data gets refined to be more meaningful, it could very much be a tool that helps in areas like recruitment, loyalty programs, and blogger outreach. As an example, Vegas' Palms Hotel already has perks for those with high Klout scores.
Klout's most recent, and perhaps most useful addition comes with "+K". Their algorithm will figure out what topics and/or keywords a person is most influential about, and then it's up to that person's followers to corroborate Klout's findings by giving a +K, or an affirmation that yes, this person is influential in the topic of X.
What this now does, is not only demonstrate that someone has a high score, far reach, and knowledge about a subject - but that what Klout is reporting is actually true. Real people out on the interwebs agree that yes, you should contact the person in question if you're interested in X topic.
The only drawback is actually getting people to Klout to do this. Users are given up to 5 +Ks per day, and there are a variety of rules and guidelines on Klout's blog.
I may not think of doing this everyday, but when it comes to Friday and the #FF tradition, I will now give out those 5 +Ks to people that have really inspired me throughout the week, or provided a lot of value in their specific areas, or helped me in some way. I encourage you to think about who in your week has done the same, and give them a +K.