We are living in the golden age of “gamification.” Despite my openly expressed concerns for our culture’s infinite appetite for distraction, I’m a fan of gamification. Gamification, as Taige Zhang states, “leverages our natural desire for competition, achievement, status, reward, self-expression, altruism, and completion.” Done well, it helps promote user engagement and has been linked […]
Klout, IQ and Reification – Why Trying To Measure Influence Is Dangerous
“Klout matters to employers.” When I read that bold headline in Todd Bacile’s post, Florida State University class using Klout to determine student grades, I had a visceral reaction. Why? First, because Klout really only matters to a very small percentage of employers in a niche of the business world, and second, because I wouldn’t […]
Deleting My Klout Profile: My Only Regret
Last month I deleted my Klout account. The deletion of my account was a protest of sorts. My goal was not to get others to delete their Klout profile, but to make a statement about behavior. I believed then and I still believe that Klout has negatively “changed the way some people behave on Twitter […]
Empire Avenue Was Never A Highway For Influencers
Jeremiah Owyang – @jowyang Empire Avenue: Was once a highway for influencers, yet now an infrequently travelled back alley. What happened? I have a massive amount of respect for Jeremiah Owyang. So when I read this tweet, it struck me in an odd way. Perhaps he was just trying to create an interesting turn of […]
Why I Deleted My Klout Profile
If you need to look at my Klout score to determine if I have influence, I don’t. If you need to look at my Empire Avenue stock price to determine if I have value, I don’t. And if I have to ask you to vote for me to be on someone’s list of influential people, I […]
Up For A Game Of Klout?
If you’ve been using your Klout score to tout your online influence, this post is for you. If you’re putting your Klout score on your resume, this post is for you. If you’re a social media guru telling people to go sign up for Klout immediately, this post is for you too. I want to say this as […]