Report: Klout doesn’t measure what it claims

According to a new Altimeter Group study by analyst Brian Solis, scores from services such as Klout and PeerIndex don’t even measure what the companies behind them claim they do.

“The inspiration for the report actually started with a finding that none of these services actually measure influence,” Solis says. “[My] mission was to define what influence is, what influence isn’t, and, once understanding that, recognize what these services actually measure and where the value could lie within it.”

Jeff Beford, an account coordinator at Anvil Media, says social scores are “imprecise, if not rubbish altogether. Not only are algorithms often being changed, creating massive fluctuation in scores, but competition is flaring between individuals battling for the highest score.”

Solis agrees. In his study, he quotes research that says measurement becomes harder to execute the more that people attempt it, because so many participants are trying to gain the upper hand. But that doesn’t mean the scores are useless, he says.