Klout co-founder explains what will—and will not—affect your social media influence

I know a lot of people hate the idea of being rated on Klout, but I am sincerely impressed by the way the young company is pursuing a disciplined and rigorous approach to creating a constantly improving approximation for influence.

It’s far from perfect, but I give Klout props for focusing on the right thing—improving its algorithms by investing millions of dollars in technology and doctorate-level resources.

So why in the world would they open themselves up to be gamed with this new +K thing? I am already seeing people ask to be awarded +K points in hopes of raising their score as they seek valuable new Klout Perks.

Well, as it turns out, the +K designation is fairly meaningless at this point. I asked Klout co-founder Joe Fernandez about this innovation, and here is his answer:

“The +K award does not affect your Klout score,” he said. “We put it out for a few reasons—to drive engagement and to help build out our models around topics.”

Joe compared it to a personal “like” button to reward somebody for a job well done.