Klout: How they will force you into Social Media.

There are many forces that shape our life that we are not aware of. I just read about one in an article in Wired Magazine about Klout.

Klout, while at first just a means to get perks like hotels upgrades is turning into a means of control by being used for hiring. Your Klout score, even if you are unaware you have one, is being used by employers to choose who they hire:

Last spring Sam Fiorella was recruited for a VP position at a large Toronto marketing agency. With 15 years of experience consulting for major brands like AOL, Ford, and Kraft, Fiorella felt confident in his qualifications. But midway through the interview, he was caught off guard when his interviewer asked him for his Klout score. Fiorella hesitated awkwardly before confessing that he had no idea what a Klout score was.

The interviewer pulled up the web page for Klout.com—a service that purports to measure users’ online influence on a scale from 1 to 100—and angled the monitor so that Fiorella could see the humbling result for himself: His score was 34. “He cut the interview short pretty soon after that,” Fiorella says. Later he learned that he’d been eliminated as a candidate specifically because his Klout score was too low. “They hired a guy whose score was 67.”

Wired article



There are many forms of social control and they are working on a new one to force you into social media (SM hereafter).

Many of us here on ATS avoid SM like facebook and twitter which many see as an invasion of privacy and means of data collection.


Also many are leary of posting on facebook and such SM least things happen like happened to Brandon Raub.

They are now working moving to force you to use these SM services.

You see, at first SM was option, now they are slowly turning it into a means of control. To get a job, get your book published, and more you will need a higher Klout score. To get a higher Klout score you must sacrifice your personal privacy and be constantly hooked into SM society.

Soon if you refuse to engage you will even be considered mentally deviant:
Not on Facebook? Employers, Psychiatrists May Think You’re a Psychopath

So They are using the carrot of upgrades on hotels, free rentals, etc and the stick of labeling you as psychotic to coerce society into facebook. This trend is only just beginning.

The main problem with Klout is that it just doesn’t work. It’s like a giant Web-based game that requires you play by the rules to succeed at. You can be a bestselling author who has reached millions of people around the world, but if you’re not on Twitter then Klout will label you a useless minion of the non-social networking underclass. Even those who do play by the rules will find themselves labeled as influential on subjects they have no recollection in ever even discussing.

Screw Klout.

Nobody's forcing you, but if you want to use a certain app and they require a facebook account, thats your decision to either comply or dont... I dont see what the big deal is, just use a fake name.

Many of us here on ATS avoid SM like facebook and twitter which many see as an invasion of privacy and means of data collection.

Boy is that wishful thinking. Most people on here are on one or more social media sites, the only thing that is different is some of the people here kid themselves into thinking they are not one of "them" because they have an account but [insert some explanation here].
What cracked me up the other day was the stuff in the facial recognition. You enter your name,date of birth and a photo of yourself- but when some software does it its OHHH NOES!!!!

Originally posted by Superhans

Many of us here on ATS avoid SM like facebook and twitter which many see as an invasion of privacy and means of data collection.

Boy is that wishful thinking. Most people on here are on one or more social media sites, the only thing that is different is some of the people here kid themselves into thinking they are not one of "them" because they have an account but [insert some explanation here].
What cracked me up the other day was the stuff in the facial recognition. You enter your name,date of birth and a photo of yourself- but when some software does it its OHHH NOES!!!!

No facebook or twitter for me....ATS is pretty much as "social" as I get...Even here, I'm more of an observer than a participant...relatively speaking of course.

Back on topic....nothing surprises me anymore

reply to post by pianopraze


Interesting Thread! S&F


My "tin foil hat" senses kicked in during the Aurora, CO aftermath....when MSM began to equate lack of "social media" presence and participation with "mental illness"

Are you kidding me???

What if...a person just doesn't really give two turds about social media.

What if...a person just wants to experience life without feeling a need to announce their every move or thought to the world wide web.

OR, maybe my life is just so insignificant and boring that there is no point

Doesn't make me crazy...it just means I don't really care that much about social media.

So, commit me already....I could use the rest and relaxation.

Look, the way people interact is changing. We are moving towards an ever more digital world. Smart businesses are realizing this and taking advantage of it. Some of the attempts may backfire on them, Klout will probably be one of them. However, remember, they are businesses. They are taking a chance when they hire someone, and things like Klout give them a more reassuring(to them) idea of whom they are hiring. Anyone can fake it through a few interviews, but look at what they leave online and you get a clearer picture of who they really are.
There are a myriad number of ways to get around such things, for instance my google+ page only has my real name in a side part of my profile where you'd have to dig to find it.

The fact is, the world is changing. You can only be so paranoid before it burns you. There seems to be a generational thing where the closer you are to 40+, the more afraid of technology and the digital world you will be. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's not a good thing either. Every thing in moderation.

Chances are, that guy didn't really miss out on that job because of a Klout score. It was probably a bunch of little things, maybe even the way he presented himself at the interview and the interviewer used the Klout score as an easy out in not hiring the guy. We will never know.

What we do know is, the digital age is here, firmly, adapt or lose out. Simple as that.Privacy is still possible, just don't post every stupid thing that comes into your head on the web. Start a diary for the stuff you wouldn't want a future employer to judge you on. Please though, stop vilifying technology and our new digital era, it's getting old and boring....like analog lol

Originally posted by dayve
Nobody's forcing you, but if you want to use a certain app and they require a facebook account, thats your decision to either comply or dont... I dont see what the big deal is, just use a fake name.

From an IP address that cannot be tied back to you [now or ever] using an email address that has similar advantages.