You’re in marketing for one reason: Grow. Grow your company, reputation, customers, impact, profits. Grow yourself. This is a community that will help. It will stretch your mind, connect you to fascinating people, and provide some fun along the way. I am so glad you’re here. -Mark Schaefer
I crossed the line. I think I have become a social media slut.
Before I tell my tale, let me relate a few of my experiences this week …
- A very talented friend told me he was rejected for a job at a major ad agency because his Klout score was too low.
- A B2B marketing agency Managing Director told me he chose between two qualified candidates based on their Klout score.
- A friend in D.C is creating a Klout 50 Club exclusive to people with high Klout scores. Why? He wants to find good hires for social media marketing.
- A woman told me her boyfriend was accepted to a prestigious conference based on his Klout score alone.
These experiences occurred in the span of 72 hours.
This morning I had coffee with a family friend who just graduated from college and is seeking her first job as a writer/content creator. She was eager to seek my advice on what she should do to get ahead and land a job.
My leg began to twitch. My hands became cold and clammy. My lips quivered.
And then the terrible words came out of my mouth. “You need to take a hard look at your Klout score. It could make a difference if you’re seeking an entry level social media job.”
Oh my God. What did I just say?? What have I done? I recommended that this young lady game a score to get a job? That she needed to focus on an internet RATING of her worthiness?
I felt sick and … dirty. Filthy. Slutty.
I still do. This isn’t what I want social media to be about. This is not what I want people to aspire to. And yet, I can’t ignore what’s happening out there. Facts are facts. I would have been remiss to NOT mention it to her.
An algorithmic measure of influence can never tell the whole story, but it seems that it is starting to become a quick and easy indicator of … something. Something that people are grabbing on to. In a world where people are auto-responding their relationships and making business decisions based on 140-character sound bites, this thing seems to be going mainstream.
I’ll turn this over to you and your comments. I need to scrub down.
