Klout is one of those polarizing forces on the Internet.  Some people swear by it -others think it is a joke.  If you are unfamiliar with Klout, it is basically a website that tracks your social media interactions and calculates a score showing how “influential” you are.  The exact formula they use is about as secret as Google’s ranking algorithms.  In other words- who know!???

Any Benefits?

When I started with Klout, I saw two potential benefits.  One was a way to benchmark my social media efforts.  Even though I don’t understand WHY my score goes up and down, it is an interesting way to track your overall progress.  After all, if your Klout score is going up, you are interacting with more and more people online and doing a better job of getting your message out there.  For as little time as it takes, I think it is worth monitoring your Klout score.  The key is to just not get obsessed with raising your score.  Just monitor it like you do anything else.

Perks?

The other interesting potential benefit for me was Klout Perks.  The concept is that your Klout score qualifies you to participate in various perks – which range from access to events or free products.

To be honest, I always considered the Perks part to be kind of a scam.  Most of the “perks” were things that people didn’t really want or else they were in super-limited supply and never available.  I always read the perk alerts, but never really pursued them.  A while back, however, I saw a perk from Sony.  They were touting their new cordless Walkman and offered me a free one.  I took the time to fill out the perk claim form, but really wasn’t expecting to get anything.

To my surprise, this beauty showed up in the mail last week.  

Now this isn’t some crappy, throw-away type of item.  It was a brand new, $70 Walkman.  I was shocked.

The Walkman

For the record, I really like the Walkman.  It is super-easy to load songs and sounds pretty good.  Its weird not having to deal with a cord dangling from your neck, but once you get used to it- you will never want to go back.  If you like to run or workout at the gym, this thing is awesome.

Back To Klout

Sorry… I digress….

So the long and the short of it is – Klout just might be worth your time.  I can’t guarantee your mailbox will be filled with cool electronic gadgets, but you will at least have some way of charting your social media growth.

What about you?

Do you use Klout?  What has your experience been?  Any cool perks???