Maybe.
I logged into my Klout profile yesterday and noticed something shocking: my score had dropped 18 points, basically overnight; from 58 to 40.
At first, it looked like Klout may have been experiencing technical problems - aside from the drastic dip in my score, data wasn’t charting and my avatar was a cartoon caricature of what appeared to be Ebeneezer Scrooge, complete with feather quill.
I logged in again late last night. Still Scrooged.
This morning, my avatar was back to being me and my score was up to 49, but still significantly lower than where it was previously.
Was it something I said? Did I lose hundreds of followers? Did I stop sharing with my networks? No. No. And, No.
Then, something clicked.
Foursquare.
Last week (July 13), Mashable reported that Klout was integrating Foursquare into it’s scoring algorithm. So, like all good early adopters so, I linked my Foursquare account to my Klout profile. No big deal.
Perhaps I should have read the follow-up piece the next day (emphasis mine).
After Klout users learned this week that Foursquare activity would now affect Klout scores, many of them — particularly people who aren’t on Foursquare or who don’t regularly use the location-based service — were unsure about how the Foursquare integration would work.
That’s partly because the folks at Klout aren’t yet sure exactly how Foursquare will factor into the hush-hush Klout algorithm, which already considers Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to measure the online influence of social media users.
“We are still figuring this out,” Klout CEO Joe Fernandez told Mashable. “Obviously things like tips that turn into to-dos are interesting as is the ripple effect of a checkin through a network. In the next few weeks we’ll be testing and perfecting the algorithm.”
No other significant changes had occurred other than adding Foursquare to my profile. And, I had reassurance.
One thing Fernandez knows for certain, though, is Klout users’ scores will only go up once they add Foursquare to their Klout dashboards.
I’m not so sure that’s the case. It’s pretty curious that the day after I linked Fousquare to Klout, the rapid decline began. Sure, it could be coincidence or just my failure to see something more obvious, but it sure looks like a smoking gun.
As of today, I’ve revoked access to Foursquare. We’ll see what, if any impact that has on my Klout score over the next few days. I’m not ruling out connecting the two, but for now - especially if my score recovers - I will opt to not include have Klout factor in my foursquare activity.
Have you had a similar experience? Do you know someone who has?
