Understanding Klout Topics
Posted by Jim Hedger in 
note: This post was originally posted in Alan’s personal blog, K’necht-It. It is reprinted here at Alan’s request
The most widely known social media measurement tool right now in the market is most likely Klout. They have gained notoriety through their API which have allow hotels to look up your Klout score at check-in (and then providing special treatment to those with high scores), and other applications to help people evaluate other people’s influence in the land of social media.
Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit Klout’s head office in San Francisco and to sit down with Megan Berry (@meganberry) their Marketing Manager. We had a great 30 minute chat, where we covered a variety of topics from Klout Perks to scoring, to Klout Topics. Klout Topics have dominated my Twitter stream for months now with many people questioning how these topics are chosen by Klout especially when in some cases they seem completely out of character or have nothing to do with what these people tweet about.
People hard at work at Klout
Here is a summary of what I learned and it now is starting to make sense.
1. Klout first looks for specific keywords/themes in your tweets that generated lots of engagement. This can be based on lots of replies to your tweet or retweets of your tweet;
2. Secondly, if you replied to someone’s tweet and your response generated lots of engagement then they will look back to the original tweet for keywords/themes;
3. Once they have the keywords/themes where you yield influence, they use a Symantec dictionary to identify standardized and relevant terms
4. Klout then compares your influence on these standardized terms to see if you are yielding significant influence within your circle and within their user base
5. If you are deemed to yield influence on a specific term it will appear in your list.
Take these two examples:
On person tweets about personal “privacy” 20 times a day. If no-one ever replies to their tweet or retweets it, the term “privacy” will not show up on their list.
Another person publishes a single tweet on personal “privacy”, it generates 20 replies and is retweeted 30 times plus many retweets of the retweets. In this case a single tweet has generated influence and it will appear in their list (assuming that they are not more influential on another 10 other topics – the maximum displayed).
This can cause problems when the use of the Symantec dictionary presents terms that don’t make senses to you. For example, in my case for more than the past month Klout has told me (http://klout.com/#/aknecht/topics) that I’m influential on the term “tools”. I rarely use the word “tool” or “tools” in my tweets and I took it to mean items like hammers. Megan explained to me that I tweet a lot about analytics software, utilities for measuring social media, etc. In general I tweet a lot about “social media tools” and “analytic measurement tools” so Klout has simplified these items down to just the word “tools”.
I have theorized that some of the problems people are having occurs if they click the reply button on a tweet and then start a different conversation with the person not realizing that while in their minds this is a new tweet, yet in Klout’s eyes it is still connected to the theme and keywords of the original tweet that started the conversation.
So that is Klout Topics in a nutshell. Do you think they are on the right track or they off-base?
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Hear Jim Hedger’s views and interviews on Webcology @WebmasterRadio.FM
Digital Always Media Creative Partner, Jim Hedger takes a look at the business and technique of web marketing on Webcology, live each Thursday at 2pm Eastern, 11am Pacific on WebmasterRadio.FM. FEATURED BOOK : The Last Original Idea
The Last Original Idea actually is an original idea - highly unusual in a world where "recycle" is the order of the day. It takes a light hearted look at the state of Internet marketing today and traces back each of the elements to its historical roots, clearly demonstrating that companies who understood the mistakes of the past were able to be profitable in the present. Others are a mere memory, lost in cyber-space.
Alan K’necht
For over a decade, Alan K’necht has successfully run search marketing campaigns and multiple training courses on search engine optimization, web analytics, Webtrends, Google Analtyics, Site Catalyst, Social Media Marketing and Twitter. In 1998, he incorporated his company, K’nechtology Inc. and quickly became a recognized authority and frequent speaker at web and Internet marketing conferences around the world. He has contributed hundreds of articles to industry publications and has been interviewed by leading publications including the Wallstreet Journal, Cnet, CBC Radio, National Post, WebmasterRadio and many others.
Jim Hedger
Jim Hedger is an organic SEO and digital marketing specialist. Jim has been deeply involved in the online marketing industry since 1998, as a SEO since 1999. He is best known as a prolific content writer, search industry commentator, WebmasterRadio.FM show host and conference interviewer. He is also a frequent conference speaker and organizer.
Jim brings a wealth of knowledge, experience, passion and creative thinking to each project. Preferring a teamwork approach, Jim strives to inform and train clients and/or their staff, leaving them better equipped to manage their online marketing efforts.
Jim is co-host of Webcology on WebmasterRadio.FM. Webcology is popular weekly live-to-air broadcast with archived podcasts dating back to October 25, 2007. Webcology is heard every Thursday at 2:00pm eastern/11am pacific and is available through iTunes and on iTunes Radio.
Lyndsay Walker
Lyndsay has been an online enthusiast for almost her entire life. Beginning at age 12, she began creating websites and in 2005 made the switch to online marketing, focusing on Search Engine Optimization and Web Analytics. Her experience as a web designer has led her to become an expert at technical SEO issues.
Lyndsay has worked as an SEO expert in a variety of fields including Internet pharmacies, payday loans, travel and e-commerce, most recently heading the Online Marketing department at Canada’s Web Shop.
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