By Iola Goulton
Well, not really. But Klout says I am—at least, I’m more important that Steve Laube (prominent literary agent for Christian authors), Amanda Luedeke (marketing guru at literary agency MacGregor Literary, another prominent agency working with authors in the Christian market) and as important as Emily Rodmell (acquisitions editor for Love Inspired novels). I can prove it: here is the screen shot of my Klout score on 18 October:And here are screen shots for Amanda, Emily and Steve:
Am I really more important, more influential, than these people? I don’t think so.
Klout is supposedly a measure of influence on the interwebz. It analyses engagement on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ to measure influence (the ability to drive action in others). I joined Klout because a book blogger programme I’m a member of required a Klout score over 30 to get review copies. At that point my score was around 25, but it’s slowly increased to its current high of 55.
I recently read an article debating the accuracy of the Klout score and hinting at the possibility of gaming the system. A quick Google search showed how easy this can be.
It’s easy to get caught up chasing the numbers—how many Facebook friends, how many Likes on a Fan page, how many Followers on Twitter, how many subscribed to our blog and (of course) our Klout score.
But this isn’t what’s important.
What’s important is that we love and care for our families and friends.
What’s important is that we love God and are seeking to live according to His purpose for our lives.
What’s important is that we remember who we are in the eyes of God, who loves us more than we can ever imagine (and fiction authors can imagine a lot!). He sent His Son to die for us. He waits for us, His bride, to return to Him. And He does all this without regard for what we do—or how high our Klout score is.
(By the way, my Klout score has since dropped since I wrote this. Never mind. I'm still important to God.)
I am a freelance editor specialising in Christian fiction, and you can find out more about my services at my website, or follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest. I love reading, and read and review around 150 Christian books each year on my blog.
And you're important to us, Iola!
ReplyDelete(I've never really understood Klout)
Thank you, Ian!
Delete(And I still don't understand Klout).
I love how the Bible shares the opposite message. The Shepherd left 99 to save one lost sheep. Jesus saw the heart of the poor widow who gave her last coins, and contrasted that with the rich and arrogant who gave lavishly with the wrong motives.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder, Iola. Numbers can mean so much, and/or so very little. As long as we keep our focus on what God cares about, the numbers shouldn't inflate our egos.
It's not just the numbers inflating our egos. I suspect that we are equally likely to allow the numbers to make us feel bad, and that's another reason to ignore them.
DeleteFirst time I've even heard of Klout! Now, does that mean I am VERY unimportant - or perhaps it is Klout who is? LOL. I so agree with your comments, Iola. No matter how much passion we might have about our work, hobbies and yes, my writing career too, I must always seek to know God's priorities for me at any given time. Today for me is looking after grandchildren!
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely Klout that's unimportant. Have fun with the grandchildren - that is far more important!
DeleteHi Iola,
ReplyDeleteI love this post, and agree with the comments from Ian, Dorothy and Mary above.
I had/have a Klout account, but it never really meant much to me. All I get nowadays is the occasional email telling me that they've lost their link to my Facebook data, so aren't getting an accurate picture. I haven't followed them up as there are so many other things needing attention at any given moment. One thing I know for sure, focusing on numbers and stats has always made me sad, so it's best that I don't do it.
It's human nature to use numbers as a way to keep score, yet we serve a God who loves us regardless, so the numbers are meaningless in the big scheme. If we are focusing on the numbers, not on God, surely that's telling us we need to shift our focus.
DeleteIola, thanks for the reminder of what is most important. It's been great to read all the comments. I've heard of Klout but never got around to looking into it. I agree with Paula. It's potentially another tool that can cause us grief if we start comparing ourselves with others and either feel like we're lacking or bloat with self-importance. I'd be interested to hear from someone who has found their Klout scores useful.
ReplyDelete"I'd be interested to hear from someone who has found their Klout scores useful."
DeleteThree weeks, and no one has responded. I guess that's telling you something!
My Klout score is useful only for ensuring a bookblogger programme continues to allow me access to review copies (one of the programmes I'm a member of requires a minimum score of 30 to get books). If it wasn't for that, I probably never would have heard of it.