@Klout Reloaded

There was a time, when the review of Klout has been "Why?" [cite]
However, they seem serious about this "influence" business. Good for them! Measuring "influence", and establishing an acceptable score on the social network activities are tricky.

Klout has score-scheme with 8 traits over the corners of a 4x4 grid:
Participating, Sharing, Creating, Broad, Focused, Consistent, Casual, and Listening. These 8 traits are weirdly distributed. It seems that they assumed 4 basic nature of social-subjects:

• Do they share? 
• How broad is their topic?
• Do they participate? 
• Are they consistently present in social media?  

These are further grouped into 16 categories/classes.  See below as appendix.

My assumption is that an activist (according to figure1) is more focussed on topics, more consistent (compared to casual), more listening (less participating), and more into creating than sharing. I wonder if it is similar to Machine-Learning clustering of some sort.

However, the Klout score between the specialists (50s) Thought Leader (70s) Conversationalist (20s) and Broadcaster (60s) indicates that the score is not as important as the grouping. What do you think?

Figure 1. According to Klout grid (highlighted), if you casually listen, and
 are closely consistent and create focused subjects, then you are an activist. 

Anyways, with the new algorithm, they are claiming that they are including more variables in the algorithms. Noticeably, my score went into 60s.

However, this begs one more question: will there be gamers in the system? Or will anyone care about the score? Do you?

---
Appendix: 16 Klout Classes

BROADCASTER

you broadcast great content that spreads like wildfire. you are an essential information source in your industry. you have a large and diverse audience that values your content.

CURATOR

you highlight the most interesting people and find the best content on the web and share it to a wide audience. you are a critical information source to your network. you have an amazing ability to filter massive amounts of content to surface the nuggets that your audience truly care about. your had work is very much appreciated.

TASTE MAKER

you know what you like and your audience likes it too. you know what's trending, but you do more than just follow the crowd. you have your own opinion that earns respect from your network.

CELEBRITY

you can't get any more influential than this. people hang on your every word, and share your content like no other. you're probably famous in real life and your fans simply can't get enough.

PUNDIT

you don't just share news, you create the news. as a pundit, your opinions are wide-spread and highly trusted. you're regularly recognized as a leader in your industry. when you speak, people listen.

THOUGHT LEADER

you are a thought leader in your industry. your followers rely on you, not only to share the relevant news, but to give your opinion on the issues. people look to you to help them understand the day's developments. you understand what's important and your audience values that.

FEEDER

your audience relies on you for a steady flow of information about your industry or topic. your audience is hooked on your updates and secretly can't live without them.

SYNDICATOR

you keep tabs on what's trending and who's important to watch. you share the best of this with your followers and save them from having to find what's hot on their own. you probably focus on a specific topic or cater to a defined audience.

OBSERVER

you don't share very much, but you follow the social web more than you let on. you may just enjoy observing more than sharing or you're checking this stuff out before jumping in full-force.

DABBLER

you might just be starting out with the social web or maybe you're not that into it. if you want to grow your influence, try engaging with your audience and sharing more content.

CONVERSATIONALIST

you love to connect and always have the inside scoop. good conversation is not just a skill, it's an art. you might not know it, but when you are witty, your followers hang on every word.

SOCIALIZER

you are the hub of social scenes and people count on you to find out what's happening. you are quick to connect people are readily share your social savvy. your followers appreciate your network and generosity.

NETWORKER

you know how to connect to the right people and share what's important to your audience. you generously share your network to help your followers. you have a high level of engagement and an influential audience.

SPECIALIST

you may not be a celebrity, but within your area of expertise your opinion is second to none. your content is likely focused around a specific topic or industry with a focused, highly-engaged audience.

ACTIVIST

you have got an idea or cause you want to share with the world and you've found the perfect medium for it. your audience counts on you to champion your cause.

EXPLORER

you actively engage in the social web, constantly trying out new ways to interact and network. you're exploring the ecosystem and making it work for you. your level of activity and engagement shows that you "get it", we predict you'll be moving up.

Special thanks to my wife for typing these stuffs.

:)