I was trying to find a Klout app on my iPhone to measure my social influence, or at least find an app that does something similar. I really didn’t have any standards on what this application would look like, how it would function or what results it would spit out to me. I came in this search under the pretense that I will find something very basic for now, maybe with limited functionality knowing how social media is in it’s phase at this point.

I looked at a handful of search results and found SocialScore, a social influence application apparently powered by Klout. Good news for me, right? Yes and no. Yes, in that I found something along the lines I was looking for: the ability to show my score, what my reach is, and some basic data, which is a great start. No, in that while I was looking for something basic, the app is really (I mean really) basic in its functionality. Regardless of that, I still think it’s an app that is worth looking into, besides the fact that it’s free…

Here’s how it works:

1. Once downloaded to your iPhone, open the application. You’ll find 3 tabs underneath: a) Me, b) Search, and c) Favorites.
   • ME tab: This is where you enter your own Twitter handle and find your Klout data.
   • SEARCH tab: To find someone else’s data, enter their Twitter handle in this section
   • FAVORITE tab: Tab where you can save your Twitter handles as favorites; provides you with the ability to instantly check/refresh your Klout data. You can turn off the favorite on an individual handle in this section.
2. Go to the “ME” tab and enter your Twitter handle in the text box to deliver your Klout data. Your score will be populated and your handle will automatically be added to your FAVORITE tab.
3. If you have multiple Twitter handles like I do, you can enter them all in the ME tab, which will then save them in the FAVORITE tab.

What it looks like:

The app shows the following social influence data based on Klout’s metrics. Note that only the actual numbers are shown for items 1-4, which does leave the user begging for more.

1. Overall Klout Score
2. True Reach
3. Amplification
4. Network
5. Type of influencer based on metrics (i.e. Broadcaster, Specialist, Explorer, etc.)
6. User’s Klout URL

It can also show you if your score has either increased or decreased since the last data check on Klout’s servers (as noted by the up or down arrow sign by the Twitter handle).

Now the skinny on my review…

PROS:

Indeed, the app shows very basic functionality and data on my accounts, but it also shows some promise as an upside. There is a lot of room for growth, and that should be taken as a positive. I can see the potential that this app can do in the future. As Klout expands its data integration, more robust real-time syncing of data would hopefully allow developers to showcase information; though admitting that real-time syncing alone is a good start. The ability to show a user’s increased or decreased score is a plus, as indicated by up or down arrows by your Klout score, but leaves the user to their imagination on how to engage. Data is accurately displayed, and can be refreshed to provide a more real-time experience on your score. Oh, and did I mention that this app is free?

CONS:

Basic apps can get dull and uninteresting, especially with limited user engagement. I can see the value of seeing my metrics, but lacks the ability to provide any way to enhance, increase, uplift or modify my engagement practices to see my score increase. No suggestions are given to help increase my score (I guess even in Klout there are minimal suggestions to begin with), and there is no feature to compare your account with another person. If other analytics apps can display growth charts (i.e. Google analytics dashboard), I’m sure that Klout can provide similar integration formats to the mobile world.

WHAT CAN CHANGE:

Below are some suggestions that I think may be helpful for the user:

• The ability to display more in-depth metrics
• Social influence comparison with others
• Growth chart of social influence
• Specific category metrics, such as increased number of unique retweeters, posts retweeted, etc.

Conclusion

Popularity: 8% [?]