Social media experts give a thumbs down to those that weigh students’ Klout scores too highly in the classroom or an interview.
Lynn Fox, a Klout spokesman, confirms that Klout chooses not to be transparent about its scoring. "We don't really give advice on how to increase your Klout score," she says. "We define influence as the ability to drive action. We believe that if you are authentic and create high-quality content on a relatively frequent basis, your score will reflect that."
Sam Morrison, a senior at Syracuse, says employers weighing applicants' Klout scores is probably what's coming in the future. But until the algorithm stops being "pretty vague," he won't be taking it too seriously, even though he has downloaded the Klout app on his iPad.
[Imagine college life without social media.]
But Klout is just another tool in society's obsession with measuring everything, says Jessica Pryor, a first-year student in both Webster University's MBA and graduate media communications programs. "We love analyzing figures and applying metrics to everything for us to interpret," she says.
Although she would have been caught off guard if a prospective employer asked her about her Klout score, Pryor says she'd have no qualms about revealing it.
"I'm young in my career and need people to see my potential," she says. "If giving a Klout score puts me at the top of an employer's hiring list, you can count me in."
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