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RIP Klout: The thing you didn't know was still a thing
Klout, the service that claimed to summarize every Twitter user's social reach and expertise into a tidy score, is shutting down on May 25th. In addition to its individual ratings, the company offered business analytics solutions and even partnered with Microsoft before it was acquired in 2014 by Lithium Technologies. Today, the latter's CEO Pete Hess tersely explained in a public post that Klout was shuttered because it is "not aligned with our long-term strategy."
Microsoft to start showing people's social and career info in Bing results
Back in 2011, the relationship between Microsoft and social analytics company Klout made it possible for some folks to take home a free Windows Phone. In 2013, though, it's all about Bing. To that end, Microsoft's know-all engine will, as of today, begin displaying Klout-verified information inside Bing search results. The new partnership makes it possible for people to share personal tidbits using Bing's Snapshot feature, things like employment history and prominent social posts from Twitter and Instagram. While this integration with Klout goes considerably deeper than that, it'll ultimately be up to each user to determine the amount of details they want shown when someone is searching for them in Bing. You'll need Klout and LinkedIn accounts to create your very own Snapshot -- and let's be honest, we all know how important first impressions on the web can be.
Klout for Business translates social media influence into big brand power
Your imaginary (and seemingly arbitrary) social media score just got that much more credible -- by the same company calculating it. Klout's launching an offshoot of its influencer index to target businesses, turning individual social media data into metrics companies can use to better their brands. The service, which will continue to rollout into April, will arm big business with info culled from its Perks program (brand feedback provided by Klout's user base), highlighting hot topics, relevant social networks and other intangible "buzz" data so highly sought after by marketers. The sign-up page is live now on Klout's site, so any companies eager to abuse benefit from willfully divulged social data should do so with haste.
Klout adds Passbook support and perks
The social app Klout has updated its iPhone app, with a few surprising features. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of Klout. It's gotten a little bit of a reputation for being spammy, and I think the way it rates influence is more or less meaningless. However, there's one feature of the new app that I think is very interesting, and that's Passbook integration. Yes, the Klout app will now show up in Passbook, and contains a "Klout card" that shows off the user's name, photo and Klout score. Klout says that showing this card to various people or businesses could have benefits down the road. Klout isn't an app that I would have expected to use Apple's Passbook feature. In the same way that we've seen apps make interesting uses of features such as in-app purchases and push notifications, it looks like some apps will use Passbook in ways that maybe weren't necessarily intended by Apple. We'll have to keep an eye out for more interesting Passbook-fueled ideas. Klout has also added support for the iPhone 5 and "perks," which are a feature of Klout's web service but are only just now showing up in the app. If you do want to make use of Klout and its features on your iPhone, the app is a free download. [via VentureBeat]
Got Klout? You may qualify for a free Windows Phone
Turns out that Microsoft's hoping to get some influential people on board with Windows Phone, and it's choosing a unique strategy to do so. It's partnered with Klout, a service that uses social media analytics to weigh the influence you have on your social network, to give away 500 free devices -- along with VIP passes to one of five Windows Phone launch parties across the country -- to those who qualify through Klout Perks. The winners appear to be determined by their Klout score and if they live in the same city as one of the five shindigs. But it's clear that the Windows giant wants to be heard, and it might just work: according to Klout's official blog, "top influencers are trusted by their audience to share their real opinions and more and more brands are recognizing this power." In short, Redmond's banking on the possibility that some mightily influential people will have great things to say about its product. After all, word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool. Head to the source link to find out how to learn if you're one of the lucky 500.