<s>
Klout	B-Application
was	O
a	O
website	O
and	O
mobile	O
app	O
that	O
used	O
social	O
media	O
analytics	O
to	O
rate	O
its	O
users	O
according	O
to	O
online	O
social	O
influence	O
via	O
the	O
"	O
Klout	B-Application
Score	O
"	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
a	O
numerical	O
value	O
between	O
1	O
and	O
100	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
determining	O
the	O
user	O
score	O
,	O
Klout	B-Application
measured	O
the	O
size	O
of	O
a	O
user	O
's	O
social	O
media	O
network	O
and	O
correlated	O
the	O
content	O
created	O
to	O
measure	O
how	O
other	O
users	O
interact	O
with	O
that	O
content	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Klout	B-Application
launched	O
in	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Klout	B-Application
used	O
Bing	B-Application
,	O
Facebook	B-Application
,	O
Foursquare	B-Application
,	O
Google+	B-Application
,	O
Instagram	B-Application
,	O
LinkedIn	B-Application
(	O
individuals	O
 '	O
pages	O
,	O
not	O
corporate/business	O
)	O
,	O
Twitter	B-Application
,	O
Wikipedia	O
,	O
and	O
data	O
to	O
create	O
Klout	B-Application
user	O
profiles	O
that	O
were	O
assigned	O
a	O
"	O
Klout	B-Application
Score	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Klout	B-Application
scores	O
ranged	O
from	O
1	O
to	O
100	O
,	O
with	O
higher	O
scores	O
corresponding	O
to	O
a	O
higher	O
ranking	O
of	O
the	O
breadth	O
and	O
strength	O
of	O
one	O
's	O
online	O
social	O
influence	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
all	O
Twitter	B-Application
users	O
were	O
assigned	O
a	O
score	O
,	O
users	O
who	O
registered	O
at	O
Klout	B-Application
could	O
link	O
multiple	O
social	O
networks	O
,	O
of	O
which	O
network	O
data	O
was	O
then	O
aggregated	O
to	O
influence	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
Klout	B-Application
Score	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Klout	B-Application
measured	O
influence	O
by	O
using	O
data	O
points	O
from	O
Twitter	B-Application
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
following	O
count	O
,	O
follower	O
count	O
,	O
retweets	O
,	O
list	O
memberships	O
,	O
how	O
many	O
spam/dead	O
accounts	O
were	O
following	O
you	O
,	O
how	O
influential	O
the	O
people	O
who	O
retweet	O
you	O
were	O
and	O
unique	O
mentions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
information	O
was	O
combined	O
with	O
data	O
from	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
other	O
social	O
network	O
followings	O
and	O
interactions	O
to	O
come	O
up	O
with	O
the	O
Klout	B-Application
Score	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
accounts	O
such	O
as	O
Flickr	B-Algorithm
,	O
Blogger	B-Application
,	O
Tumblr	B-Application
,	O
Last.fm,	O
and	O
WordPress	B-Application
could	O
also	O
be	O
linked	O
by	O
users	O
,	O
but	O
they	O
did	O
not	O
weigh	O
into	O
the	O
Klout	B-Application
Score	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
announced	O
a	O
strategic	O
investment	O
in	O
Klout	B-Application
in	O
September	O
2012	O
whereby	O
Bing	B-Application
would	O
have	O
access	O
to	O
Klout	B-Application
influence	O
technology	O
,	O
and	O
Klout	B-Application
would	O
have	O
access	O
to	O
Bing	B-Application
search	I-Application
data	O
for	O
its	O
scoring	O
algorithm	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Klout	B-Application
scores	O
were	O
supplemented	O
with	O
three	O
nominally	O
more	O
specific	O
measures	O
,	O
which	O
Klout	B-Application
calls	O
"	O
true	O
reach	O
"	O
,	O
"	O
amplification	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
network	O
impact	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
he	O
could	O
not	O
speak	O
for	O
three	O
months	O
,	O
he	O
turned	O
to	O
Facebook	B-Application
and	O
Twitter	B-Application
for	O
social	O
interaction	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pulling	O
data	O
from	O
Twitter	B-Application
’s	O
API	O
,	O
he	O
created	O
a	O
prototype	O
that	O
would	O
assign	O
users	O
a	O
score	O
out	O
of	O
100	O
to	O
measure	O
their	O
influence	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2018	O
,	O
Klout	B-Application
announced	O
that	O
it	O
would	O
cease	O
operations	O
on	O
May	O
25	O
,	O
2018	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
primary	O
business	O
model	O
for	O
Klout	B-Application
involved	O
companies	O
paying	O
Klout	B-Application
for	O
Perks	O
campaigns	O
,	O
in	O
which	O
a	O
company	O
offers	O
free	O
services	O
or	O
products	O
to	O
Klout	B-Application
users	O
who	O
match	O
a	O
pre-defined	O
set	O
of	O
criteria	O
including	O
their	O
scores	O
,	O
topics	O
,	O
and	O
geographic	O
locations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
Klout	B-Application
users	O
who	O
had	O
received	O
Perks	O
were	O
under	O
no	O
obligation	O
to	O
write	O
about	O
them	O
,	O
the	O
hope	O
was	O
that	O
they	O
will	O
effectively	O
advertise	O
the	O
products	O
on	O
social	O
media	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Klout	B-Application
offered	O
the	O
Perks	O
program	O
beginning	O
in	O
2010	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Klout	B-Application
CEO	O
Joe	O
Fernandez	O
,	O
about	O
50	O
partnerships	O
had	O
been	O
established	O
as	O
of	O
November	O
2011	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2013	O
,	O
Klout	B-Application
announced	O
that	O
its	O
users	O
had	O
claimed	O
more	O
than	O
1	O
million	O
Perks	O
across	O
over	O
400	O
campaigns	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2013	O
,	O
Klout	B-Application
announced	O
its	O
intention	O
to	O
begin	O
displaying	O
business	O
analytics	O
aimed	O
at	O
helping	O
business	O
and	O
brand	O
users	O
learn	O
about	O
their	O
online	O
audiences	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
2012	O
,	O
Klout	B-Application
announced	O
an	O
information-sharing	O
partnership	O
with	O
the	O
Bing	B-Application
search	I-Application
engine	I-Application
,	O
showing	O
Klout	B-Application
scores	O
in	O
Bing	B-Application
searches	I-Application
and	O
allowing	O
Klout	B-Application
users	O
to	O
post	O
items	O
selected	O
by	O
Bing	B-Application
to	O
social	O
media	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
objections	O
to	O
Klout	B-Application
's	O
methodology	O
were	O
raised	O
regarding	O
both	O
the	O
process	O
by	O
which	O
scores	O
were	O
generated	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
overall	O
societal	O
effect	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Critics	O
pointed	O
out	O
that	O
Klout	B-Application
scores	O
were	O
not	O
representative	O
of	O
the	O
influence	O
a	O
person	O
really	O
has	O
,	O
highlighted	O
by	O
Barack	O
Obama	O
,	O
then	O
President	O
of	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
,	O
having	O
a	O
lower	O
influence	O
score	O
than	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
bloggers	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
social	O
critics	O
argued	O
that	O
the	O
Klout	B-Application
score	O
devalued	O
authentic	O
online	O
communication	O
and	O
promoted	O
social	O
ranking	O
and	O
stratification	O
by	O
trying	O
to	O
quantify	O
human	O
interaction	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Klout	B-Application
attempted	O
to	O
address	O
some	O
of	O
these	O
criticisms	O
,	O
and	O
updated	O
their	O
algorithms	O
so	O
that	O
Barack	O
Obama	O
's	O
importance	O
was	O
better	O
reflected	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
John	O
Scalzi	O
described	O
the	O
principle	O
behind	O
Klout	B-Application
's	O
operation	O
as	O
"	O
socially	O
evil	O
"	O
in	O
its	O
exploitation	O
of	O
its	O
users	O
 '	O
status	O
anxiety	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Charles	O
Stross	O
described	O
the	O
service	O
as	O
"	O
the	O
Internet	O
equivalent	O
of	O
herpes	O
,	O
"	O
blogging	O
that	O
his	O
analysis	O
of	O
Klout	B-Application
's	O
terms	O
and	O
conditions	O
revealed	O
that	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
business	O
model	O
was	O
illegal	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
Kingdom	O
,	O
where	O
it	O
conflicted	O
with	O
the	O
Data	O
Protection	O
Act	O
1998	O
;	O
Stross	O
advised	O
readers	O
to	O
delete	O
their	O
Klout	B-Application
accounts	O
and	O
opt	O
out	O
of	O
Klout	B-Application
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ben	O
Rothke	O
concluded	O
that	O
"	O
Klout	B-Application
has	O
its	O
work	O
cut	O
out	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
seems	O
like	O
they	O
need	O
to	O
be	O
in	O
beta	O
a	O
while	O
longer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Klout	B-Application
can	O
and	O
should	O
be	O
applauded	O
for	O
trying	O
to	O
measure	O
this	O
monstrosity	O
called	O
social	O
influence	O
;	O
but	O
their	O
results	O
of	O
influence	O
should	O
,	O
in	O
truth	O
,	O
carry	O
very	O
little	O
influence.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Klout	B-Application
was	O
criticised	O
for	O
the	O
opacity	O
of	O
their	O
methodology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
it	O
was	O
claimed	O
that	O
advanced	O
machine	O
learning	O
techniques	O
were	O
used	O
,	O
leveraging	O
network	O
theory	O
,	O
Sean	O
Golliher	O
analysed	O
Klout	B-Application
scores	O
of	O
Twitter	B-Application
users	O
and	O
found	O
that	O
the	O
simple	O
logarithm	O
of	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
followers	O
was	O
sufficient	O
to	O
explain	O
95%	O
of	O
the	O
variance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
November	O
2015	O
Klout	B-Application
released	O
an	O
academic	O
paper	O
discussing	O
their	O
methodology	O
at	O
the	O
IEEE	O
BigData	O
2015	O
Conference	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
spite	O
of	O
the	O
controversy	O
,	O
some	O
employers	O
made	O
hiring	O
decisions	O
based	O
on	O
Klout	B-Application
scores	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
reported	O
in	O
an	O
article	O
for	O
Wired	O
,	O
a	O
man	O
recruited	O
for	O
a	O
VP	O
position	O
with	O
fifteen	O
years	O
of	O
experience	O
consulting	O
for	O
companies	O
including	O
America	O
Online	O
,	O
Ford	O
and	O
Kraft	O
was	O
eliminated	O
as	O
a	O
candidate	O
specifically	O
because	O
of	O
his	O
Klout	B-Application
score	O
,	O
which	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
was	O
34	O
,	O
in	O
favour	O
of	O
a	O
candidate	O
with	O
a	O
score	O
of	O
67	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
September	O
2011	O
:	O
Klout	B-Application
integrated	O
with	O
Google+	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
October	O
2011	O
:	O
Klout	B-Application
changed	O
its	O
scoring	O
algorithm	O
,	O
lowering	O
many	O
scores	O
and	O
creating	O
complaints	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
November	O
2011	O
:	O
Klout	B-Application
partnered	O
with	O
Wahooly	O
for	O
their	O
beta	O
launch	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
January	O
2012	O
:	O
Klout	B-Application
was	O
able	O
to	O
raise	O
an	O
estimated	O
$30	O
million	O
from	O
a	O
host	O
of	O
venture	O
capital	O
firms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
February	O
2012	O
:	O
Klout	B-Application
acquired	O
local	O
and	O
mobile	O
neighborhood	O
app	O
Blockboard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
May	O
2012	O
:	O
Klout	B-Application
announced	O
growth	O
of	O
2000	O
new	O
partners	O
over	O
a	O
one-year	O
period	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
August	O
14	O
,	O
2012	O
:	O
Klout	B-Application
changed	O
its	O
algorithm	O
again	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
September	O
2012	O
:	O
Microsoft	O
announced	O
a	O
strategic	O
investment	O
in	O
Klout	B-Application
for	O
an	O
undisclosed	O
sum	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
March	O
28	O
,	O
2013	O
:	O
Klout	B-Application
announced	O
inclusion	O
of	O
Instagram	B-Application
analytics	O
in	O
factoring	O
Klout	B-Application
scores	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
May	O
13	O
,	O
2013	O
:	O
Klout	B-Application
users	O
had	O
claimed	O
more	O
than	O
1	O
million	O
Perks	O
across	O
over	O
400	O
campaigns	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
March	O
27	O
,	O
2014	O
:	O
Lithium	O
Technologies	O
acquired	O
Klout	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
October	O
29	O
,	O
2015	O
:	O
Klout	B-Application
exposed	O
inner	O
workings	O
of	O
the	O
Klout	B-Application
Score	O
.	O
</s>
