Today, the influence measuring startup Klout is rolling out a major update to its iOS application, which first debuted in April. The initial version of the app offered Klout users a handy way to keep track of their Klout score on the go – it even made clever use of Apple’s push notifications feature to do so, popping up your Klout score in the red badge on top of the Klout’s homescreen icon. But the app itself was fairly rudimentary. Beyond fetching your score and providing a feed of related “notifications” (new followers, score changes and +K’s), the app didn’t do much else.
But today, the new version of the app is introducing a couple more features which Klout users will like. Most notably, Klout is adding a search feature as well as a new way to quickly dole out +K’s to others.
For those not versed in Klout lingo, +K is the terminology that refers to the way you can vouch for others’ influence on various topics, like “social media” (a Klout fave, of course) or “technology,” for example. The +K is used only for measuring peer influence; it doesn’t work in tandem with Klout’s other algorithms to calculate someone’s overall Klout score. This score is very important to some folks. Others, not so much. Sometimes I look at my score and wonder what it means. Usually I forget it exists, though. (I have a general distaste for leaderboards, and have never been good at gaming, for what it’s worth. And Klout has a rabid fan base within the social media “experts” crowd who basically play it like a game.)
With the update to version 1.5 of Klout for iPhone, users will now be able to swipe to +K, in order to easily endorse anyone’s influence on the various topics Klout identifies. Another new feature introduces a search function that lets you pull up any other user’s Klout Score just by entering their Twitter handle. And for those who use multiple accounts (e.g., your personal and professional accounts), a new logout button has been added for easy switching.
The company won’t disclose how many people have downloaded its mobile app or engage with it regularly, only saying that they’ve been “very happy with the response.” The addition of today’s +K feature was added based on direct user feedback, Klout tells us. No word yet on an ETA for the Android version, but Klout says it’s in the works.
The updated version of the Klout app is live in the iTunes store now, and the company promises even more updates soon.
Update: +K doesn’t affect Klout Score, my mistake. It’s just a feel good metic.
