The relatively new company Klout, did a really awesome post on their site blog about iPhone and Android.
If you haven’t heard of Klout, Renee did a great post on them titled: “Have You Got Klout? Track Your Self-Brand”. But for our lazier readers; “Klout is a social media scorecard. The site assigns individuals a personal “Klout Score”, ranging from 1 to a 100, which is a measure “of your overall online influence”.
Because of the fierce competition between Apple and Google devices, in online communities, there has been even fiercer competition amongst those who stand by their respective companies. These individuals; collectively termed “iPhone influencers” and “Android influencers”, by Klout are pitted against each other.
Klout seized the opportunity to use its product, as a way to gauge which group is more influential. Klout posted that although both the iPhone and Android influencers had a higher Klout score than the average Klout user, “the final score is 42.0-40.6, iPhone influencers for the win!”
After personally discovering Klout, I’ve been obsessed with it. I check it at least once a day, and have managed to get my Klout Score up to 39! The reason that Klout is so much fun, is that it turns becoming influential online into a competition. For example, since finding Klout, my girlfriend and I compete to see whose doing better and who is more influential about cooler stuff.
This competitive element is crucial to Klout’s success and therefore it is no wonder Klout makes ample use of competitive language such as “throwdown” and “face off”.
Although we’re shedding no tears over the iPhone influencer’s victory (it was a pretty close competition), the data does suggest that both groups of influencers really know how to project their views into the cyber sphere, and hook internet browsers.
Jesse Braunstein is a Junior at NYU double majoring in Economics and Psychology. Jesse joined Madison Technology and SheBytes.com in May 2011 as a summer intern. Jesse has been instrumental in utilizing his expanding background to come up with creative perspectives on the Marketing, Advertising and Business Development initiatives at both Madison Technology and SheBytes.com. Jesse’s outlook stems from an Economics and Psychology education and a deep understanding of the individual and how the individual acts within and interacts with the market. Follow Jesse on Twitter and Facebook. Check out his About.me.