Designer jeans, your butt, and your new Klout score

Designer jeans, your butt, and your new Klout score. 11/1/2011 In This Issue @Dominique_RM Jeans, Your Butt, and Klout Winners & Losers Show Dominique some love today: If you don't yet follow @Dominique_RM, do it! She rocks. You should retweet her stuff too! And not just because she brought me a bottle of champagne tonight. Hey, that's a good idea! Let's all bring Linz champagne / whiskey / chardonnay this week ;-) Kloutsters, It's been a hilarious week for me on Twitter - there are quite a few lunatics out there that have decided the drop in their Klout score is my fault personally. But discussing it with them has been good for my Klout score, so I'm enjoying it. So let's talk about the recent shift ... Designer jeans, your butt, and your Klout score. This analogy may not work for everyone, but it makes the most sense for me, so this is what you get. Say you buy your jeans at some value priced retailer (ignore fast fashion for this analogy.) You're a size 2, and you're feeling pretty great about yourself. Now you're ready to buy your first pair of hideously expensive premium denim jeans. You try them on, they look amazing, but OMG the pair that fits is a size 6. And ... your self esteem is shot. Here's what you need to remember: Your butt has not changed size The designer jeans are better jeans (better fit, better fabrication, high style) If you're worried about your butt, do squats (i.e. work on your social media behavior and contributing great content), don't freak out about your jeans, they're not the issue. And so you GET OVER IT and rock the Sevens. This is the same way you should handle a drop in your Klout score. The fact is, the new algorithm is better, more accurate, and more transparent. So GET OVER IT if your score has dropped. Mine went down from a 64 to a 58 overnight, and life has gone on. I'm not interested in "vanity sizing" from my jeans, and I'm not interested in a "vanity Klout score." Winners and losers. Source: Klout Blog This graph tells us that the majority of users either enjoyed an increase in their Klout scores, or stayed the same. @JoeFernandez says: "We now have the power to share the specific actions that are helping or hurting your score. When your Klout Score changes you will be able to match it to a corresponding change in one of these subscores and understand why the change has occurred." So while you may not LIKE your new Klout score, the upside is that you can now understand it better. So spend some time examining your fancy new dashboard and see what you learn! Because transparency is a good thing ... ... most of the time. Cut Klout some slack, guys. It's important to remember that it's a free service that provides us value we don't pay for. It's still in beta, and it must continue to keep evolving to ensure the product is as solid as it can be. Remember how freaked out you were about the last time Facebook changed something on your profile? Are you used to it now? Do you like it even better now? Good. Calm down, this discomfort too shall pass. -- Linz Shelton Mobile 310.402.3240 | Twitter @Linz_Shelton MBA 2012 | NYU Leonard N. Stern School of Business Co-President, NYU Stern Luxury & Retail Club Founder | CUFFZ Inc. *Watch the latest CUFFZ by Linz video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWCVHa8xE0I *

More on follower strategy ...

More on follower strategy ... 10/25/2011 In This Issue Catch up on Klout tips Follow a whole buncha folks Check out Time's 140 Best Twitter Feeds: If you're feeling overwhelmed, screw on the training wheels - Time has curated a list for you. 140 Best Twitter Feeds You may not achieve the focus you're looking for, but it's a fun place to start shopping. Kloutsters, It's time ... I think you guys are ready for the tough stuff. Buckle up. Low hanging fruit: your friends/connections from real life. Seems obvious, but I'm guessing most of you forgot to do this. It's super easy, the API's make it so they're no excuse not to do. The lovely thing about the twitter platform is that you don't have to put too much thought into how to select who to follow - it's so transactional that you can follow everyone. It's not the same level of intimacy as a facebook friendship, so don't be scared. And you can always un-follow them later. Go to your twitter home page. Click "who to follow" Select "find friends" Pull in everyone from your email and your LinkedIn. Check everyone you want to follow. Deck your other properties w/ your twitter handle. Have a blog? Great. Add a follow button. (For 1 glass of chardonnay, I will help you do it.) What about including your twitter handle in your email signature? (doesn't have to be your work email, although given the nature of MY work, I do it.) Stop caring about your followed-by/following ratio. Focus on your listed/followed-by ratio. Klout doesn't score you on how many people follow you. GET OVER IT. Pay attention to how effectively you engage your community. You want to pay attention to the # of times you're listed in relation to how many people follow you. If a bunch of people follow you, but none of them list you, your content isn't terribly engaging. Chances are you're just noisy. So focus on your content. (Note: this is a friendly reminder to LIST EACH OTHER!) Find strangers that care about the same stuff you care about. Search for #hashtags on topics that matter to you. Listen to twitter's suggestions on who you should follow on the aptly named "who to follow" tab. It may take a while, but Twitter will eventually figure you out. In the beginning, there may be some odd suggestions. Just keep following the right people, and the algorithm will catch on. Let Twitter walk you through the search process. If you follow someone, Twitter will suggest three similar profiles to follow. Follow them, you'll get three new suggestions each. Spend some time traveling down that rabbit hole and you'll increase your network exponentially. If you're trying to get some particularly influential to follow you, use formulists to figure out who they interact with most. Follow those folks, and engage them in conversations. Your twitter-crush will eventually notice you. (*this tip courtesy of @BMurnane) Use the formulists "social stars" list to identify who in your community matters (i.e. who the people you care about follow.) Bonus: next time you're at a conference or event where people are live-tweeting, JUMP IN. That's the easiest way to find people w/ common interests, they paid hundreds of dollars to learn about he same thing you paid hundreds of dollars to learn about. Double Bonus: Download & use Sonar.me at events to see who's in the room, and connect with them on twitter. Looking forward to hearing all of you reactions. -- Linz Shelton Mobile 310.402.3240 | Twitter @Linz_Shelton MBA 2012 | NYU Leonard N. Stern School of Business Co-President, NYU Stern Luxury & Retail Club Founder | CUFFZ Inc. *Watch the latest CUFFZ by Linz video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWCVHa8xE0I *

So how amazing was Joe's talk?! ...

So how amazing was Joe's talk?! ... 10/20/2011 In This Issue Catch up on Klout tips Tweet about @JoeFernandez Catch up on the Klout tips you may have missed: So you're way behind on Klout tips? NBD - here they all are: KloutKurriculumArchive Please do me a favor and follow that blog on blogger, now that it's feeding into my Klout score, I care :-) Kloutsters, I realize I never sent yesterday's tip, figure Joe gave you guys more to tweet about than I could. So today, let's tweet about how awesome that was! What did you learn? Share it! Share with the world what @JoeFernandez taught you yesterday! So how lucky were we to get to hear from this amazingly successful serial entrepreneur yesterday? It's pretty awesome to be a part of a community where we have access to through leaders and movers/shakers in the these emerging industries. Let's not hoard that access, let's share it with the world (while, of course, looking super cool and improving our Klout score..) Please use #SternKlout when tweeting. Here's a brief snippet to jog your memory: Full video coming soon! Looking forward to hearing all of you reactions. -- Linz Shelton Mobile 310.402.3240 | Twitter @Linz_Shelton MBA 2012 | NYU Leonard N. Stern School of Business Co-President, NYU Stern Luxury & Retail Club Founder | CUFFZ Inc. *Watch the latest CUFFZ by Linz video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWCVHa8xE0I *

Suggested readings in advance of Wednesday's Klout talk ...

Suggested readings in advance of Wednesday's Klout talk ... 10/17/2011 In This Issue Please register for Joe's talk, we need a headcount Suggested Readings Klout Tasks Have you registered yet via Campus Groups? If not, please do. It's going to be tight, we have to vacate Paulson at 12:40p (not our fault, blame the undergrads!) so plan to arrive on time & ready to rock. Kloutsters, Only a few days left until Joe's arrival. Between now and Wednesday, brush up on your knowledge of Klout. Here are some of the articles I have particularly enjoyed. As a bonus, you now have some great stuff worth tweeting! Please also share articles you find interesting/valuable ... and for the love of god retweet each other. Please. Only a handful of you are good about that ;-) Please read before Wednesday: 1) An oldie but a goodie. Forbes: "Klout CEO on Raising Your Score, Google Plus Integration, and Justin Bieber's Perfect 100" This is one of the best breakdowns I've found re: how the platform works, what you need to know, etc. It's slightly out of date, as many of the integrations Joe speaks about have already happened, but it's still my favorite reference. 2) The Official Kout Online Blog: "The Tech Behind Klout.com" Not for the faint of heart. But if you're ready for an R-rated look at the blood and guts of the UI, then get excited. 3) Buffer: "8 Facts And Figures About Klout You Might Not Know" The average Klout score is only 20. This should make most of you proud to know that you're well above average ... but we already know that because you got into Stern. 4) Elle: "Ask E. Jean: Want to Raise Your Klout Score? Read This" (For the record, your professor, and my boss, @ProfGalloway, has a stable Klout score of 60, and tweets for himself.) Phenomenal advice from Klout's @MeganBerry (who is fast becoming one of my favorite people EVER, follow her if you don't already!) "We've found that when people are authentic and share their true feelings about their area of expertise, they influence more people to take action and their scores go up." #word 5) The Huffington Post: "Most Influential Chefs: Klout Ranks The Top 10 By Social Media Impact" This one's on the list because I know @KerenRM will love it, and since she managed to tweet FROM CHINA, she gets a special treat upon her return ;-) What else have you found? What would you like us to read? Please share! -- Linz Shelton Mobile 310.402.3240 | Twitter @Linz_Shelton MBA 2012 | NYU Leonard N. Stern School of Business Co-President, NYU Stern Luxury & Retail Club Founder | CUFFZ Inc. *Watch the latest CUFFZ by Linz video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWCVHa8xE0I *

What you need to know about how Klout works ...

What you need to know about how Klout works ... 10/12/2011 In This Issue Do me a favor ... How Klout works Klout Kompetitors Klout Tasks @L2_ThinkTank Digital IQ Index: Fashion [VIDEO] Share the @L2_ThinkTank Fashion video using the @BuzzFeed platform. Here it is: http://www.buzzfeed.com/linzshelton/l2-digital-iq-index-fashion-the-video-47an Not only is the video fantastic (I didn't help with it, so I'm entitled to say that with no bias!) I'm also doing an experiment with @Buzzfeed and I need your help. In return, I will retweet you, from my handle and L2's (using my discretion there of course!) Thanks! Kloutsters, I'm two Klout Tips behind (again). That's casing's fault. Sorry again. However @MrMichaelMorgan is the only one who has been encouraging me through the slump with the necessary motivation, so I encourage you all to learn from him :-) Many of you have asked great questions about how Klout works (what it measures, how it weights different elements of influence ... all kinds of juicy stuff about how the scores are generated.) Here's my attempt at an explanation. We can go into more depth as specific questions arise, but here's the highlight reel of my understanding of the platform. What you need to know about how Klout works: @JoeFernandez says it very well in @Forbes "It really boils down to what the likelihood of the content you create on social networks is being acted upon; people commenting, clicking links, liking, retweeting, whatever it might be. And then we look at how influential the people are who do that. Ultimately, when we think about influence, it's really about the ability to drive others to action." Klout measures your influence on thee factors: True Reach: How many people you affect and drive to action with your content (and not just how many follow you, it's how many actually engage with your stuff.) Amplification: What is the likelihood your content will spread throughout your network? Think of it as throwing a stone into a pond: how many ripples out will it travel? Network Impact: If somebody really influential is influenced by you, that helps your Klout score LOTS. So if CNN, or Lady Gaga, is inspired to retweet something you've tweeted, that's a lot more valuable than Captain Mischief retweeting you. Key Points: It doesn't matter how many followers or friends you have. You must engage your community, regardless of its size, to achieve a high Klout score. This means putting out good content people care about. No way to game the system there. Adding networks on which you are a total loser does not negatively affect your Klout score. Don't use Instagram? No problem. (You're missing out, because it's awesome, and you should get on that, but it won't affect your Klout score.) Klout looks at where you're strongest & everything else is 'extra credit.' Klout updates daily for now. It may move to updating in real time eventually. But ask Joe about that, don't quote me. Klout has competitors, but for now they really own this space. There are other tools out there to measure social influence: PeerIndex Twitter Grader Kred <-- the only one you should care about. KRED's value prop is twofold: transparency, and contextualizing "reach" on various topics sorted by communities. You can read more about that yourself, but to me it's irrelevant. Klout accomplishes the contextualizes your influence just fine (better, in my opinion) through their recently launched Topics Pages. Read more about that too. So for the time being, Klout is the dominant force here. 3,000+ companies use their data, they have a massive team of data boffins (word I learned today!) churning out constant improvements, tweaks, upgrades, etc. And if that's not enough to strike a chord with you bschoolers, they just secured B round of funding from Social Leverage, Kleiner Perkins, Thomas McIerney, and some other heavy hitters in my hometown. So recognize! All that reading should keep you busy for a while, enjoy! -- Linz Shelton Mobile 310.402.3240 | Twitter @Linz_Shelton MBA 2012 | NYU Leonard N. Stern School of Business Co-President, NYU Stern Luxury & Retail Club Founder | CUFFZ Inc. *Watch the latest CUFFZ by Linz video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWCVHa8xE0I *

Give each other +K today!

Give each other +K today! 10/3/2011 In This Issue BUY ME BOOZE PLEEZE Give each other (&me) +K Klout Tasks @Linz_Shelton Give @Linz_Shelton &@JustonPayne +K in"Handbags" ... and@EFlow03 +K in"Gout" :-) Also ... These are a few of my favorite things: #HintHint Kloutsters, I realize I'm one Klout Tip behind (again). Sorry about that. Klout has recently added Topic Pages (learn more about thathere ...) The basic idea: "Users are more than a single number, and Klout's more than just a score" ... more on that on the Klout Blog. So today, we're going to tell the world about our friends who are influencers on a given topic. For example, @ProfGalloway is influential about "Marketing", @BethanyArazoza is influential about "Homework" (huh?), and @JustonPayne is influential about "handbags" ... let's def spread the word about that one. Let's get to it ... Give each other +K today. Log into klout.com In the top right search bar, search for your friends twitter handles (note: do NOT use the @sign. If you were searching for me, enter: Linz_Shelton and not @Linz_Shelton) Easy: you can start by looking at your "Influencer of ..." list, right before your profile pic, for ideas re: who to assign +K Advanced: go back to your Formulists we created last week, and look for your "top tweeps" - search them on the Klout platform & start there. There the ones that shwo you the most Twitter love, might as well pay it back. You will see MOST of your friends are influential about at least a few topics. Click the "see all ..." button under the "Influential about" short list. So if you were feeling generous, you'd give me +K in "Handbags" ... or anything else on that list really. You can give up to 5 +K's a day, so use them well. You are also given the option to tweet or post that you have given someone +K, DO IT. It's nice :-) If someone gives you +K, say thank you. Not kidding, don't be rude. FYI: some of your friends will not be influential about any topics yet. This doesn't mean they're vapid, uninteresting individuals with nothing to contribute (in most cases.) It just means they haven't tweeted enough for Klout to have established them as influential about any particular topics yet. Give them time, and when they do tweet something interesting, retweet it! This helps Klout get to know them/they're influence. Sometimes Klout is a little weird in their interpretation of your topics, case in point: @EFlow03 is supposedly influential about "Gout": (Ari actually did that to himself w/ a little Klout experiment ... tweet at him & ask him how.) Just keep tweeting about stuff that matters to you, eventually the tool will catch up. That's all for now, more Wednesday. -- Linz Shelton Mobile 310.402.3240 | Twitter @Linz_Shelton MBA 2012 | NYU Leonard N. Stern School of Business Co-President, NYU Stern Luxury & Retail Club Founder | CUFFZ Inc. *Watch the latest CUFFZ by Linz video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWCVHa8xE0I *