Comments on: Klout, Big Data and the Meaning of “Opt Out” http://fredmcclimans.com/2012/05/01/klout-big-data-and-the-meaning-of-opt-out/ analysis - innovation - execution Wed, 12 Aug 2015 22:47:53 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.0.38 By: Klout Is At It Again - Privacy Be Damned — Influence Marketing: The Book http://fredmcclimans.com/2012/05/01/klout-big-data-and-the-meaning-of-opt-out/#comment-807 Tue, 10 Sep 2013 12:37:09 +0000 http://fredmcclimans.com/?p=939#comment-807 […] personal brand wasn’t being incorrectly presented to the world by Klout, Fred McClimans released this article proving me wrong.  He outlined Klout’s process for opting out and their assurances that, once […]

]]> By: Coping with the Klout Reality | Geoff Livingston's Blog http://fredmcclimans.com/2012/05/01/klout-big-data-and-the-meaning-of-opt-out/#comment-443 Tue, 09 Oct 2012 15:00:59 +0000 http://fredmcclimans.com/?p=939#comment-443 […] wasn’t much to say. I agreed in principal with many of my colleagues and their continuing coverage about the broken nature of influence […]

]]> By: Fred McClimans http://fredmcclimans.com/2012/05/01/klout-big-data-and-the-meaning-of-opt-out/#comment-421 Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:04:00 +0000 http://fredmcclimans.com/?p=939#comment-421 Joseph – That is an amazing story. If the statement was said from a serious perspective, it shows just how much many have overblown, or misinterpreted, the value of systems that try to measure any type of influence, let alone one which is based on limited social activity.

While I do feel that gaining a much better understanding of “influence” (especially in the cross digital/analog world) is necessary, I also believe that we need to recognize that this is still such a new world that we don’t really understand all the questions, let alone the answers. And like you, I’m very intrigued at what happens when you “erase” a person (and their influence) from a closed system.

To be honest, I don’t believe that you can accurately state the influence of a person, or the influence that others have on them, without taking ALL of their potential influencers into account. To do so would be somewhat like predicting the orbit of Jupiter if we eliminated Saturn from the equation.

Thanks again for your feedback and perspective!

]]> By: Fred McClimans http://fredmcclimans.com/2012/05/01/klout-big-data-and-the-meaning-of-opt-out/#comment-420 Mon, 02 Jul 2012 23:08:00 +0000 http://fredmcclimans.com/?p=939#comment-420 Funny how jumping in is so simple and extraction so difficult. There’s a good “quicksand” metaphor in here somewhere! Thanks for sharing your perspective ;)

]]> By: Fred McClimans http://fredmcclimans.com/2012/05/01/klout-big-data-and-the-meaning-of-opt-out/#comment-419 Mon, 02 Jul 2012 23:07:00 +0000 http://fredmcclimans.com/?p=939#comment-419 Yes, Sam does in fact exist. As to his data trail, I’m sure that it exists on a backup server somewhere (I’m just not sure who owns it). Be well.

]]> By: Fred McClimans http://fredmcclimans.com/2012/05/01/klout-big-data-and-the-meaning-of-opt-out/#comment-418 Mon, 02 Jul 2012 22:59:00 +0000 http://fredmcclimans.com/?p=939#comment-418 Hah! Finally somebody to blame for Sam’s status as a “poster child” ;) Seriously, though, you are dead on – as I mentioned in my comment to Karen, we have totally lost control of our data and its “afterlife”, something that neither we (as consumers) or businesses (as #BigData manipulators) ever really thought through when we first stepped into the digital realm of “my data for your free services”. This is something that is troubling as more and more of our digital lives are pulled together to form a mosaic that most of us don’t realize exists.

Every photo we are tagged in, every post we are mentioned in, not to mention all the personal information that can be legally bought and/or shared electronically, all get pulled together to shape our digital selves. I wonder how many people in the early days of Facebook would have tagged their kids (as often as they did) in photos had they known it would result in a new record labeled “your child”, which would, over time, be given a name and a history of life events. Yes, perhaps Orwell would be amazed…

]]> By: Fred McClimans http://fredmcclimans.com/2012/05/01/klout-big-data-and-the-meaning-of-opt-out/#comment-417 Mon, 02 Jul 2012 22:47:00 +0000 http://fredmcclimans.com/?p=939#comment-417 Max – Thanks for bringing up a key point: privacy laws in the US pale in comparison to the EU. While that may be stifling some business endeavors, it also opens up new opportunities for individuals and business to forge a mutually beneficial (and equal) relationship. Just a point to consider. Thanks again for the feedback.

]]> By: Fred McClimans http://fredmcclimans.com/2012/05/01/klout-big-data-and-the-meaning-of-opt-out/#comment-416 Mon, 02 Jul 2012 22:45:00 +0000 http://fredmcclimans.com/?p=939#comment-416 Hi Karen – Thanks for the comments. Sadly, I think we have entered a moment in the digital realm where the “dark matter” really has gone dark – we don’t know where it is, who is using it or to what means. Time, perhaps, to exert a bit of influence and see if we can’t place a bit more control of our own data back in our own hands. Yes, we have been willing to “give it away” in exchange for free services (Google = example #1), but I don’t think we ever imagined how it would be corrupted after the fact. To quote you… “Sigh!”

]]> By: Fred McClimans http://fredmcclimans.com/2012/05/01/klout-big-data-and-the-meaning-of-opt-out/#comment-415 Mon, 02 Jul 2012 22:40:00 +0000 http://fredmcclimans.com/?p=939#comment-415 Shawn – Thank you for being proactive on this issue. That speaks volumes.

]]> By: Fred McClimans http://fredmcclimans.com/2012/05/01/klout-big-data-and-the-meaning-of-opt-out/#comment-414 Mon, 02 Jul 2012 22:39:00 +0000 http://fredmcclimans.com/?p=939#comment-414 Hey Sam – In the end, it all comes down to data: how we define it, how we use it and the value we place on it. In this case, there are some major issues that have combined to create a perfect storm, including a tendency by companies to adopt a default “opt-in” approach regard to users on public social media platforms (it is public) and the difficulty companies face keeping pace with both the scope of the #BigData they are collecting and the complexity of the software required to extract value.

I’ve spoken with Klout about this issue and have been pleased with the way they have addressed it. Ironically, I also have had some conversations with them about another “bug in the machine” problem that caused my own Klout account to drop connections to social networks that I had added and ultimately delete my entire profile w/o my consent. Yes, Klout gave me what you were seeking even though I wasn’t asking!

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