What is your Klout score? Some businesses want to know before they hire you.

If you are on Facebook you might have noticed invitations from your friends to join “Klout”.

I did and wondered if this was yet another startup offering another social media network and ultimately end up as another failed attempt to gain traction in a market where only 3 dominate (Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter).

So I took a stroll over to Klout.com to see what all the fuss was about and joined using my Facebook account.

Spending a few minutes looking at my newly minted account I really could not see what the fuss was about.

To the untrained eye it seemed to be all about increasing your Klout ‘score’ which from what I can gather is a ridiculous attempt at calculating your influence online using an algorithm that is kept secret.

It amazes me that such a site exists but maybe my amazement is confined to introverted people like myself who consider that the world is filled with “look at me” people all seeking their 15 minutes of fame.

Maybe extroverts love this site and can proudly boast at dinner parties what their Klout ‘score’ is, maybe there are social events where people with a Klout ‘score’ higher than 30 are only invited? Maybe the next president will promise to increase his Klout ‘score’ at his signing-in ceremony? And don’t forget online dating!

Maybe an employer posting a job vacancy will state the minimum Klout ‘score’ for the position?

Ridiculous?

Not so – SalesForce.com advertised a vacancy with a required Klout score to the delight of Klout and to the dismay of everyone else who wondered what the hell was “Klout”.

Don’t start panicking yet as the job offering is for their “Community Manager” position which is a fancy term for the person in-charge of the companies social media strategy. So I am not surprised about the position having a Klout score requirement but what is concerning is if the Klout ‘score’ requirement ends up in less glamorous jobs such as accounting, customer support or a lobby attendant?

Its hard to imagine any use for Klout’s services in the main-stream business world as whole idea of Klout seems to fuel narcissism which is rapidly going out of fashion.

I also think Klout is very much in beta as their secret algorithm has stated that my influences on the world includes the following:

1) Small Business
2) Heart Attack
3) Job Search

Not sure where ‘heart attack’ comes from but maybe thats a plus since I can now apply for a job as a heart surgeon since Klout considers me an expert on the subject.