The algorithm which allows to quantify people’s social media activities could be more than just another short-lived vogue. The company says:

„Klout’s vision is to enable everyone to discover and be recognized for how they influence the world. With the rise of social media, the ability to impact others has been democratized. Klout measures your influence based on your ability to drive action on social networks.“

Apart from Narcissus, why should you want to find out about or be recognised for your world’s influence? Because of benefit. When you use rating tools you want to turn your effort to profit. The klout score is about the homo oeconomicus. Because now you can read anybody’s value from his price tag, the klout score; it’s his new exchange value. Naturally, head hunters will be grateful for the new rating system to optimise their score ratio. And how about the people, the new commodities?