For a while I was curious about what tools such as Klout and Peerindex could provide. It seemed an interesting way to understand your presence on Social Media. No that’s wrong… That’s what I told myself…
In fact I followed the crowd. I wanted to increase my scores. I wanted to become more influential. Those scores gave a sense of being in competition with others…
So I tried to be my collaborative self, supporting others and giving them honest “ratings” when I thought appropriate, still using these tools…
Yet the attraction of an increasing score, the apparent pursuit of authority and influence, or the allure of becoming a “Networker” had the potential to be the crack coated candy of social media…
So I stopped.
I had been seduced. That’s not for me. Now I look more closely at the other social media seductions that might lead me astray…
- following “popular” people I’ll never converse with…
- sharing thoughts & insights with those who won’t respect the giving…
- spending my time in “interesting but useless” pursuits…
- supporting people I don’t truly believe in…
Instead, I seek out the people who make a difference. Who give and respect. Who laugh and play. Who share and support. Who feedback and challenge.
They are my self-chosen influencers. They let me be the best I can be. They are the people I’ll fight for.
It’s their influence that matters, not mine.
People Performance Potential 
You know I’m going to love this. This own-path walking. This call to integrity. This seeking of those who seek to be better & therefore make us better…somewhere where you are “rated” by your capacity to be human – by how you show up whole and if you can contribute with generosity and authenticity.
I see it as a small, whispery crowd -one that only gets noisy when it’s cheering you on, or when you start to look doubtful…
someone commented on the FB blog today saying it wasn’t about broadcast, but about narrowcast – I enjoy this notion greatly.
So from one who has been greatly influenced and invited to think by you and subtle others.. I salute your choices and believe these will serve you well.
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Posted by Julie@fuchsiablue | January 21, 2013, 8:08 PMI love that imagery of a small, whispery crowd Julie – focussing on that is so healthy and encouraging! It pairs well with the notion of “narrowcast” – a new one on me.
Looking forward to sharing more paths with you!
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Posted by David Goddin | January 22, 2013, 8:41 AMMy goodness are you a poet? Inspiring much?
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Posted by scottsatdell | January 22, 2013, 2:12 PMheh heh… naaahh.. Just a deeply human Human Being who has a theory that a whisper can be more powerful than a shout, given the right amp
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Posted by Julie@fuchsiablue | January 22, 2013, 2:14 PMLiking the original post, but also Julie’s thoughts on the whisper. Have a similar theory myself regards use of social platforms… http://musingsfromsussex.com/2012/11/05/blog-wheres-the-quiet-man/
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Posted by James Mayes | January 23, 2013, 8:36 AMCheers for adding / sharing James – those RAAK links were quite revealing I think.
There’s a question of purpose & appropriateness emerging and part of the “perks” dynamic has to be a seduction doesn’t it? We just need to work out individually whether it suits our purpose and is appropriate for us…
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Posted by David Goddin | January 23, 2013, 7:29 PMI don’t think the ideas are mutually exclusive. I think one is a subset of the other. Connect. Connect as much as you can. Praise because you mean it. You will find people worth befriending and communicating with. You wil lfind a lot more that will not give you the time of day. I for one want to immediately have ongoing discussions with you because of this view you have.
I think of Klout as a way to measure my success in developing connections. It is not a measurement of meaningful connections, Maybe we need Klout+, a place where we can measure the quality of our connections.
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Posted by scottsatdell | January 21, 2013, 8:19 PMHi Scott & thanks for adding here! I agree that the ideas are not mutually exclusive and my experience has been that the behaviours can easily become contradictory – I don’t think it’s just me who has experienced this.
So from that perspective, Klout or even Klout+ run the risk of creating “bad” behaviours even though that is not the intent.
I believe we already know the success we have in developing connections and the quality of our connections. It’s apparent in the trust, dialogue, sharing and support that is created. It’s a question of experience & judgement not data analysis. If we trust ourselves a bit more and give time to thinking about these factors, what else do we need to know?
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Posted by David Goddin | January 22, 2013, 9:12 AMOh I see, you believe a metric outside of our own interpretation has little value and can actually be a negative influence in our decision making. Good points. But what if we want to show others, without direct communication, our most valuable connections? What if we want our followers to find the people that give us the most value in an automated fashion?
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Posted by scottsatdell | January 22, 2013, 2:14 PMSounds like showing appreciation not of the masses but of the relative few? That value I think can’t be automated… it’s relative and personal. I suspect the real peril lies in automating and undervaluing direct communication – forgetting to share the demonstrable value we see in others.
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Posted by David Goddin | January 22, 2013, 2:53 PMI am a big fan of that direct communication, but I am also a fan of sleep and my own personal growth. We need a way to automate quality connectivity, not just quantity connectivity. Klout is not the solution, but it fringes upon the idea.
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Posted by scottsatdell | January 22, 2013, 2:56 PMThat’s why you’re awesome. End of.
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Posted by Beth | January 21, 2013, 8:55 PMYou too & I’d fight for you Beth.
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Posted by David Goddin | January 22, 2013, 9:16 AMKnowing how things go with you, you’ll probably have to!! Seriously though, you know that this post really resonates with me. You’re a great writer and I’d bop someone on the nose for you n all!
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Posted by Beth | January 22, 2013, 10:00 PM