There is an interesting, and perhaps alarming, trend brewing on the social media scene.  Take a look at a couple items in the news last week: The Palms Hotel in Las Vegas is providing perks to guests based on their Klout score (an assessment of social media influence)**. By the end of the year, Twitter said their new analytics will provide influence scores for every user. People are now curating lists of the most influential bloggers by Klout score. Virgin Airlines offered free flights on a new route to people with high influence scores on Twitter. OK, first I need to get this out of my system. MORE >>

A Facebook site for US government agencies. I’ve had the honor of providing business strategy consultation recently to a UK agency and in the process became immersed in current uses of social media in government. learned so much that I considered a five-part series on the topic, but one post will have to do for now! There are unique political, security and infrastructure challenges presented by government applications of social media, but the power and potential is awe-inspiring. Let’s see if you agree. Secretary of State. A best practice is the newly-designed U.S. Government. MORE >>

By Todd Bacile, Florida State University. Thirty-five” was the answer to the following question posed to a marketing agency’s hiring manager: “ What is the minimum Klout score a college student can have and still be considered for an internship at your firm ?”. immediately went into a state of shock — Shock that Klout has gone mainstream so quickly, and shock because my digital marketing student’s Klout scores typically range from 15 to 25. As an instructor, I had to ask myself: “Am I doing everything I could to prepare my students for the real world workplace?” Tweet. MORE >>

Yes, this is a real invitation. If you hate Klout … and you probably do … try to take a deep breath and read ahead with an open mind. Nothing seems to get rational people in a frenzy as much as Klout and its attempt to measure “influence.&#   I have immersed myself in the world of online power and influence over the past six months and feel like at this point I have probably studied this topic more than any person on earth! And, unlike every other blogger on the planet it seems, I’ve come to the conclusion that this is a very important development. Never has. Never will. MORE >>

Back in the early days of the social web, the leading “gurus” were actively anti-business. They made fun of measurement, strategy, objectives and any hint of trying to monetize a social media effort. I know that sounds weird today, but it’s true. The mantra was “Social media is not about your stupid company. It’s all about the conversation.” ” We’ve come a long way and even the “purists” have relented. Today, social media is being mainlined into the traditional marketing, PR and advertising initiatives, for better or for worse. MORE >>