Social influence measurement sites have been getting a lot of bad press, from the get-go. With Klout being on the forefront as far as slams go, sites like Peer Index and Crowd Booster have also been hit. So, what’s the deal?

Some argue that social influence can’t really be measured. To a point I can agree. No algorithm is going to tell you exactly where I’m influential, because it doesn’t read my Skype chats and emails, listen in on my phone calls or hear me teach web development at conferences. Klout is peeking at my online social spaces and guess what? I get personal on those, a lot more personal that I do on my blog or in my client consultations. Is this to say I don’t use sites like Klout? No. In fact, I login once or twice a week and just peek at the numbers. When my score is low it reminds me that I haven’t been interacting much lately, and since that’s really what this whole ‘social’ thing is about, and the results of engagement are important for my business, I make it a point to be a little more active. I need this reminder. And, for the most part, these measurement sites get me, so I haven’t had bad experiences to make me cringe.

That said, I can see where some of the fuss about these ‘measures of influence’ is valid. Take Klout for instance… you have a score. What? You have never signed in or signed up? That’s right. Everyone is automatically measured. And guess what? Having a score and not keeping tabs on it, or participating in the process of voting-up other users, can actually hurt you. New clients, companies considering a partnership or ambassador program are looking at these scores before they ever talk to you. You may not have opted-in, but your measure of influence, as decided by Klout, Peer Index, and the like, are publicly available. Others like Twenty-feet require an opt-in.

I asked Facebook and Google+ how they feel about sites that measure social influence. Here are some of their answers…

Amanda (@highimpactmom) answered…

On Google+, my friend, Kevin, answered:

I read Kevin’s article and I really connected with some of the reasons he ‘clobbered klout,’ especially the whole vacation = less influence point. Still, I am interested in how it all works and I love being able to give my friends a boost on the topics they’re influential in, so I’ll keep my Klout and Peer Index accounts for now.

How about you? Do you use these sites to gauge your influence?