Right after social media went mainstream, Klout arrived to tell us how popular we are online. Klout seemed to be in constant beta mode, as they tweaked their algorithms to determine what makes a person influential online. This frustrated people who were trying to game the score, like those who try to artificially rise in Google’s search results. Since those early years, Klout has changed it’s focus, focusing more on analyzing your popular posts to tell you the topics that get you the most response. And now, Klout will send you a daily email with fresh stories in those topic categories—so that you can be one of the first to share those posts in your social streams.
In this transition, Klout branded a new slogan: “Be known for what you love.”
I don’t know about you, but I found that a refreshing and profound suggestion.
Take a look at your Facebook and Twitter feeds, as well as the blog posts and articles to which they link. I’m connected to hundreds of people, many of whom are good human beings and well-meaning citizens. Based on their posts, their social media strategy seems to be:
Be known for what you don’t like.
Be known for your political views.
Be known for what your theology.
Be known for your accomplishments.
Be known for your attempts at approval.
I’m on that list, too; but I’m working to get off it.
It’s not just a social media phenomenon. In this bumper-sticker and sound-bite culture, we parse everything. Most sports or news programs on TV are now just debate shows. It’s difficult to grow a blog without creating controversy. Biographies sell better with scandals, autobiographies with dirt. Most celebrities do their best to fight a culture that wants to define them by paparazzi shots and anonymous reports.
We have a comparison culture, not a celebration culture. We inherently compete before we congratulate. We debate before we defer.
Notice how different your Facebook feed looks in November with all of the people doing their gratitude challenges. I’d like to propose a different challenge: write down a list of things that energize you. If you can, find ways to incorporate more or bigger portions of those in your life away from social media. Then, if you think it will inspire or entertain others, share about those things.
If that list contains unhealthy, illegal, or immoral things, talk to a counsellor. Otherwise, get out there; and pursue those passions and missions. Maybe what drives you isn’t fun but very rewarding. Maybe you’re still in the dreaming, planning, or building stage. Feel free to tell those of us in your social streams (online or offline) what comes alive in you, why it puts a smile on your face, and how it inspires you for more.
That’s contagious stuff. Love usually is.
So, let’s all get out there and “be known for what you love.”
