Top 10 Klout Scores for Tech Executives

With Klout’s new design and updated score, it’s been all the buzz this week. The new algorithm looks at over 400 signals, and is supposed to be more accurate than previous incarnations. Users that spend their time building influence saw an increase in their scores for the most part, but users that derive most of their social engagement from a limited circle of friends saw a drop in their overall Klout scores.

Not only does the new Klout Score reward users for having an expansive reach that touches a wider range of people, but it also takes into account certain “real world” metrics such as an individual’s Wikipedia page. For the first time in Klout’s history, Barack Obama’s score is higher than Justin Bieber’s. These changes are supposed to level the field for the super influential celebrities and business people that do not dedicate as much time to social media.

Now that Klout is actually structured to give people that aren’t addicted to social media a chance, social media power users won’t be out of reach of the CEOs that spend the bulk of their time doing business. Here are our findings for the top 10 tech startup CEOs by Klout score. How do you measure up with these guys?

CEO of Mashable

Pete Cashmore (89)

Pete Cashmore founded Mashable from his Scotland home in 2005 when he was just 19 years old. It started out as a news blog designed to keep readers updated on all the latest social networks and digital trends. Today, it’s one of the largest independent websites and one of most profitable blogs in the word that focuses on news and resources for those who want to stay connected.

Pete Cashmore’s dominant Klout score is mostly attributable to the popularity of Mashable content among Twitter users.

Apple Fellow and Co-Founder of Alltop

Guy Kawasaki (86)

Guy Kawasaki worked for Apple as the chief evangelist before he became the Co-Founder of Alltop. He is also a founding partner for Garage Technology Ventures and the author of ten books that include “How to Drive Your Competition Crazy”, “Enchantment” and “The Macintosh Way”.

Guy Kawasaki has been one of the most popular technology pundits for more than a decade.

Co-founder of Reddit

Alexis Ohanian (84)

Alexis Ohanian is an investor and a start-up founder who is the co-founder of Reddit. He also helped to launch Hipmunk, which makes it easy for you to find a hotel or flight. He is still an advisor for Hipmunk and the founder of Breadpig. Today he is on the board of Reddit, Inc., he is Y Combinator Ambassador to the East, the co-founder of IHAS and he’s writing a book for aspiring entrepreneurs.

You could hardly ask for a better tribe than Reddit users. Ohanian’s work protesting SOPA and saving whales has made him a favorite of armchair activists.

Co-Founder of Foursquare

Dennis Crowley (83)

Dennis Crowley was the founder of one of the first mobile social services located in the United States called Dodgeball.com. He is currently the co-founder of Foursquare and an Adjunct ITP Professor at NYU. Crowley’s first social network, Dodgeball, was acquired by Google in 2005.

Dennis Crowley is often cited as one of the most influential businessmen under 40.

Founder of Blogger/ Co-Founder of Twitter

Evan Williams (83)

Evan Williams is the co-founder of the very popular social networking site, Twitter. Before Twitter, he created Blogger, a very well known blogging platform. Today, Williams and Biz Stone are concentrating on the new startup of Medium, which is a publishing platform some are comparing to Blogger but in simpler form and with new technology.

Evan’s latest project is currently being developed by Obvious corp, a highly anticipated publishing platform called Medium.

Co-Founder of Twitter

Biz Stone (82)

Biz Stone is the co-founder of Twitter but that’s not the only social media site he helped build. Before Twitter, he helped to create Odeo, Xanga and Blogger and a journaling service called Xanga. He is the author of two blogging books and is now working with Evan Williams on a publishing platform called Medium.

It is fitting that Biz Stone and Evan Williams are neck and neck on this list. Stone is also involved in Medium, the latest project from the Obvious Corporation.

Founder of Facebook

Mark Zuckerberg (81)
Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook from his Harvard dorm room. He left Harvard shortly after completing his sophomore year to spend more time concentrating on the site, which has made him a billionaire. He also holds the title of chief executive and chairman of this popular social networking site.

Mark Zuckerberg’s Klout score is likely lower than it should be. Unlike the majority of the entrepreneurs on this list, Zuckerberg never authorized the connection with his Twitter account.

Founder of Squidoo

Seth Godin (79)

Seth Godin had a few failed attempts as an entrepreneur before founding Squidoo, which has so much traffic that it’s one of the top sites in the United States. Previously, he was the VP of Direct Marketing for one year at Yahoo! He’s also an author of 14 bestseller books and he’s a blogger.

Not only has Seth Godin never authorized Klout’s connection to his Twitter account, he doesn’t even have a Twitter account. The Twitter account representing Godin is an automated account that shares his daily blog posts.

CEO and Co-Founder of Klout

Joe Fernandez (77)

Joe Fernandez is not just a co-founder of Klout but he also serves as its Director and CEO. Previously, he co-founded Evalulogix and was the director of “Innovation and Research” at OnBoard Informatics. Since he own’s Klout, we are not counting his score as an official entry on this list. Prior to the update, his score was higher than many of the people listed here; it is a sign that Joe doesn’t mind sacrificing a few points for the good of the score.

Joe Fernandez is the CEO of Klout. Previously Joe took criticism that his Klout score was artificially high. After the update, it seems like his score is in line with where it should be.

VP Product for Twitter/ COO and Co-founder of The Obvious Corporation

Jason Goldman (67)

COO and Co-founder of The Obvious Corporation. Formerly, VP Product for Twitter and Product Manager for Blogger at Google. Before Jason Goldman became the VP of Product for the popular social networking site Twitter, he was the Director of Product Strategy for “The Obvious Corporation”. Before that, he was the manager for Google’s Blogger where he spent over three years working on the project.

Another one of the guys from Twitter, Jason and the crew probably enjoy a slight advantage since their network is the primary network associated with Klout. They’re all very well respected on Twitter.

Founder of 4Chan

Moot from 4chan (62)

4chan was started in 2003 in the bedroom of a then-15-year-old student from New York City named Christopher Poole. He posted under the alias “Moot” and his real identity was not revealed until sometime later. Many would be greatly surprised to learn the mastermind behind 4Chan was really just a kid. He intended the site to be a place for sharing Japanese comics and anime but it grew into a Web subculture.

Despite the reflection in his Klout score, it is possible that Christopher Poole, aka Moot is the most influential online presence bar none. The 4chan community is capable of shutting down whole portions of the Internet, and influencing the news in ways that other communities haven’t measured up to. Surprisingly, Moot rarely issues a call to arms to his troops, and is well received by general audiences when he decides to make public appearances.

Just a few short years ago Klout wasn’t even an idea and the majority of this list were as average as you or me. The meteoric rise in popularity attributable to social media and the web culture is a product of luck and their great ideas. The Internet landscape is frequently changing, and looks so different now that it is unclear if there will be 10 new executives vying for the collective attention of the web, or if these superstars will enjoy the type of longevity that isn’t usually associated with the Internet.

Now that Klout has dished out updated rankings on these influential tech executives, where do you measure up?

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Lisa Clark

Lisa Clark is a Social Media Consultant and writer with more than 12 years experience. She helps brands connect with their target audience online. You can see Lisa's work at Social Media Satisfied and book your own special media solutions, or contact her on Twitter.

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