The Day I Decided NOT To Be A Guru

This would have been a great Guru profile pic.

Today I decided not to become a Guru. It all started when I signed up for Klout. If you don't know, a Klout score is a way of measuring your influence. You can set up an account & it shows you your score & compares you to other people you know.

Great, another way to compare myself to those around me. I understand a tool like that is useful for companies or individuals whose jobs involve social media. But, for the rest of us?

I sat there & looked at all my friends who had higher scores & were listed as having expertise in a certain area. There was no expertise next to my name. Bummer. I guess there isn't an expertise field for Mongolian horsemanship or babysitting for murderers. Maybe I should quote more books?

Next I saw a barage of articles on how to improve my Klout score. A list of topics people respond to & how I can work to gain influence. I read all the articles on how to be a social media Guru. I felt the pressure to fix my lame score. How can I get more followers? How can I increase my retweets??? I was in a tailspin of social media depression. Gee gosh.

Fine, Klout. I'm not an expert. I don't tweet leadership tips or recipes.  I'm just a normal person. Is that so bad?

Charlie Sheen has a really high Klout score, but I don't know that many people would say he has influenced their lives. Having a lot of people know you makes you famous. Having people actually take what you say to heart & follow your advice...that is influence.

 I think about the people who have influenced my life the most. They probably aren't even on twitter. They didn't gather a massive following, instead they sat down with me one-on-one.

I'm not saying that Klout is bad. I do want to know how to maximize social media. But knowing your neighbor's name is pretty important too. Remembering a friends birthday (without facebook reminding you) is a rare form of relationship these days.

Do I still want to beat my husband to a million twitter followers? You betcha.

I want to make a difference.

But, I'm not going be a Guru. I'm gonna influence, but I'm not keeping score. Sorry Klout.