An otherwise exciting conversation about the discovery of Keppler-22b was broadsided by pessimism, when it was brought up that humans likely do not deserve to inhabit other worlds. A litany of human shortcomings were provided to support the argument. Strangely, while “war for oil, the United States Federal Reserve,” and “The United States Government,” were mentioned, The Holocaust, WWI, and WWII were absent. Go figure.

I’m not suggesting the human race should (or is even in any position to consider) inhabiting literally new worlds, but the aforementioned rant basically closed with a challenge to give one good reason why humans might deserve such opportunities. Took me all of half a second to see the following in my mind’s eye. I called it…

A Top 10 Reasons List so Easy I Could Serve it up with a Soundtrack.

I’m not saying we’re perfect. Or even that I’m anything on the order of the above, but so long as there are people like these in the world, there is hope. And I refuse to subscribe to the kind of vagabond thoughts that lead into dark alleys where troublesome individuals lurch. 

Part of the solution, part of the problem, part of the landscape.

In the glovebox:

• In Search of Adventure
• Truly Visionary Goal-Setting
• Update: Evolution of a Blog

I'd appreciate hearing what you think about Gimme a Reason

The Problem

It’s come to your attention that Klout has a web page published with your name or likeness which features a big, bold orange box ranking your level of influence. For whatever reason, you would like to have this unauthorized profile removed as soon as possible. Here’s how you do that.

[UPDATE: 08.30.11] After responding to several blog posts around the web discussing the inability to opt-out of Klout’s service (read: inability to have them take down an unauthorized “influence report”), I received an email this morning from Megan advising they had removed my profile and asking me to allow up to 90 days for remnant data to completely disappear. To that end, I am satisfied, and have edited this post accordingly. If you are just now starting to pursue the removal of your own unauthorized Klout profile, please follow the instructions laid out below.

Step 1 – Cut Ties
If you actually bought into the hype, registered with them, and connected any other social accounts (it’s okay, a lot of us did to give it a try), the first thing you want to do is go into all those other accounts and revoke Klout’s access to them at that end.

I never connected Klout to anything but Twitter, so here’s how to revoke access in Twitter. First, log into Twitter, then access the Settings menu from the drop down under your name in the top right corner of the screen.

Next, click the Applications tab at the top, look for Klout and click the Remove Access button. (Now might be a good time to revoke access to any other applications you no longer care about or particularly recognize. Protect your Twitter account!)

Since I never connected any other accounts, I’m afraid I can’t help much with them, but I suspect the process might be similar. For example, I bet you can revoke access in Facebook via Account > Privacy Settings > Apps and Websites > Edit your settings.

Step 2 – Contact Klout Support
Since this post is more interested in getting an unauthorized Klout profile removed, we’ll skip logging into Klout to unlink other accounts. Ironically, when you send an email to Klout Support requesting your profile be removed from the site, verified Klout user or not, you might be advised to log into your account and unlink your other accounts. Kinda like the one I received, below.

Are you asking to be treated with respect and dignity?
Then make an effort to treat the people at Klout with the same. As someone who has handled email accounts associated with account removal and unsubscription requests for a larger social media outlet, I can assure you the people at Klout who will be reading your email likely sift through dozens, if not hundreds, of outrageous, ignorant ranting and raving from idiots, many of whom still think AOL = internet on a daily basis. Don’t be an asshole. You want Klout to respect you as a human being? Respect the people you deal with at Klout.

Klout is not out to get us.
They just have a PR problem going on right now. You see, they automatically created profiles for something like 80 Million people. They believe in what they’re doing, and I can’t begrudge them for that. The problem comes in our inability to opt-out of having our names, likenesses, and information being displayed against our wishes.

It’s one thing to find incomplete directory-type information on ourselves in search, but to be publicly rated in such a way as might negatively impact our dealings with others or potentially limit our potential based on a clearly incomplete view of our activities is frustrating.  Klouts inability (read: unwillingness?) to honor our request to remain in control of our own information is positively incensing.

So how do you get your Klout “Influence Report” removed?
Long story short, persistence, patience, and the Golden Rule.

• Persistence - Don’t give up. Keep in contact with them. Let them know when you will be following up if you don’t hear back and how. Then be true to your word and follow up when and how you promised.
• Make the rounds online, comment on blog posts addressing the issue (like Nik’s, Danny’s or right here, or all of the above) .
• You might also comment on Klout’s corporate blog or raise your issues publicly in their support forums.
• Patience – Although I received an email stating my profile had be deactivated same day, keep in mind it’s probably a little more involved than deleting an email or unfriending someone on Facebook.
• The Golden Rule - You’re asking to be treated like a human being. Treat the people you deal with at Klout like human beings. Don’t flip your shit and send ignorant, angry emails and tweets, or rush right into filing civil suit pursuant to California Civil Code 3344. Is that how you would like to be treated?

I’m still hoping they’ll come through and do the right thing.
Which, to me, would be taking down all automated “influence reports” from their website and replying upon the influence of their verified users to attract others to the service authentically. Barring that, implementing a simple opt-out request wherein they might explain to people wishing to opt-out why they feel their score has potential to directly benefit the individual (moreso than the lazy ass corporations just looking to discriminate), and allowing participation in complete privacy for the greater good or something.

In the long run, it took me just under three business days (five total) to receive confirmation from Klout that my unauthorized “influence report” was being removed at my request. I hope you don’t have to endure the frustration and stress I did over the weekend, but if you keep your cool, stick to your guns, and educate yourself on your rights, I like to think the folks at Klout want to help you more than you think.

If you were able to successfully have your unauthorize Klout Influence Report taken down, I would appreciate if you shared how in the comments so – together – we might help others do likewise. Social media has grown exponentially because it gives the individual a voice. Denying people say in how their name and likeness is used for commercial purposes is pretty much the antithesis of what makes social media great. What can you do to help others?

Thanks for stopping by. Stay classy?

In the glovebox:

• TWICs XXI
• Communication Strategies: Building Buzz
• Communication Strategies: Starting with Why

I'd appreciate hearing what you think about How To Get An Unauthorized Klout Profile Removed

UPDATE: Since publishing this post, livefyre – much to their credit – has implemented greater options for email-based notifications. I have since turned some emails back on. It would seem they’re making progress, and it would be wrong of me to not preface this story with acknowledgment of their improvements.

Sometime in May or June of this year, I got to chatting with someone on a blog somewhere in the comments, leading me to her site to continue the conversation around a recent post she’d published. This was the first time I’d come across livefyre, a comments-handling platform similar to disqus, which I have been using on all my sites for years, now. The article was worth creating yet another proprietary account, and things started smoothly enough, but then the emails started coming in.

The Problem livefyre’s Trying to Solve
Blog comments can mean conversation, but that doesn’t mean they generally are conversation. More often than not, the comments section ends up being the author participating in a bunch of one-on-one conversations with individual commenters. Livefyre is trying to encourage everyone who comments to interact with one another in addition to the author; that is, they’re trying to drive actual conversation. Admirable, to be sure, but…

Email notification options at original posting:

Email notification options as of post update:

Here’s the Problem lifefyre Causes
Once you’ve created your account, you can choose to receive email notifications immediate, often, or never.

• Immediately – The instant someone – anyone – leaves a comment on a post you, too, have left comment, you get an email. Doesn’t matter what they say, if they contribute anything of value at all. You get Cc’d.
• Often – Take a guess! They don’t specify (and it doesn’t seem to change anything for me).
• Never – Even if someone replies to or mentions you, you stay in the dark.

Here’s What Happens, Then
You leave a comment on one of your favorite blogs, one where the posts are, more often than not, meaningful, and where you’ve been getting to know the author through conversations in the comments over time.

• If you have immediately selected: He gets 20 comments and replies to each in kind. You get 40 emails; maybe ten at a time if he replies to multiple comments at a sitting.
• If you have often selected: Since livefyre doesn’t clarify what this means (and I’ve yet to see any difference between it and immediately), the best I guess you could hope for is a sort of daily digest, where you get an email with all the day’s comments in the middle of the night, so you can go back and maybe interact with someone in yesterday’s news.
• If you have never selected: Life is good! No barrage of email! Of course, if you live and die by the email notification like I do (on dozens of blogs and forums all over the world), the onus is on you to make the rounds back to all the recent conversations you might have had over the past few days, looking for replies that didn’t happen or just not responding to people who mention you or reply to you as posts fall through the cracks.

This is just a single post on a single blog using livefyre! Imagine you like to keep up with two or three bloggers who tend to get a lot of comments. Now you’re looking at 40, 50, emails a day or more for each new post on each blog on top of the additional comments trickling in on the previous day’s conversation.

Here’s Some Ideas to Make livefyre More User Friendly
As a blogger myself, I understand the desire to build a community through comments. It’s not easy, and I’ve seen few do it better than Scott Gould, but livefyre basically forces people to choose between all or nothing. That’s not cool. Since any fool can bitch about what’s wrong, right? Here’s a couple ideas that might make livefyre less of a strifemire.

• First of all, clarify what often means on the settings page.
• Next, take a page out of the discussion forum etiquette book and provide an option to receive a single email alerting the user to replies which links to the conversation, and does not send any more alerts until such time as the user visits the page.
• While we’re at it, how about an option to select the type of alerts desired on a per-comment basis right from the page? I know you’re trying to encourage real conversations, but if I’m not yet interested in what anyone but the author or those who specifically address me have to say, give me the option to choose that, even if I have to check an additional box every time I leave a comment.

The User Experience
We, the commenters, subscribe to blogs because we believe in what the blogger has to say and because we enjoy interacting with him or her. Over time, active commenters naturally get to know each other, often leading to additional subscriptions and connections. That said, do not force us to subscribe to each other by default. That is so not cool.

Less than a week ago, I updated my Life-Changing Blogs page to include two new entries I’ve really come to enjoy of late. In the last 24 hours, both have implemented livefyre and I’m having to decide if trying to participate is worth the perceived disrespect to me and my inbox.

Rant Mode: OFF

In the glovebox:

• Social Networking: It’s About People
• Quickie: Imobilizing Content
• I Got Fired. Wow.

I'd appreciate hearing what you think about 3 Reasons Why livefyre Irritates Me

That’s the title of the post I read on Tim Kastelle’s Innovation Leadership blog (where they really pick apart the nuts and bolts of innovation, by the way). There was quite the buzz about some Nokia memo a while back, and John Steen apparently beat Tim to the punch with some thoughts on the story over there that day.

John closed his post with a simple question, “What industries, do you think, could compete on ecosytems?” That’s a BIG question. I’ve been struggling lately with what I consider “next steps;” going beyond merely recognizing and addressing symptoms, considering new ways to address causes. Upon reading this question, the automotive industry immediately comes to mind.

Production, consumption, needs, and wants
Manufacturers make new vehicles. “Consumers” buy them. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Proliferation of the automobile and easy credit have made the automobile a commodity. The fundamental needs of transportation, freedom, and cargo capacity have been met since the 1950s. Modern consumers buy new vehicles because they want something new. We want the shiny new sheetmetal, the 100% functional accessories, the spotlessly clean interior smelling of soft-touch plastics and adhesives. We don’t need these things, we want them. And we know it.

And that’s why, when the economy gets tight, manufacturers see such marked declines in sales. Faced with financial uncertainty, our defenses come up, and we see polished sheetmetal, touchscreen navigation, and new car smell as superficial. We still want a new car, but we know it would be smarter to take care of the one we already have.

Automotive Commoditization
New vehicles experience a marked depreciation in those first few years. It’s also no stretch to suggest the dealership likely charges among the highest prices for parts and labor in town. The auto industry depends on the sale of new vehicles and the servicing of existing models. Yet they are constantly coming up with profit-eating incentives just to get people through the door because their offerings are unessential and expensive.

Complete the ecosystem.
What if, instead of relying on gimmicks to trick people into long term debt on rapidly depreciating commodities or driving them away with exorbitant parts/labor rates, the auto industry figured out how to monetize lifelong relationship-building activities? What if they put their size and power to work in other ways?

• Imagine sales reps empowered to sell you a new car, a used car, or help you find and purchase a car at auction or privately. (Pre-negotiating rates on service which may or may not be necessary on such a purchase.)
• Imagine service reps empowered to quote service on your car, or schedule you an appointment with a technician who would provide you with printed instructions from the service manual and assistance determining if you could truly do the repair yourself.
• Imagine parts departments empowered to sell you brand name parts, or provide you with a list of compatible models you might look for on your next trip to the pick-a-part.
• Imagine dealerships empowered to pay scrap value for non-running cars at end-of-life, encouraging customers to bring them back for the ultimate in long-term reliability evaluation, while also providing a supply of inexpensive raw materials for future manufacturing.

The auto industry is one of the largest on the planet, yet for all the power of this industry, they seem to be narrowly focused on new car sales and dealership service. There is more to the automotive ecosystem than that. The OEM which empowers its agents to act in the best interests of the customer will be doing more than competing on ecosystem – they will be completing the ecosystem.

In the glovebox:

• AutoJournos, Meet Auto-Journo
• This Old Car (This is the Life). Part 2
• Local Motors’ Rally Fighter in Phoenix

I'd appreciate hearing what you think about Thinking Ecosystems

I decided to edit this post because it was a bit out of hand. Admittedly, as someone who has enjoyed T-mobile’s exemplary customer service and generous voice/text/data plans for more than 14 years, I am genuinely concerned at the prospect of my digital mobility being serviced by AT&T, an organization so reviled for its poor customer service and shady dealings it’s consistently woven into the fabric of the US wireless conversation as little else.

Bitching and moaning merely highlights our being against something.
We should be so vocal about those things we stand for.

Right now, I stand for T-mobile, and all the ways they have proven themselves as industry leaders. If the AT&T merger means T-mobile customers will pay more, get less, and see their customer service levels reduced, this deal should not be approved, iPhone be damned.

When big companies get bigger, the little people seem littler.

In the glovebox:

• TWICs XXI
• Social Networking: It’s About People
• Gimme a Reason

I'd appreciate hearing what you think about How Much Will the Tmobile iPhone Cost?