Digging Deeper in Social Media

Have you heard about Klout? It's a new application for social networking sites that measures your "influence credit report". It basically detects who you influence and who influences you on Twitter and other social media. I think it's a great tool for companies and especially start-ups. It's certainly a great metric for success. When I read up about it, it seemed somewhat unreal to me. How can such a tool measure influences and trends? I don't know, but all I know is that it does and companies are starting to use it more often.
It's funny to think that social media is really a replica of our lives but in the clouds. First it starts off with relationship building by finding people who share common interests or finding your friends. Then, you can let your friends and connections know what you like, what mood you're in today, what are you weekend plans. Now, it actually measures how much influence you have over others and how much others influence you. It basically builds your reputation for you.
It's crazy to think that while we embrace new technology we don't have control over what it can actually do. Of course, we have the option to make some information private but to what extent?
If an application can put together of all your tastes, your actions, your written thoughts.... it is probably capable of doing much more. When I read about this new Klout application, I felt scared and excited at the same time. It seems as if someone is constantly observing what we do on the web. At the same time as a professional, it is important to see who my company can influence and attract!