Twitter users will likely recognize the newest name in the social networking game: Klout.

Klout measures your influence based on your social network profiles. For instance, you’d register with Klout (free at klout.com) and link your Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Blogger (and any other networks that Klout supports) accounts.

Klout then reads what you’re writing about, who you follow, who follows you, how many times people share what you have to say, and so on. There’s some crazy math going on behind the curtain, but all you need to worry about is your Klout score. From 1 – 100, think of Klout as a social networking candy thermometer and your score as your temperature. In this case, similar to when you were a kid and wanted to skip school, the higher the number the better.

Why does Klout matter? As an author trying to build my platform, I often wonder “am I doing enough?” or “am I visible enough?” Klout, in my opinion, is a handy tool just to check how you’re doing. It’ll give you an “instant read” on how much you’ve been interacting lately, how much you’ve been sharing, how focused you are when it comes to the topics you talk about, and how after other people are reading and reacting to what you have to say.

Rather than sit there and wonder if social networking is doing you any good, let Klout take your temp and tell you how much progress you’re making.

All that said, it’s easy, too easy, to get caught up in the numbers. I see some people who stress over the fact that their Klout score has dropped a point.

That’s not what’s important. Think of your Klout score as a guide. The highest Klout scores I’ve seen belong to celebrities. People with hundreds of thousands of followers are bound to have their words shared more and they’re bound to have more people talking to them. It’s a numbers game. You can’t compete with that.

Let me repeat: you cannot compete with a celebrity with 2 million followers. So cut yourself some slack if you’re at a 35 and Ashton Kutcher is a 72.

What to do next:

1. Sign up for Klout. ( http://www.klout.com )
2. See where you currently stand once you’ve linked your current networks.
3. Watch your score once per week over the next month.
4. See what topics Klout says you’re influential about.
5. Use the search box at the top of the Klout website to see where your friends and peers are sitting on the Klout list.
6. Carry on as usual and don’t worry about your Klout score too much.

Alice Anderson writes novels when she’s not creating websites or writing articles for authors. She lives in the Southeast and co-owns a web development and marketing firm with her husband. For more articles visit her website at http://www.alice-anderson.com or follow her on twitter for a daily writing tip: http://www.twitter.com/allyanderson