Klout Looks to Take Influence Local

Blockboard could help "influence measurer" Klout go local and mobile.

Image: Blockboard

Klout appears to be looking to expand its influence to the local mobile markets.

The startup that purports to measure the influence users wield on the Web has made its first purchase, a neighborhood discussion-board app called Blockboard, and as Liz Gannes notes in the Wall Street Journal’s AllThingsD blog, the acquisition indicates some interesting new directions for the company.

Klout previously focused on its Web application, which analyzes users’ influence across such social networks as Twitter and Facebook.

Blockboard has been available only in San Francisco, but it’s safe to assume its team of four employees would know how to extend its technology to other cities.

So does the purchase mean that Klout will tell you if you’re the neighborhood’s top influencer, as well as a force to be reckoned with on the Web? Looks like it, according to Blockboard’s blog:

That’s where Klout comes in. They’ve built the leading platform for measuring and understanding influence on the Web, and now they want to expand that system into local communities, mobile devices, and other new contexts. The entire Blockboard team will be joining Klout to lead these efforts. Blockboard itself also plays into these plans, and we will continue to develop it. We look forward to sharing what we’ve got cooking on both fronts!