• MarTech Today
  • Sections
    • Advertising
    • Marketing
    • Content
    • Social
    • Commerce
    • Sales
    • Analytics
    • Management
    • All
    • Home
  • Follow Us
    • Follow
  • MarTech Today
  • Ads
  • Marketing
  • Content
  • Social
  • Sales
  • Analytics
  • Mgmt
  • More
  • Events
    • Follow
  • SUBSCRIBE

MarTech Today

MarTech Today

Customer Data Platforms

Why are they so hot now?

Podcasting's Rise

Creating new marketing opportunities

Events

Attend the MarTech conference

  • Advertising
  • Marketing
  • Content
  • Social
  • Commerce
  • Sales
  • Analytics
  • Management
  • All
  • Events
  • Newsletters
  • Home
Martech: Social

Subscribe to MarTech Today to receive news and insights of where marketing, technology, and management converge.

Note: By submitting this form, you agree to Third Door Media's terms. We respect your privacy.


Lithium will ‘sunset’ its Klout service on the day GDPR launches

Lithium CEO indicates GDPR helped propel the decision, and the Klout-built AI tech will still be employed.

Barry Levine on May 11, 2018 at 2:52 pm
  • More

In 2014, Lithium acquired Klout, the online reputation service, for what Fortune magazine reported was a $200 million price. The enterprise social community service said at the time that Klout could help its communities determine who has authenticated expertise when they deliver recommendations.

Yesterday afternoon, Lithium announced it had decided to “sunset” the Klout service as of May 25.

Interestingly, that is also the date that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) goes into effect.

Lithium CEO Pete Hess, who assumed that role three months ago, told me via email that “we looked at Klout and saw a branded product that is, in reality, an enabling feature within our core solutions.”

The primary reason for ending Klout, he said, is that Lithium delivers solutions for customer service and “Klout, a standalone consumer-facing service, no longer fit that focus.” It’s not clear how Klout fit that same focus four years ago.

He added that “recent discussions on data privacy and GDPR are further expediting our plans to phase out the Klout service, giving us a chance to lead on some of the issues that are of critical importance to our customers: data privacy, consumer choice and compliance.”

The implication here, of course, is that evaluating people’s reputation, expertise and credibility without their complete consent raises questions under GDPR.

Hess noted that AI and machine learning capabilities obtained in the Klout purchase will continue to be developed, such as for measuring social impact on Twitter.



About The Author

Barry Levine
Barry Levine covers marketing technology for Third Door Media. Previously, he covered this space as a Senior Writer for VentureBeat, and he has written about these and other tech subjects for such publications as CMSWire and NewsFactor. He founded and led the web site/unit at PBS station Thirteen/WNET; worked as an online Senior Producer/writer for Viacom; created a successful interactive game, PLAY IT BY EAR: The First CD Game; founded and led an independent film showcase, CENTER SCREEN, based at Harvard and M.I.T.; and served over five years as a consultant to the M.I.T. Media Lab. You can find him at LinkedIn, and on Twitter at xBarryLevine.

Popular Stories

Related Topics

Channel: Martech: SocialSocial Media Marketing

Subscribe to MarTech Today to receive news and insights of where marketing, technology, and management converge.

Note: By submitting this form, you agree to Third Door Media's terms. We respect your privacy.


We're listening.

Have something to say about this article? Share it with us on Facebook and Twitter.

Attend Our Conferences

Gain new strategies and insights at the intersection of marketing, technology, and management. Our next conference will be held:

April 3-5, 2019: San Jose

September 16-18, 2019: Boston



×

Attend MarTech - Click Here


Learn More About Our MarTech Events

White Papers

  • The Ultimate Guide to Site Search User Experience
  • The Marketing Analytics Buyer’s Guide 2019
  • Mission Possible: Quality Content Marketing
  • 2019 Marketing Trends: Nine factors reshaping marketing and how you can stay ahead of them
  • The Dummies Guide to Enterprise Customer Data Platforms
See More Whitepapers

Webinars

  • Google’s Black Box Bidding Solution: A look under the hood
  • 2019 Martech Trends You Need To Know
  • How to Prepare for a Successful Marketing Analytics Implementation
See More Webinars

Research Reports

  • B2B Marketing Automation Platforms
  • Account-Based Marketing Tools
  • Enterprise SEO Platforms
  • Call Analytics Platforms
  • Paid Media Campaign Management Platforms
  • Local Marketing Automation Tools
See More Research
Master these trends of martech
Sign up for our daily newsletter
Martech Today
Download the Martech Today app on iTunes
Download the Martech Today App on Google Play

Follow Us

Facebook Twitter

© 2019 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved.