Fresh off debuting a mobile app, Klout has just released a new version of its application programming interface (API) in response to demand from developers.
More than 6,000 third-party developers -- up from 2,000 last year -- have used the original API to infuse Klout features into their apps or platforms. Klout now serves 1 billion API calls every day, which is 80 times more data served a year ago.
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Klout says its iPhone app, which arrived in late April, was built on the updated API.
"Partners have pulled data from our API since 2008 to offer a wide range of services to influencers, be it room upgrades at the Palms Hotel, targeted match-making through Tawkify or cash back rewards from Capital One based on people’s Klout scores," Klout developer evangelist Tyler Singletary wrote in an announcement Thursday.
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Developers can register for version 2 of the API here. Klout stopped accepting registrations for version 1 on April 16. The old API will be shut off Dec. 31.
Klout touts these features of Version 2:
- "Instead of being Twitter-focused, it’s now 'Klout-focused;' we offer a service that translates identifiers from Twitter to Klout IDs to facilitate speed and to incorporate influence from other networks in the future."
- "The new API is faster, asynchronous and has a new caching system.
- "Because it's based on our internal architecture, we’ll soon release new features to the API."
One new feature is an "oAuth2-based authentication system" that will soon let users give +Ks to people from outside of Klout.com. For example, a person might give someone else a +K while browsing Tumblr. Users distribute +Ks to vouch for people’s expertise or knowledge on a certain topic (see gallery below).
Thursday's API announcement revealed API calls have increased almost by 20 billion per month since February, hitting 30 billion per month.
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Looking ahead, Klout is still building scoring models for seven more services (YouTube, Instagram, Tumblr, Blogger, WordPress.com, Last.fm and Flickr) that have already been integrated onto Klout users’ dashboards. Klout also plans to add Quora, Yelp, Posterous, Livefyre, Disqus, bit.ly and BranchOut.
Klout likely will continue improving its Topics feature (see screenshots below) and Klout Perks platform. The Topics feature, which rolled out in September and lets you gain insights on top influencers and +K recipients for specific content areas, got a visual update in December with a "sashes" and an "Add a Topic" button.
Clickable Topics on Your Dashboard
On your Klout dashboard, you can click on a topic to open its Topic Page.
In December 2011, Klout rolled out sashes and an "Add a Topic" button. A blue sash goes to users with the most +Ks for any topic, while a gold sash is given to influencers based on Klout's algorithm. People who fall into both categories receive a blue-and-gold sash.
Click here to view this gallery.
This story originally published on Mashable here.
