Okay, so this problem isn't completely owned by Klout. But this post over at ReadWriteWeb underscores the issues of adoption for Klout and any of these services. I'm not sure if they're aiming for mainstream adoption...yet. If so, they have a lot of work to do toward simplifying their services. If the American people (apologies to my non-U.S. readers) get giddy over simplified tax formulas, what in the world makes folks think they'll want to wade back into the thicket of trying to understand something so mysterious and patently obtuse as these online "influence" and "effectiveness" scores? When you need the digital equivalent of a CPA to help you comprehend these scores - let alone do something about them - you know you might have a problem.

Solution? How about talking with not only the online media technorati, but the everyday user. And don't just talk...understand the everyday user in relation to the world *they* inhabit. Find out their wants and needs. Yes, they may very well not know what they want from an online influence program. But even casual users of Twitter and Facebook have needs related to knowing their status in their online world. In anthropological terms, status and status-seeking is something very common in the human experience.

If you want to take that step toward mainstream adoption, figure out a way to make complex ideas, algorithms, and processes around online easy to understand. You're not going to get there by navel-gazing or working solely with the technorati. Future and long-term success lies in building something that the mainstream user will find familiar and useful in their online lives.