Coruscation

If you have a Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn account, you are already being judged -- or will be soon. Companies with names like Klout, PeerIndex and Twitter Grader are in the process of scoring millions, eventually billions, of people on their level of influence -- or in the lingo, rating "influencers." Yet the companies are not simply looking at the number of followers or friends you've amassed. Rather, they are beginning to measure influence in more nuanced ways, and posting their judgments -- in the form of a score -- online.

To some, it's an inspiring tool -- one that's encouraging the democratization of influence. No longer must you be a celebrity, a politician or a media personality to be considered influential. Social scoring can also help build a personal brand. To critics, social scoring is a brave new technoworld, where your rating could help determine how well you are treated by everyone with whom you interact.

"Now you are being assigned a number in a very public way, whether you want it or not," said Mark W. Schaefer, an adjunct professor of marketing at Rutgers University and the executive director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions. "It's going to be publicly accessible to the people you date, the people you work for. It's fast becoming mainstream."

Influence scores typically range from 1 to 100. On Klout, the dominant player in this space, the average score is in the high teens. A score in the 40s suggests a strong, but niche, following. A 100, on the other hand, means you're Justin Bieber. On PeerIndex, the median score is 19. A perfect 100, the company says, is "god-like."

Don't just be found, by sought.