Say what you will about Klout (and I am sure someone will have plenty to say about it for sure) but they are making progress in tying a measure of social media impact with Perks for those who ‘measure up’.

The latest offering is actually pretty interesting. The Klout blog explains

Today we’re announcing a partnership with American Airlines that gives Klout users access to nearly 40 worldwide lounge locations including San Francisco, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Tokyo, London and many more. Starting today, if you have a Klout Score of 55 or higher, you can gain access to the Admirals Club by going to aa.com/klout. You do not have to be an American Airlines passenger to be eligible for this Perk.(emphasis added)

Social media has had quite a ride over the past 10 years (or however many you want to apply to its lifetime if you don’t agree with 10).

As companies have discovered and embraced the process they have also managed to abuse it in the process. The practice has devolved and is now trying to get its footing as an effective Internet tool while not having to claim that it will save the world for whomever chooses to use it. The reality is that when done properly it is a very effective way to accomplish a lot for a business in areas as diverse as marketing, legal, sales, PR, HR and on down the line.

The inbound marketing software company, HubSpot, has created an interesting infographic to show this kind of life cycle development we are eluding to here. Check it out.

Tags are the internet equivalent of the Rubbermaid silverware caddy. They were both created to help keep like items together and neatly organized. You can tag blog posts and YouTube videos. Add a “hash” and you’re good to go on Twitter. Facebook took tagging to the next level when they created a tool to tag multiple people in a single photo and now they’ve added that same tool to Instagram.

But wait! There’s more! Starting today, Instagram users will find a whole new section in the app called “Photos of You.” That’s right, a whole gallery of photos devoted to you, you, you. Which is funny seeing as how I just wrote a post about how on social media people prefer “informers” over “meformers.” Guess that doesn’t apply to photo sharing.