Don't believe everything you read on the internet.

SF Weekly: Obnoxious Google employee shouting at protestors turns out to be local union organizer

Bummer. Even political protests can turn out to be staged events. I wonder what he was trying to accomplish by masquerading as an entitled Google employee. He certainly caused more harm than good to his cause.

And what about the journalists who actually reported his antics - as fact, no less? I would have done the same thing had I been in their position; it would have been a knee-jerk reaction. But I suppose that would have been yet another example of sensational reporting. The temptation to share things on the internet is just too great in this age of social media and information. Unfortunately, this instinct seems to have leaked into the world of professional journalism as well.

But balanced journalism, or attempts at it, will always be susceptible to people knowingly bending the truth. As the ability to put material in front of eyes grows and the number of eyes perusing material before publication shrinks, it's never been more true. [SF Weekly]

Here is the original article, along with a video of what we now know is a staged event:

SFBG: Union organizer shouts down protesters as they block private Google shuttle

How to Boost that Klout Score (You've Seen It, But I Need a Place to Store It

JMR - Klout is an attempt at a metric, but it's a mixed bag.  Here are some observations about why Klout scores rise and fall:

While Klout allows you to tie into multiple social accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, Flickr, etc.), it primarily is driven by Twitter & Facebook.

Scores rise through a combination of # of followers/friends, overall frequency of activity, and how much you engage with other folks, particularly others with high Klout scores.  In the past, it was relatively easy to game Klout simply by posting more, and by engaging a lot with others.  This lead to a lot of blabbermouths getting high rankings.  Klout has modified their algorithm to not support this kind of behavior as much, but it still is a factor. 

When your tweets are getting retweeted frequently, this helps boost Klout score.
Same goes for likes and comments on facebook. 

I guess I wouldn't advise focusing on boosting Klout scores so much as:
Identify the best platform(s) to reach your desired audience (i.e. if you blog about cute kitties, focus on Facebook or Pinterest).  For me, that's Twitter & LinkedIn, so the fact Klout doesn't value LinkedIn as much and does love Facebook makes it less relevant.

Follow and/or connect with the most influential folks in your sector, as well as 2nd and 3rd tier folks.  Don't worry if they don't follow you back, but do engage with them by responding, retweeting, etc.
Regularly post your own content, or good pieces by others.  Others you have been engaging with will begin to follow your content, and retweet/like/share your posts.

Follow back those who follow you and/or accept friend requests.  This is initially important to build an audience.

Post frequently and consistently (i.e. 5-7 days per week)
If you care about scores like Klout, the above behavior will help them rise.

Cheers,
Hugh

p.s.  A couple of other scores are PeerIndex and Kred.  Both are similar to Klout, but emphasize different things (PeerIndex is twitter specific, and Kred appears to focus on topical expertise

AP Talks about the "Objectivity Ethics" of Retweeting (Thank You, Poynter Institute from Whence This Came)

Associated Press
The Associated Press has added a new entry on retweeting to its social media guidelines. Staffers are reminded to keep their opinions to themselves.

Retweets, like tweets, should not be written in a way that looks like you’re expressing a personal opinion on the issues of the day.

Disclaimers — like “retweets do not constitute endorsements” — do not protect AP staffers if they violate these guidelines.

Previously, the guidelines — which were last updated in July — said simply that staffers “are welcome to retweet and share material posted by official AP-branded accounts on social networking sites (e.g. @AP, @APStylebook, etc.” Read the full update below, from Tom Kent, AP’s deputy managing editor for standards and production.

RETWEETING

Retweets, like tweets, should not be written in a way that looks like you’re expressing a personal opinion on the issues of the day. A retweet with no comment of your own can easily be seen as a sign of approval of what you’re relaying. For instance:

RT @jonescampaign smith’s policies would destroy our schools

RT @dailyeuropean at last, a euro plan that works bit.ly/xxxxx.

These kinds of unadorned retweets must be avoided.

However, we can judiciously retweet opinionated material if we make clear we’re simply reporting it, much as we would quote it in a story. Colons and quote marks help make the distinction:

RT Jones campaign now denouncing smith on education: @jonescampaign smith’s policies would destroy our schools

RT big European paper praises euro plan: @dailyeuropean “at last, a euro plan that works” bit.ly/xxxxx.

These cautions apply even if you say on your Twitter profile that retweets do not constitute endorsements.