Have you checked your Klout score today? If not, you might want to head over to Klout.com and take a peek at your new score. Yes — new. Today, Klout released a (yet another) new algorithm, which has drastically had an impact on the score of many of its users. Some users have seen an increase or drop of up to 20 points. There are also some, like me, who saw no change to their score or subscores at all.

The new algorithm was hinted at last week by CEO and Founder of Klout, Joe Fernandez. The shift went live today, announced by Klout on its blog. The changes seem to be logical on the surface — measuring influence by the content of your posts on social networks like Facebook and Twitter, rather than the quantity. The new algorithm also more specifically looks at how many people you influence, how much you influence them, and how influential they are. Previously, the algorithm didn’t take into account the social context of those who engage with you.

As a result, many Klout users saw a drop today of 20 points or more. Comments on Klout’s blog post reveals that many saw their friends’ scores increase, even though they aren’t as actively engaged on Twitter or Facebook as the commenter. Some even speculate that engagement on Facebook carries more weight. However, I saw literally no score drop from this algorithm change despite my abandonment of Facebook.

The drastic changes in Klout scores today, along with a change in the data reported, have made many question the validity of a Klout score, especially to measure social media influence. Not only does the unstable score make it useless to continue to use as a KPI, but the subscores are now also unreliable as a way of validating social activity.

While other similar services, like PeerIndex, are notably more stable, the change in Klout scores today because of the new algorithm is a good reminder that social media users should not use such a score to verify their success in using social media. In fact, your Klout score really does not matter. If you truly have more influence, you will see visits to your blog increase, sales for your business increase, and opportunities for new business and professional relationships increase. Being influential according to your Klout score, in and of itself, does not provide any benefit other than an ego boost. If you’re upset or confused about your new Klout score, reconsider what results you really want out of Twitter or Facebook. Using social media for the sole purpose of increasing a score means you’re missing the point entirely.

What do you think of Klout’s new algorithm change? Do you still care about your Klout score? Or did you ever? Sound off in the comments.