Buzzdash & Online Polls
The utility of online polls for a niche like real estate has always escaped me because the small sampling sizes made the results less than credible. A Final Four poll on USA Today ? Significantly bigger sample size... so fairly credible (yes! UCLA)..Online poll on a real estate blogsite? Not credible.
Buzzdash compiles a large list of polls for specific topics like real estate. The sample sizes approach respectibility - pretty interesting to see the results.for a variety of real estate related queries. I think these types of aggregated pollsites that are easy to peruse and easy to post to will gain traction as more internet users begin to participate in social networking (as I've surmised in my article about crowdsourcing).
Vizu provisions a polling widget to publishing websites and blogsites so they can conduct their own polls on their site. Their revenue model is to sell corporate marketing clients the privilege to create online polls hosted on specific web/blogsites to reach their specific readership. They charge on a CPM basis - these online polls become the online equivalent of focus groups. I'd be interested in seeing what types of corporate clients (brokers, title insurance companies?) would find real estate blogs as appropriate venues for these online focus groups. I registered with Vizu to see what comes up.
Chris Smith made a fine comment on how polls are "reader interactivity" tools for smaller volume blogs. Here's my Final Four poll... let's see if my small sample size approximates USA Today's... I'm betting my Pac-10 domiciled readership is going to skew to UCLA... (here's your chance to Cheat the Prophet!)
technorati tags: online polls polling poll vizu buzzdash
I don't disagree with your comments about small sample size and credibility of online polls; you wouldn't want to bet the farm based on some poll on a real estate site.
But...I don't think that's what polls are about - at least small scale polls. Polls are about interactivity, about making your voice heard (albeit in a small way). Sometimes I just like pushing that candy red "vote" button and don't really care how the results come back. It's about *me* telling *you* how *I* feel.
This is junk statistics, but it's harmless. And people like 'em. I put one on my blog from time to time; I use www.micropoll.com.
Note: Interesting that you hold USA Today up as the standard; they practically invented the field of junk statistics. Maybe it's just that you liked the outcome of that final four poll!
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Despite the small sample size of some polls, and the inherent bias of it being opt-in - meaning you don’t get a diverse enough group of people - these polls are opening up the discussion and are certainly much better than the old way of ONLY talking to your personal network.
The question I wonder all the time is whether we will look back at these times where we consult one or two people before making important decisions - like how should I invest my money - and laugh at the absurdity of trusting a single information point (that may have perverse incentives).
Bring on the polls and anything else that surfaces and collects distributed information!
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I just voted about 10 times for my team, moving the bar from 20% to 73% for the Bruins. BuzzDash's beta needs some work.
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That sounded like an easy hack, I tried doing that too but it wouldn't let me.... I've sent out a warning call to Buzzdash...
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