http://www.squidoo.com/interactivepolling
Squidoo's goal as a platform is to bring the power of recommendation to search. Squidoo's goal as a co-op is to pay as much money as we can to our lensmasters and to charity. And Squidoo's goal as a community is to have fun along the way, and meet new ideas and the people behind them.
Check out a few of the benefits:
You can use your lens to share your expertise and light a path for people looking for something online.
- You can highlight the best websites
- You can teach people about a concept
- You can do a poll to gauge what people think
- You can highlight an eBay auction
- You can point people to political action opportunities
- You can establish your identity
- You can make a difference
Hotspot # 3 Continued
SodaHead is sort of like an enhanced message board—“where people can ask questions and get opinions!”
But what makes Sodahead different? The creator explained it this way “For example, if you get one about technology, it's not just going to be about technology--it's going to be about programming, and not only that it's going to be scripting--it's very specific. And when you get that specific, you often get a single mindset and you get one profile, then you have another site to talk about cars, then you have to go to another site to talk about politics. You now have three profiles. They're not tracking your votes across sites, your profile, or your comments. So let's take the wonderful world of message boards which we love, and put them under one roof. We have over 200 categories on our site, and we don't want to be niche. We'll allow these niches to happen under each category but you don't have to re-create your profile, your reputation, or anything like that. On top of that, we offer the concept of a reputation--a track record and a history. Just like eBay proved that the user feedback model is really important--it's the differentiator that might have made eBay so successful--if I'm going to buy something online from some stranger, I want to know that I'll get what I'll pay for, or if they send me a check it won't bounce--if I just trust another auction system that didn't have that feedback, it's a big differentiator.”
Hotspot #3
SodaHead is another one of many companies that offers a polling widget that you can embed on a blog or social network. But SodaHead differentiates itself by being focused on social interactions. SodaHead allows social voting. This may sound totally boring- but that might just mean that you haven’t allowed yourself to experience this new spin on an old tradition. It is nothing new for humans to vote, answer questions from anyone on any subject, and take poll! People have been doing that forever. However, with 2.0 the boring stuff is out & social linking is in! The media of the Internet has allowed people to add the social aspect to it. According to Sodahead, social answers is the space, but they are more than just the answers--it's the voting, and the poll element, which makes it easy for people to just vote. People vote on polls on the Internet, constantly, but they are bringing the social element, and are going to track the votes along with your profile. People love social networking, and they love voting. So SodaHead put those two things together. It brings the social element, the track record--all of the things that the web can bring--which polling leaves behind.
Hotspot # 2 Surveymonkey.com
The US based company began in 1999, as an online survey tool that enables people of all experience levels to create their own surveys. With both a free version and a professional version for only $19.95 a month, SurveyMonkey can gives “thousands of people the feedback they need to make more informed decisions, including more than 80% of the Fortune 100.” Our software is designed with one goal in mind: allowing people of all experience levels to easily create professional surveys.
Design Features taken directly from the site
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Select From Over 20 Types of Questions We support everything from multiple choice to rating scales to open-ended text. You can customize the layout of every question type for the ultimate in design flexibility. |
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Use Our Survey Templates Not experienced with survey design? Need a creative spark? We have over 50 survey templates in a variety of categories. Use one of our professionally designed templates to jumpstart your survey design. |
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We Support Any Language You can create your survey in any language, even multi-byte languages such as Chinese and Arabic. In addition, all text and buttons in the survey can be customized for the respondent's native language. |
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Create Custom Themes You can change the color, size, and style of any element in your survey. After you've designed the perfect theme, you can save your settings to use in any survey. |
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Validate Your Survey Responses Advanced validation options allow you to require a particular number of answers, or validate the text that is entered. |
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Add a Logo to Your Survey Have your own organization's logo appear at the top of your survey. As a reminder, SurveyMonkey has never accepted any advertising, so your surveys maintain a professional appearance. |
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Randomize or Sort Your Question Choices To help minimize "ordering bias", you can automatically randomize the choices in your questions. If you have a long list of items, you can sort them automatically. |
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Save Your Survey as a PDF Need to bring a copy of your survey to a meeting? Need to collect responses "offline"? With one click, you can generate a version of your survey that is specifically designed for printing. |
Collection Features
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Create a Simple Weblink Collecting responses is as simple as sending out a link to your survey via email, or posting the link on your website. Respondents simply click the link to go directly to your survey. |
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Manage Your List If you have a list of email contacts, and would like to track who responds, we have the tools to manage your list and create custom email invitations. You can even send follow-up reminders to only those who haven't responded. |
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Set Collection Restrictions You can set a max response count, or a cutoff date for your survey. You can require a password, or even restrict responses by IP address. |
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Support Kiosks or Computer Labs You can configure your survey to allow collection in a shared environment to make sure that multiple responses can be submitted from the same computer. |
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Create Popups You can create a custom popup for your webpage that invites people to take your survey, while letting your visitors opt-out easily to mininize annoyance. |
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Simultaneous Collection You can collect responses from multiple sources simultaneously, and open and close each collection method individually, without having to close the entire survey. |
A couple of reasons why they might be the right choice for your company
You can be the creator
They give you all the tools you need to create your own surveys, and above all, they “ enable you to get it done quickly and easily.”
They claim to be flexible
From a business standpoint- a fantastic plus is that there are no long-term commitments! Your company can sign up as a monthly customer, and use services for as long as you choice to do so.
No software to install- less cost for your company
They have “sweated the details to enable you to create a survey and start collecting responses with a minimum of fuss.” There is no software to install.
They are different
Despite ease , their software is loaded with features that many of other competitors charge thousands for. Some of the feature s include: Skip logic, advanced validation & total customization. Check out the link to see pics and examples. http://www.surveymonkey.com/Home_FeaturesDesign.aspx
Security- a major concern for any Company
They employ multiple layers of security to make sure that your account and your data remains private and secure. They “employ a third-party firm to conduct daily audits of our security, and your data resides behind the latest in firewall and intrusion prevention technology.” An additional feature is they can also add SSL to your account, so that sensitive survey information and data is collected in a totally encrypted environment.
They are the Leader
They are the “leading survey tool on the web (ranked by Alexa), with over 80% of the Fortune 100 currently using SurveyMonkey.
They are guarded
In an age where personal data is traded like a commodity, SurveyMonkey pledges to respect your privacy. Any data that you collect is kept completely and absolutely confidential. We have never been affiliated with any third-parties, and we never accept any advertising.
What better way to get a conversation started with your friends and business customers than through the use of interactive polls? Polls can generate thought provoking answers, or reveal lighthearted senses of humor. With the implementation of 2.0 features- most of us have had the opportunity to chat and boldly voice our opinions via the internet. We may have done this so much, that commenting through the clicker, has become part of our routine. So- if you haven’t already thought about what kind of poll fits you or your customers’ tastes, check out Hotspot # 1.
Hotspot # 1 Polldaddy.com
Polldaddy is a wildly popular site that allows you to create free polls and place them on your website, blog, MySpace account or anywhere online. You can customize your poll to fit into your site design or choose one of 14 “skins”. Results can be viewed via the poll posted on your page, or you can see all the results of multiple polls from their site after you log in. Polldaddy is great in that it provides specific instructions on how to embed the HTML code into WordPress, Typepad, and Blogger. Results can even be accessed via an RSS reader made possible by an RSS feed generated from your poll.
Polldaddy which launched in 2006 seems to have made good products even better with the launch of verion 2. The site provides polling and survey widgets to over 300,000 users. Polldaddy has grown & claims to be “the number one provider of poll widgets online.”
Polldaddy provides Pro accounts for businesses. They just recently launched a new service called Polldaddy Answers. This is a massive collection in which over 400,000 polls and results created on the site are stored and available to members. Check out some of the great survey option too. Visit the link http://www.polldaddy.com/features/ or view them as they are listed on their site below.
· Unlimited free polls with unlimited votes per poll.
· 14 PollDaddy skins to choose from or create your own in CSS.
· View poll results online, as XML, CSV, or subscribe to them via RSS!
· Add text, pictures and video to your polls.
· Full foreign language support.
· Block repeat voters by IP address or cookies.
· Create single choice or multiple choice polls.
· Close polls after a certain date, randomize answers, allow text entry 'other' field, show or hide results from voters and much more.
· New: Track individual votes, get voter location and detect fraudulent votes. (Pro Account only)
BlogFlux.com
Blog Flux Polls claim to be the easiest way to add fun and interactive polls to your sites. Not only do they have the normal polling options (with a dash of AJAX thrown in), they have integrated the results with Google Maps, letting you or your company see where people voted from. – this is like such an easy way for you to look good- and with very little work- Blog Flux essentially does all the work!
How it works
Getting a Blog Flux poll running is extremely easy. Follow these simple steps: (come on try it)
· If you have not already, create an account at Blog Flux
· Navigate to create a poll
· Get the HTML code (link is given when you create a poll) “copy” just like we have been doing with widgets
· Paste the HTML onto your site, and see what people are voting for- check the site for results
You are done!
Vizu Introduces Power Polls
Next Generation Web Polls based on
Internet's most powerful online polling platform
Vizu is the Internet’s first self-serve market research network. Vizu Corporation www.Vizu.com, the Internet’s first self-serve market research network, recently introduced Power Polls, the latest way for websites to engage visitors and learn from them simultaneously. The company combines an easy-to-use polling platform with a diverse network of websites to enable fast, affordable market research. Vizu also provides interactive content for websites through its web polls and Power Polls widgets. Vizu users include Glamour, Orbitz, Sephora, Jobster, Popstar! Magazine, Cozi, Second Life, TeeBeeDee, TripWiser and is the polling partner for all Wetpaint Wikis which we will use in class.
The Power Polls robust product suite consists of four integrated polling applications:
Demographic Polls, My Polls, Content Polls, and Research Polls. To use Power Polls, websites create one “Poll Zone” and select 1-4 types of remotely controlled polls to appear in that zone. These polls fulfill a number of important functions for web publishers:
· Understand visitor demographics. Demographic Polls automatically characterize a website’s audience and deliver a dashboard view of who is visiting the site based on the most valuable demographic measures. Great for improving content relevance and selling advertising.
· Collect visitor feedback. For websites that regularly poll their audiences, My Polls is the easiest solution available. Instead of pasting code for each new poll, My Polls enables publishers to create one customized “Poll Zone,” then remotely rotate content as needed.
· Provide fresh content. For publishers who are looking to increase return visits and reader engagement, but don’t want to create their own web polls, Content Polls will automatically serve relevant, professionally produced polls to their sites.
· Monetize websites. Web publishers can make money by hosting 3rd party Research Polls which engage readers, but don’t take them off the website like ads do.
Dan Beltramo, CEO of Vizu stated “The data from the thousands of websites using Vizu polls showed us that many websites are using web polls for similar purposes.” With Power Polls, Vizu can automate many of those activities for their users to save them time and share best practices. Vizu’s goal with Power Polls is to make web polling as engaging and easy as possible. Power Polls adds interactivity and provides an opportunity for two-way dialogue on websites. The polls do not require site visitors to leave the participating web site in order to complete their polls. Web publishers have direct access to the metric data that is collected by the Demographic Polls and to the entire library of custom Polls that they have created.
Toluna.com is a community website dedicated to providing an online voice for poll participants or poll makers with over 400,000 members. Web 2.0 has given this site just what the revolution is known for -interaction. You can make your opinion heard through your polls and through direct through interaction through Toluna.com. You can let other people know what you think by answering opinion polls, and find out if people think the same way as you by tracking your results. You can create and include your polls and opinions in your own personal blog, just like I have done with the Football poll. One nice thing about the site is adding video and pictures to any poll is simple. Do other people feel that they are either an Auburn or Alabama fan for no other reason than parental influence? I can easily find out by reviewing my poll results that are tallied and published on the site. You can then access your poll results in the form of a graph made available to you right on the Toluna.com. Toluna.com allows completely free expression on practically any topic you choose, with the exceptions of swearing, violence or illegal topics of course. You can also “shape the world you live in” by influencing some of the leading manufacturers through on-line surveys offered to members. Every service that the site offers is free of charge, and for many of the actions and activities you participate in can earn you reward points; the points you earn can be converted into a variety of goodies with the different gift voucher, discount options and prize draws in the rewards section.
Neighborhood
Explore friends, family, friends & family, or entire neighborhood.
Links
Let the blogging begin!
Recent Comments
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Tabby said:
I never knew anything about polldaddy before your presentation. You affered some very helpful information. read more
on Who's your Daddy? -
Tabby said:
Sodahead sounds interesting. I think it will attract the younger crowd. read more
on SodaHead- An Enhanced Message Board -
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PSI said:
I think the Sodahead website may pull the younger crowd from myspace. read more
on SodaHead- An Enhanced Message Board
Polling seems to be becoming more popular. read more
on 2.0 Generates Social Voting~ Sound Boring? Get Real!