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BigPulse in the Media |
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By Scott HawkinsIf you can't beat 'em, join 'emAndalusia Star-News, March 23, 2001 www.andalusiastarnews.com Have you ever looked at the result of a poll and wondered what idiots responded to the poll because it was so far removed from your opinion on the subject? "According to the latest poll, most Americans want guns outlawed," the talking head says on the television as you grab your Smith & Wesson and aim it at the TV screen. Maybe you wondered what idiots conducted the poll. Just what questions did they ask to get those responses, anyway? Maybe the poll questioning went something like: "Do you like current government trends?" No. "Do you believe America needs a stronger leader?" Yes. "Do you think American government needs a change of direction?" Yes. The pollsters magically put together the responses and, presto, the talking head comes on the TV and says, "According to the latest poll, most Americans favor a change to a fascist dictatorship form of government." Have you ever been contacted by any of those pollsters? I haven’t. The only calls I get from people I don’t know are wrong numbers and people who want to sell me something. No one has ever asked me to respond to a public opinion poll, so I don’t think my view has ever really been represented in the results of any national, scientific polling. As a newspaper person, however, I occasionally get the opportunity to conduct unscientific polling by going to local shopping centers and asking a variety of people their opinions on matters of local interest. I ask anyone who will take the time to listen if they would like to respond, but of course that is just a random sampling of people from the community who happen to be at the same shopping center at the same time I am. It’s always interesting to hear what people have to say on the issues and it’s fun to share the results with our readers. We also have a weekly poll on our editorial page and on our Web site in which we get to come up with a question, and readers get to register their responses. Like I said, the results aren’t scientific as with some major national polls, but it does give you an idea of people’s sentiments on the issues. OK, so maybe you think you can’t conduct your own polling because you don’t work for a newspaper or other media outlet. Yes, you can. Thanks to the Internet, you can now conduct your own public polling. I recently learned of a new Internet site, BigPulse Opinion Poll, (http://www.bigpulse.com) that lets anyone set up their own poll on national, international or local issues, and people from throughout the world can respond to the polls. Of course, you can also respond to other people’s polls. Users create placards with poll questions they dream up and place them in the Web site’s system. Users key in their zip codes to see what local issues are being voted on. Users can also key in zip codes for other areas or vote on issues created by people throughout the world by keying in general topics. Of course, the results are not scientific, but you’re the boss, and as opposed to conventional polls, which select a small number of people and hope they represent the whole, BigPulse allows anyone to vote any time it is convenient for them. So, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. It’s your chance to create your own polls and maybe help shape public policy. I’ll keep an eye on the polls created in our area on BigPulse and occasionally try to publish the results of some of the more interesting polls in The Star-News. Scott Hawkins is the managing editor of, and a columnist for, The Andalusia Star-News. |
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