nov 09 - al sweigart - web poll shows 67% of web polls are made up (and 103% of them don’t even...
TRANSCRIPT
Web Poll Shows 67% of Web Polls are Made Up
(and 103% of Them Don't Even Make Sense)
Al Sweigarthttp://coffeeghost.net
Ice cream poll:
• Favorite flavor:
Ice cream poll:
• Favorite flavor:–Chocolate:
Ice cream poll:
• Favorite flavor:–Chocolate: 2
Ice cream poll:
• Favorite flavor:–Chocolate: 2–Vanilla:
Ice cream poll:
• Favorite flavor:–Chocolate: 2–Vanilla: 700
Ice cream poll:
• Favorite flavor:–Chocolate: 2–Vanilla: 700
• Results:
Ice cream poll:
• Favorite flavor:–Chocolate: 2–Vanilla: 700–Pat Buchanan: 72,012,495,538,528
• Results:
–Pat Buchanan
heh heh, whut?
Web polls are horrible.
The malicious reasons web polls suck...
“72 trillion Americans love chocolate ice cream.”
“72 trillion Americans love chocolate ice cream.”
“You don’t love chocolate ice cream?”
“72 trillion Americans love chocolate ice cream.”
“You don’t love chocolate ice cream?”
“TERRORIST.”
(This image represents the bandwagon effect?)
• People who fill out polls want their opinion to be publicly counted.
Protection mechanisms:
Protection mechanisms:
• Cookies don’t work.
Protection mechanisms:
• Cookies don’t work.
Protection mechanisms:
• Cookies don’t work.• Logging IP addresses doesn’t work.
Protection mechanisms:
• Cookies don’t work.• Logging IP addresses doesn’t work.
–Bot nets–Social sites with lots of like-minded visitors.
You can’t trust the poller.
• It’s trivial for admins to change the votes.
You can’t trust the poller.
• It’s trivial for admins to change the votes.
• There is no such thing as a CREDIBLE public web poll.–Time Magazine “marble cake” hack.
Time’s most influential person of 2009:
Time’s most influential person of 2009:
moot
Time’s most influential person of 2009:
moot?
Sorry.
“I would remind anyone who doubts the results that this is an Internet poll. Doubting the results is kind of the point.”
Time.com's Entertainment section managing editor, Josh Tyrangiel
The incompetence reasons web polls suck...
Web polls are not scientific.
• Not a good, representational sample of any population…
Web polls are not scientific.
• Not a good, representational sample of any population…
…except people who have filled out web poll.
Web polls are good because:
Web polls are good because:
• They’re cheap.
Web polls are good because:
• They’re cheap.
<cricket chirp>
Web polls are good because:
• They’re cheap.
Not just web polls.
• Reddit, Digg, etc.• Blog comments.• Amazon reviews.• Ebay seller/buyer reputation.• Wikipedia.
