More on Toluna Strangeness

In my last post I wrote of the strange goings-on at Toluna. To summarize, they somehow transferred my account to a new opinion site called iQuestion. The new site has no surveys to take, but it did have the balance of my earnings, which I was unable to retrieve because there was no way to access PayPal (as they promised) and no way to ask for a payment by check.
This week a payment by check option did appear when I checked the site and I've quickly retrieved my balance (stay tuned to see if the check actually arrives). But there are still no surveys to take and my requests for response to what was going on - including my request to be returned to membership in the original Toluna site - have gone unanswered by the administrators at Toluna.
There have been many online rants about Toluna and its past problems in non-payment, bumping people off surveys for no reason, etc. But, I've always managed to at least take surveys and get somewhat regular payments. But, being shifted unwittingly to a new survey site with no surveys is a new low for this company.
My warning is - at least for now - STAY AWAY FROM TOLUNA. If you have an account and have some earnings there cash out as soon as possible.

Alert: Toluna Pulls Strange Switcheroo

I’ve long touted Toluna as one of the better survey sites. They have plenty of surveys to take, and their payments are generally good and prompt. But recently I’ve run into a serious – perhaps fatal – problem with Toluna. I’m advising caution when dealing with them.

When I noticed there were no surveys coming in from Toluna – which is highly unusual – I decided to check out my account online. When I did I was shocked to find I had no points listing (I should have had several thousand) and no surveys to take. After clicking on everything I could on the site to find the problem, I contacted Toluna online and was eventually told that my account had been switched to a Toluna subsidiary called iQuestion. Upon further enquiry, since I’d never heard of iQuestion, I was told that at some point in the past I’d agreed to have my account, points and all, transferred to iQuestion. I recalled no such questionnaire and even if I had encountered it I would never have agreed to a transfer (what benefit would that bring? None, of course). Moreover I when I went to the iQuestion site, not only were there no surveys to take, but when I tried to cash out my balance using PayPal as the site said it used (a nice change possible since Toluna never offered a PayPal option), the site would not allow it nor any other cash payout, such as a check. Instead the only options were Amazon credit or some kind of screwy sweepstakes.

I don’t know what the final outcome of this will be, so stay tuned. But, if you’ve had a similar experience I’d like to hear about it. In the meanwhile, I’m advising everyone to be very, very cautious when using any Toluna site. And, if I can’t get out of iQuestion and back to Toluna I’ll be unsubscribing faster than a speeding bullet.

Opinion Outpost Game Change

Opinion Outpost, one of if not the top survey site around, has changed its prize method. You’ll remember that you have to have taken a survey and at its conclusion said “no thanks” at the prompt rather than “Take another survey.” When you do select no thanks a prize window opens up. In the new methodology you have three doors to pick from. If in the doorway you pick a betting chip shows a number “1” you’ll win an extra 20 points; a 2 chip equals 10 points; a 3 chip is worth 5 points; and a 4 chip (which you’ll get most often) is equal to nothing. Cute game, but REMEMBER you have to choose “no thanks” after every survey you take in order to get into the prize window page.

Review of Valued Opinions

Valued Opinions is a fair to poor online survey site. It doesn’t offer a plethora of surveys to be taken, but there are enough to keep you interested if you’re serious about taking online surveys. The one significant downside of the site is that its payment system is pretty meager – especially when you have to accumulate $20 in surveys taken in order to cash out. That could take a very long time.

Valued Opinions is operated by a company called Research Now and you are likely to see that name under different survey site names and in the url of various surveys you might take. Its home base is Texas and some of you might be familiar with e-Rewards which the company bought out some years ago. The company also owns and operates a number of other survey sites and opinion polling services.

For the most part the surveys offered by Valued Opinions are a little longer than most other survey sites’ offerings. I’ve also noticed that it is very hard to get completion of any survey they send, which makes it even harder to accumulate points to achieve the cash out level.

In all, if you are looking for more lucrative and rewarding experiences I’d say stick with sites like Opinion Outpost, Toluna, Focusline or Surveyhead. Valued Opinions doesn’t really make the cut of the top survey sites and I’d list it under “only if I have nothing better to do with my time.”

What Do Survey Sites Collect About You?

Recently, while completing a survey, I saw an image that I don't think the survey company wanted me to see. I managed to grab a screen shot of it and here is what it looked like:


The image is of some of the information survey sites collect about you; things like the computer and operating system you are using. There is, I'm sure, other data being collected - after all that's what surveys are, data collection sites - but it's interesting to see it in black and white.
It also serves as a reminder to be careful what information you provide to survey sites, especially ones that may not be well known. Be cautious but enjoy.

Online Survey Review: PSB Internet Surveys Group

A review of PSB Internet Surveys Group

By The Survey Sheriff

This is an ongoing review of popular online survey sites.  The sites offer cash, prizes, sweepstakes and other rewards for people interested in spending a few minutes or hours online taking surveys. As with all these reviews, a letter grade is given for each online survey site. The grade is based on my own experience, but also on the following criteria:

1. The rewards/prizes offered

2. The frequency of surveys available to be taken

3. How quickly payment is made for completed surveys

4. Responsiveness to customer complaints

5. Fewest glitches or other incidents that make taking a survey unpleasant.

PSB Internet Surveys Group

This review is a little different from my other reviews in that the PSB Internet Surveys Group is not actually a survey site where you sign up and take surveys. Rather it is a survey generator. That means it is a company that creates surveys for clients and places them on any number of actual survey taking sites where you can take their survey. There are literally dozens if not more such sites.

PSB stands for Penn, Schoen, Berland. Like many similar companies, PSB is a market research and consulting firm that “specializes in bringing the lessons from the political campaign trail into the corporate boardroom to give our clients the strategic insights they need to beat the competition.” That means it is trying to “market” or sell its clients products, ideas, services to people like you and they use the ruse of real surveys to get you interested in what they are selling. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it does mean you should be disabuses of the notion that the survey you are taking is in any way real research.

What I’ve found with the PSB-sponsored surveys that they are quite limited, which can be annoying. For example, many if not most of their surveys are repetitive surveys having to do with movies. When I see one of them I usually quit the survey because they are long, boring and have a high frequency of having you bounced for the survey even after you’ve completed it. Occasionally, a decent PSB survey will come along. Your own experience will give you the insight as to whether one of their surveys is worth doing or not, and most importantly, if you want to spend the time on it versus proceeding to another survey.

If you’d like to read my “Tips For Being A Successful Online Survey Taker - By Not Following The Rules” click here.

Online Survey Review: Data Intelligence

A review of Data Intelligence as an online survey site earns it a “D-”

By The Survey Sheriff

This is an ongoing review of popular online survey sites.  The sites offer cash, prizes, sweepstakes and other rewards for people interested in spending a few minutes or hours online taking surveys. As with all these reviews, a letter grade is given for each online survey site. The grade is based on my own experience, but also on the following criteria:

1. The rewards/prizes offered

2. The frequency of surveys available to be taken

3. How quickly payment is made for completed surveys

4. Responsiveness to customer complaints

5. Fewest glitches or other incidents that make taking a survey unpleasant.

Data Intelligence

Data Intelligence also goes by the name Elite Opinions at times. It is a site operated by CRG Global Company based in Florida.

The Good

DI is a typical online survey site. You take surveys, you get points and you are able to cash in the points for prizes and cash. (They also provide numerous online sweepstakes with prizes such as Apple iPods). Typically they offer only one to two surveys a month that are generally about 20 minutes in length. The points you earn can be converted into cash or redeemed for prizes in their “catalogue.”

The Bad and the Ugly

DI is one of several survey sites that only offer surveys once or twice a month – which hardly seems worth the effort. Worse, they require you to earn 1,000 points before you can cash in or redeem a prize. And while they say you can earn cash, going to their rewards section shows only a $10 Amazon gift card available for your 1,000 points. I don’t know if other gifts show up once you’ve earned 1,000 points or more, but the 1,000 points is daunting to say the least. It’s certainly not a site I would spend time with unless you have a lot of spare time on your hands. It sort of makes you wonder why CRG Global Company even bothers with it.

As for that sweepstakes it offers on its home page? I’ve never, ever seen evidence that the sweepstakes actually happens. There’s no mention of “winners” on its website and if there is anyone out there that has won a sweepstakes from DI I certainly would like to hear from them.

It richly deserves its “D-” rating if not worse.

If you’d like to read my “Tips For Being A Successful Online Survey Taker - By Not Following The Rules” click here.

Surveys Latest Attention Test

Survey sites are desperate to make sure you are paying attention and they are increasing their efforts to make sure you do.
There's the old "captcha" method (see my previous posts on this). There's the add 2+2 method to try and make sure you are not a machine (yes, there are people who try to get their automatic survey taking programs to replace human effort in order to gain an advantage and more prizes and/or money). And there are a host of other methods the survey companies are using to try and make sure you are really reading and filling out the surveys legitimately. Of course there's their basic method - that of kicking you off their site if they perceive (even wrongly) that you are not spending enough time completing their surveys.
Recently, I've noticed a new method being used to test you -  one that shows, at least, that the survey companies have a slight sense of humor.
The test is to have you answer some questions that include a ringer designed to trip you up if you are not reading carefully. But included in the series of questions is one that is kind of funny. Here's what it looks like:

As you can see, the last question asks if you've ever flown a spaceship - that's the ringer. For an automated survey answering program it's likely that it will fill in the boxes randomly thereby tripping up the person using the program. For you, just keep a watchful eye out for these and similar tests. Then, just keep speeding carefully along. Remember, in the survey game speed is key. Just don't get lost in a spaceship.

Online Survey Review: ESEARCH

A review of ESEARCH as an online survey site earns it a “C+”

By The Survey Sheriff

This is an ongoing review of popular online survey sites.  The sites offer cash, prizes, sweepstakes and other rewards for people interested in spending a few minutes or hours online taking surveys. As with all these reviews, a letter grade is given for each online survey site. The grade is based on my own experience, but also on the following criteria:

1. The rewards/prizes offered

2. The frequency of surveys available to be taken

3. How quickly payment is made for completed surveys

4. Responsiveness to customer complaints

5. Fewest glitches or other incidents that make taking a survey unpleasant.

ESEARCH - Grade: C+

The Good

ESEARCH isn’t great, it isn’t bad, it isn’t ugly – it’s just there.

That’s the best I can say about this survey site. It’s primary flaw – and hence my C+ rating – is that you rarely hear from them.

The California-based company has been around since 1995 and it is probably one of the least well-known survey sites around – at least from my perspective.

One of the good things, however about ESEARCH is that you get paid (via PayPal) directly after taking a survey. There’s no waiting to accumulate points; once you’ve successfully completed a survey (or very shortly thereafter) your PayPal account will be credited. Most of the surveys pay from $1 to $5. On occasion there are bonuses awarded for a survey, but you’ll have to wait to be notified by ESEARCH whether or not you have won a bonus.

Should this be one of your primary survey sites? Probably not. There’s just not enough surveys or rewards you can accumulate to make it worth your while. Then again, for the few times it pops up and offers you a survey to take, and you have the free time, what the heck?

The Bad

There isn’t a whole lot that is bad about e-Polls except for the fact that polls are few and far between.

The Ugly

I can’t say there are any “ugly” elements to ESEARCH. It’s just sort of there, popping up once in a while in my email box.

If you’d like to read my “Tips For Being A Successful Online Survey Taker - By Not Following The Rules” go to http://www.infobarrel.com/Tips_For_Being_A_Successful_Online_Survey_Taker__By_Not_Following_The_Rules#ixzz1mOLbG43K

Survey Sites To Avoid

The process or hobby of taking surveys for enjoyment and some profit depends to a great extent on picking the right survey sites and the right surveys to become a member of and participate in.

The key is to maximize your time and effort. You don’t – unless you are a glutton for punishment – want to waste your time on non-productive survey sites, nor on surveys that take a lot of time and for which you receive little reward.

Over the years I’ve noticed several survey sites that offer you little and are best to avoid. These are split into two categories. The first are survey sites that don’t give you very many surveys to take. You hear from them rarely. For example, esearch.com isn’t going to offer you many surveys. There are others that you’ll come across as you peruse the world of survey sites. It’s not terrible to participate in these sites, but what you need to look out for is the prize/money requirements – that is, many of them don’t let you cash in until you have, say $30 or more dollars. With so few surveys offered that could take a very long time. If you don’t mind waiting, go ahead. I prefer to avoid these and concentrate my time on sites that offer minimum dollar limits and/or offer many surveys so I can get a cash equivalency very quickly.

Avoid These

The second category is comprised of actual surveys from survey companies that you might want to avoid. They either have long, long surveys for very little money; or they are duplicative – offering the same survey over and over again; or – and this is most maddening – they have you take a long survey only to deny you your compensation for some phony reason.

I’m going to mention several of these sites, but as you move through the survey world you’ll come across them and learn to avoid them.

1. Any URL that has “Opinionshere” in it is one that I try to avoid. They are typically very long and on too many occasions I’ve been denied my due credit because after taking the survey they say the “quota has been filled.” Telling me that once might be acceptable, but when I see it over and over again I know I’m being scammed.

2. Surveys from a survey company using the label “Phoenix,” is also one I avoid. It’s not that it denies credit or gives excuses like Opinionshere, but the surveys are always interminably long – too long to be worth the payment amounts they give.

3. Most surveys from “Hall & Partners” revert to a constantly reappearing insurance survey (it seems to focus mostly on Farmer’s Insurance, so that’s probably who is sponsoring the survey). The surveys are always long, frequently don’t give you the award promised and are inevitably bo-o-o-ring. I avoid Hall & Partners if possible (on some very rare occasions the company does present a survey other than insurance and you can quickly tell if it is one or the other).

4. Movie surveys are one of the worst. They are very enticing and are offered by multiple survey companies but they are mostly the same survey. I’ve gotten them several times a day on occasion. The worst thing about them is that they are very long and, at least in my experience, are most frequently surveys that will deny payment after completing the survey or find some excuse why you weren’t eligible to complete the survey (in some cases you are told the latter even though you’ve completed the survey).

There are several other survey sites and survey hosts to look out for. As you continuing doing surveys you’ll quickly see which ones offer you a credible reward for a survey of reasonable length. Avoid the others; they are not worth the time you’ll spend on them.

Alert: Focusline Is Watching Closely

Last week I observed that Focusline seemed to have stopped offering surveys. Now I’ve found the answer and it provides a cautionary tale.

After emailing Focusline I received a response that my account had been suspended for “inconsistencies.” I have no idea what that means, nor what I might have done or failed to do. And, Focusline offered no explanations other than to say the measures has been taken to maintain the quality of the data “we provide to our clients.” They also mentioned that I had “only 6 surveys marked as invalid.” Again, they offered no explanation and it seemed odd that they used the word “only” indicating I didn’t have many invalid surveys – so why the suspension? (I emailed again suggesting that some advance notice of a problem would have been nice).

After reviewing my data Focusline decided to “un-suspend” my account and I’m now able to take surveys again. However, Focusline gave me a stern warning that I “should provide a truthful and honest response to the surveys you complete like you always do so that any of the survey completed by you should not be marked invalid by our clients. Else, we will be forced to suspend your account permanently to ensure the quality of our panel and the data we provide to our clients.”

Not knowing what it was that may have been a problem in the first place it’s hard to know what I’m supposed to do differently.

I’m guessing that perhaps it was something to do with speeding through surveys to achieve the maximum benefit – something I’ve always preached and continue to preach. After all, slogging through some very long-winded surveys is not productive and is not going to get you a lot of points/prizes. If that’s the case my solution is simple. I take two surveys simultaneously from two different survey companies. That slows down the speed at any one site, but still allows me to speed along at a pretty good clip. It takes some time and concentration, but it’s easily doable and I encourage you to try it.

The bottom line here is that you should keep a close eye on what you do at Focusline. It is one of the better sites and pays well and quickly. So, I don’t want to tick them off and neither should you. 

The Disappearance of Focusline

Focusline has been one of my favorite online survey sites. But, recently (we're talking mid-October 2012), the site has all but disappeared. There have been no emails from Focusline inviting me to take surveys and going to the website shows "no surveys" to take for the past 10 days.
if you've had similar experiences with Focusline I'd like to hear from you.
Curiously, Focusline's sister site, "Surveyhead," is doing just fine. It's hard to tell if they've shut down one to concentrate on the other, or if they are consolidating or what.
Let's hear from you fans - share any news you may have.

Who Is Research Now, Inc.?

There are dozens of companies around the world that conduct consumer research and no matter what survey site you may use you are likely to find many of these companies hosting surveys for you to take.

One of the most prevalent you’ll find is Research Now. As with many consumer research companies, Research Now has many tentacles. In the case of Research Now, it was originally formed as e-Rewards, Inc. and was co-founded in 1999 by a loyalty-marketing expert, and the former president of Electronic Data Systems Corp. and Perot Systems Corp. (Do you remember Ross Perot, once a U.S. presidential candidate?)

In 2009, e-Rewards acquired Research Now Limited, a London-based panel company with a very similar background as e-Rewards. Co-founded in 2000 Research Now owned and operated the Valued Opinions panels, which if you are taking a lot of surveys you’ll recognize for it’s own survey site. Research Now boasts over six million panelists in 37 countries worldwide and calls itself the leading global online sampling and data collection company.

In 2010, e-Rewards acquired San Francisco-based Peanut Labs, Inc. Founded in 2007, Peanut Labs had become well-known as a fast growing innovation, technology, and social monetization company that connected researchers to social media and helped publishers maximize their earning potential via virtual goods and currencies. As part of the acquisition, the Peanut Labs research business became integrated under the Research Now name, but continues to operate the social media monetization business as Peanut Labs.

In November 2010, e-Rewards, Inc. completed another acquisition, this of e-Miles, LLC. e-Miles was launched in November 2006 by similar investors as e-Rewards’ initial investors and is an interactive advertising channel that rewards consumers for the time they spend viewing ads online – similar to the e-Rewards Opinion Panel model which rewards panelists for time spent taking market research surveys.

e-Rewards is headquartered in Plano, Texas and its combined businesses employ over 1000 employees in over 22 offices around the world.

So, as with most if not all survey sites Research Rewards is in the business of conducting research and e-marketing for its clients. It’s very successful. Of course as a survey taker you are one of the vital cogs in the big wheel of data collection Research Rewards needs for its client base. Not vital enough, however, to pay you a lot for your time and effort. But, you don’t take surveys for the money, do you?

New Badge Program for Opinion Outpost

Opinion Outpost – one of the best survey sites – has introduced a new feature called a Badges Program. According to OO, “We have created badges for various activities you engage in on Opinion Outpost every day, like "Surveys Completed", "Total Points Earned", and many more!”

It’s not entirely clear what one gets from accumulating badges, but OO promises there’s more information to come. Why they couldn’t have announced details when they announced the program’s launch I don’t know.

The badges on my OO dashboard show that I completed more than 100 surveys, I’ve been an OO member for over a year, completed more than 20 surveys in a month, earned thousands of points, completed my profiles and more. There are various levels of performance for each badge.

Hopefully these badges will mean something of value in the near future. Stay tuned.

Forget The Video Surveys

I’m all for speeding through surveys, even though the survey companies always warn against it. I’m also picky about what surveys I take and which I don’t. Often the ones that seem to take a lot of time for little reward are surveys I pass on. One of the surveys that fit this description are surveys involving watching videos.

There are several types of video surveys, but the majority of them are ads rather than surveys. In other words, they are not really interested in your opinion. They are pretty much the same as watching a television commercial – all the advertiser wants is to have your eyeballs glued to their product for a time in the hope that you’ll be mesmerized into buying their product or service. Advertisers and manufacturers know that these days they can’t rely on the 30-second television commercial anymore. Viewers spread their attention over multiple devices and viewing technologies, so they have to try harder to get consumers to view their messages. Surveys are one of those methods.

The trouble with videos on survey sites is that they are invariably long – very long in most cases. They are also, in my experience, very miserly when it comes to paying – whether the amount or points they pay, or in forking over the cash/points you are due.

There’s one survey/video that pops up from time to time that has you view several unrelated videos and then launches you into selecting various products that have nothing to do with the videos. It’s an excruciating experience and often ends up with you having been excluded as “not being right for this survey” or being informed that the “quota has been reached” – even though you’ve completed the survey. Anytime I recognize that survey I opt out or just close my browser.

There are other surveys that contain video content and while a few might have some value for us survey takers, by and large most of them do not. I’ve found that there are quite enough plain old check-the-boxes surveys that I don’t often bother with ones that I have to sit through and watch commercials and videos.

So, when I see a survey offer that involves videos I usually pass on it. When I take a survey that starts to download videos I stop the download and move on to another simpler survey.

You may feel differently about this and that’s ok. But, my time is valuable and I want to make the most out of my survey experience and videos just slow me down. For me it’s just not worth it.

New For Toluna

Toluna, one of the largest and most popular online survey sites, has launched a new service – Global Lifestyle Surveys.

As yet, it’s not entirely clear how this new survey system differs from the regular Toluna surveys members complete. However, in the initial email that I received there was a very interesting pitch. The new survey system says it offers 10,000 points for completing it’s initial Global Lifestyle Survey (plus 3,000 more points for each follow up survey you take – and there were about a dozen to take. It takes about 45 to 60 minutes to get through all of them in one sitting going quickly, although you can take some surveys and come back to the others as time permits). Also, for completing the surveys you are entered into a prize drawing that includes a car, Kinect system, luxury vacations and more. Wow!

Unfortunately, there is no other information about this new system. It says that in the months to come there will be other, shorter, follow-up surveys that will come via email. There’s no word on how this will differ from any other Toluna surveys that one takes.

It’s also not clear if this new system will only be available to current Toluna members or if all Toluna members will be asked to participate. But, the initial offer of thousands of points and the prizes offered (better than I’ve seen in any other prize offerings by any survey company – although I’m not holding my breath that the odds of winning any of these prizes is anything but extreme) makes it well worth your while to keep an eye peeled for this offer and to participate.

Online Survey Review: Global Test Market

A review of Global Test Market as an online survey site earns it a “B-”

By The Survey Sheriff

This is an ongoing review of popular online survey sites.  The sites offer cash, prizes, sweepstakes and other rewards for people interested in spending a few minutes or hours online taking surveys. As with all these reviews, a letter grade is given for each online survey site. The grade is based on my own experience, but also on the following criteria:

1. The rewards/prizes offered

2. The frequency of surveys available to be taken

3. How quickly payment is made for completed surveys

4. Responsiveness to customer complaints

5. Fewest glitches or other incidents that make taking a survey unpleasant.

Global Test Market - Grade: B-

Founded in 1999, GlobalTestMarket is powered by GMI (Global Market Insite, Inc.), one of the world's leading providers of market research. GMI serves more than 1400 clients in more than 60 countries worldwide.

The Good

Global Test Market (globaltestmarket.com) isn’t the best survey site around; then again it’s not the worst either.

While my top sites are the likes of Opinion Outpost, Focusline, and Toluna in terms of having lots of surveys and paying well, Global Test Market is almost in that group but not quite.

The good thing about GTM is that it can be depended on to provide two or three surveys a day for you to take. That’s not a lot, but it is steady. The rewards, what they call Market Points - in terms of points you accumulate to eventually cash in, are good for the most part.

The Bad

There aren’t many bad things about GTM. I would say it’s requirement that you accumulate 1000 points before you can cash in $50 is a little much, but the reward is fair. But, it does take a little longer than it should (several weeks) for you to receive your reward and it comes via snail mail so you’ll have to wait a while.

If you’d like to read my “Tips For Being A Successful Online Survey Taker - By Not Following The Rules” go to http://www.infobarrel.com/Tips_For_Being_A_Successful_Online_Survey_Taker__By_Not_Following_The_Rules#ixzz1mOLbG43K

Re-Captcha Redoux

I wrote a few weeks ago of the increasing use of Re-Captcha at Toluna and other survey sites. Here's an update.
Toluna is really going hog wild with the Re-Captcha service (where you have to type in a random series of letters and numbers to qualify for taking a survey test). Recently I've experienced not only having to enter a Re-Captcha code after I've done a survey, but before I've even taken a survey. I'm not sure what the latter is supposed to accomplish. Additionally, I've often been asked to enter a code before a survey and upon entering it correctly was transferred to the survey where I was promptly notified I wasn't eligible to take the survey. Huh? I have to enter a code to be told I wasn't eligible for the survey? Wouldn't they have known I wasn't eligible before I entered the code?
So, while the use of Re-Captcha and similar code entering requirements is growing it isn't making any more sense than it ever has. BTW, I've sometimes entered the correct code (I checked carefully) only to be asked to re-enter a new code. Go figure.
Also, although they don't inform you of this - you don't have to enter the letters in a code in case-sensitive format. So a capital G is just as well entered as a small g. It's not a big thing, but if you are trying to maximize you time not having to bother with capitalization saves a key stroke. Small thing, but it can help.

Giving Birth Dates?

Most surveys ask for your age in order to categorize the people who take their surveys. But, many surveys also ask for your birth date. The question is, should you give them your correct birth date?
While all surveys say they will guarantee the security of all information given them, I don't take any chances - I never give my exact birth date and neither should you.
All the guarantees in the world will not protect you if some hacker (or even a survey company employee) gets into the so-called "secure" data base and scoops up a bunch of birth dates from survey takers and uses them for nefarious purposes like identity theft. What are the chances of that happening? Not very high. But, do you want to be one of the ones who runs out of luck and has to try and recreate your financial profile after an ID theft experience?
Giving your real birth date is akin to giving out your social security number, bank account number or other personal information that should remain secret. Many experts have said that once someone has your birth date it is like opening your front door while you are away on vacation. Recently I attended a police seminar where a local detective in charge of pursuing identity theft criminals revealed that the police only solve five percent of local identity theft cases.  Want to try your luck?
I routinely change my birthdate by a digit, or month, or year. Yes, I know the rules of surveys say you have to give accurate information. But, are they going to reimburse me if I have a financial attack drain my bank account? Not a chance.
Survey taking shouldn't put you at risk and giving out your birth date to an anonymous company you likely know nothing about - and many of them are based in foreign countries - is not a good idea.

Surveys Tracking You

I always preach speeding through surveys -there's no reason to take long for the meager rewards and also because it's more lucrative to do more surveys than spend a long time on a few - but that doesn't mean there aren't hazards to watch out for.
Recently I completed a survey only to be told I wasn't going to be rewarded for my work. When I inquired/protested I was told my survey had been tracked and found that I had selected a single option (e.g. number 5 in a series of options) so frequently that it appeared I was just clicking quickly on one number in order to proceed rapidly through the questionnaire. Doing so, I was told, violated the rules of the survey.
Obviously no human is tracking such things so it is left to a computerized system to determine if you are paying attention, going to fast, or - as in this case - just randomly clicking on a single response in order to gain speed. There's just one problem. What if you honestly believe that the choice you made accurately describes how you feel? If number 5 is the number you chose to describe your best response to the question, you may be automatically rejected. It's just another way to get tripped up whether you completed the survey correctly or not. In my case, I couldn't even remember what happened in the survey I took because obviously I don't commit to memory the response to every question. However, I do know - from having studied survey taking for a very long time - that clicking quickly on a single response to a series of questions isn't too smart. It's red flag to the computer gods at the survey company.
So, if you are clicking along rapidly - as I recommend you do - make sure you vary your responses; or just pay close attention and move along as rapidly as honest answers will allow you to do.

Toluna and ReCaptcha

Toluna is one of the better survey sites with lots of surveys to take each day and a half-way decent pay out rate. It's also been one with a lot of ongoing problems such as not paying for completed surveys. Nonetheless, it's a hard site to avoid if you are serious about online survey taking.
Recently, Toluna seems to have added an annoying feature designed to foil automated survey takers that often plague survey companies. Toluna now in many of its surveys precedes the survey itself by having the survey taker manually fill in a "ReCaptcha" identification. This is a box with randomized words, letters and numbers that you have to type into another box in order to be allowed to take the survey.
While I understand Toluna's need for a stepped up security system, the ReCaptcha process is a pain in the you-know-where. Often the randomized letters aren't clearly visible and you have to either guess at what they are or ask for a new set of randomized letters, etc. Either way it takes more time than away from taking surveys (maybe that's Toluna's intent; to slow people down). In addition, Toluna often requires that you fill in a randomized letter and number sequence at the end of a survey - I'm not sure what this is supposed to accomplish but it once again slows things down.
There's not much you can do about this troublesome business except grin and bear it -- and hope other survey sites don't do the same thing (although several have been doing it for some time).
Just another stumbling block on the way to an enjoyable survey experience.

Downgrading Mindfield

I've written a couple of times about the Mindfield Online Internet survey panel (you can see my previous postings at http://surveysheriff.blogspot.com/search?q=Mindfield). I have given it a B grade in the past. But, I'm now downgrading it to a C-, at best.
The primary reason for the downgrade is the recent notice the company posted: Now

• Effective Immediately, Facebook merged members can cash out at anytime and any amount. That's right, merged members have no threshold limit when selecting an Amazon Gift Card* as your cashout option!
• Effective May 1, 2012, the cashout threshold for the Standard Check option will be raised to $10.00 instead of $5.00. We regret this but due to the increased costs and the number of complaints we have received regarding the reliability of the postal service, it has forced us to implement this change.

Now, it was never easy to earn at Mindfield. In fact one of the main reasons I haven't been a strong fan of the site is because it took so long to take surveys (they don't offer many), and so much longer to reach the threshold for cashing in on what you have earned. The site has now made it even harder - except as you see for those linking the site with Facebook.

So, if you acquiesce to their request to link to them via Facebook (I don't) you'll be able to cash in your meager earnings immediately and for any amount. But, if you want your earnings via check mailed to you, you'll have to wait until you accumulate $10 - and working on Mindfield that could mean a very long time.

Is this fair? You better believe it is not. What's more Mindfield has never accommodated quicker and easier payment methods such as PayPal. 

Clearly, this is a blatant attempt to restrict members from cashing out easily and/or to get into members Facebook pages. Not a very friendly way of doing business.

Another reason not to utilize Mindfield as a primary survey site. Stick to legitimate, user friendly sites such as Opinion Outpost, SurveyHead, and Focusline to mention a few.

SpringBoard America

Online Survey Review: SpringBoard America

A review of e-Poll as an online survey site earns it a “C”

By The Survey Sheriff

This is an ongoing review of popular online survey sites.  The sites offer cash, prizes, sweepstakes and other rewards for people interested in spending a few minutes or hours online taking surveys. As with all these reviews, a letter grade is given for each online survey site. The grade is based on my own experience, but also on the following criteria:

1. The rewards/prizes offered

2. The frequency of surveys available to be taken

3. How quickly payment is made for completed surveys

4. Responsiveness to customer complaints

5. Fewest glitches or other incidents that make taking a survey unpleasant.

SpringBoard America - Grade: C

SpringBoard America is a relatively new online survey site. Its parent company is called Vision Critical, based in North America but with offices around the world. Most of the SpringBoard America operation is fairly typical of online survey sites. You take a survey and you get cash called Survey Dollars. Springboard surveys seem to tend more to societal and political surveys than most online survey sites.

The Good

The surveys at this site are fairly easy to take – not too long and not too short. I’ve found them fairly interesting at times (particularly the ones on topical subjects).

The Bad

There isn’t a whole lot that is bad about SpringBoard America except for the fact that polls are few and far between. The minimum number of Survey Dollars you need to cash out is very high, $50, so it will take you quite a while to collect enough to cash in. Once you do collect the minimum it is fairly easy to cash out – you can use a PayPal account, request a $50 check be sent to you, or donate it to a US charity.

The Ugly

Nothing bad about SpringBoard America. It’s not the best site only because there are so few surveys offered and because it takes a long time to earn enough to get to the cash out minimum.

If you’d like to read my “Tips For Being A Successful Online Survey Taker - By Not Following The Rules” go to http://www.infobarrel.com/Tips_For_Being_A_Successful_Online_Survey_Taker__By_Not_Following_The_Rules#ixzz1mOLbG43K

Survey Speed Bumps

Online survey sites desperately want you to spend a lot of time thinking about and answering their questions. Of course, it's not to your advantage to spend a lot of time doing so - speed is king as I always say.
However, the companies are getting more innovative in trying to weed out the survey takers who are in the survey freeway fast lane. One of the newer methods for tripping up speedsters is to place questions within surveys designed to catch the speeders.
For example, some recent tricks include giving a question that, if you don't read it carefully, advises you not to give any answer at all, just click the "next" button or forward arrow. Another tactic is to give instructions that are long and contain a hidden message. For instance, I've come across questions such as the following: "No matter what selections you see below, choose and check the boxes that say red and green." What follows are several boxes with a variety of colors. You would normally think the question is asking what your favorite color is. If you answer in that way you'll be screened out.
So, you need to be more careful than ever. But, I still advise breaking the speed limit - it's the only way you are going to achieve a suitable number of points to gain cash and rewards. If the survey companies were really interested in having their survey taking members spend more time on a survey they might choose to increase the prize levels - but don't expect that to happen any time soon.

Online Survey Review: Life, Fun & Everything

A review of Life Fund & Everything as an online survey site earns it a “D-”

 This is an ongoing review of popular online survey sites.  The sites offer cash, prizes, sweepstakes and other rewards for people interested in spending a few minutes or hours online taking surveys. As with all these reviews, a letter grade is given for each online survey site. The grade is based on my own experience, but also on the following criteria:

1. The rewards/prizes offered

2. The frequency of surveys available to be taken

3. How quickly payment is made for completed surveys

4. Responsiveness to customer complaints

5. Fewest glitches or other incidents that make taking a survey unpleasant.

Life Fun & Everything

This site – let’s call it LFE for short – is a relatively new online survey site; at least it’s new to me. It’s a sub-site for an online survey organization called Phoenix International. Phoenix is a site I am familiar with. It’s been around for quite some time and is one of the sites I like least because its surveys are invariably very long and they have a penchant for not rewarding points after you’ve spent a long time participating in the survey and/or answering screener questions. I avoid it whenever possible.

But, does LFE mimic Phoenix or is it its own brand of survey site? It’s really hard to tell.

The Bad and the Ugly

LFE’s first problem is that it’s almost invisible. In the months that I’ve been a member of the site I’ve received fewer than five invitations to take surveys.

But, perhaps the worst of LFE is its paltry rewards. It’s one of the worst in the business. It says on its FAQ site that, “we are proud to offer a diverse reward program … from magazine subscriptions to Amazon gift codes.” Not much to be proud of here. Magazine subscriptions? Who in the world would bother with that for filling out surveys that generally take 15 to 20 minutes, according to LFE. And Amazon gift cards are nice, but with the few numbers of surveys offered – as well as the time it would take to reach their “redemption level” for even being able to request your reward payment – it will take you a lifetime to earn anything. And nothing you earn is really worth the time or the effort.

My advice – stay away from this one. It’s D- ranking is appropriate and I’m being generous.

If you’d like to read my “Tips For Being A Successful Online Survey Taker - By Not Following The Rules” go to http://www.infobarrel.com/Tips_For_Being_A_Successful_Online_Survey_Taker__By_Not_Following_The_Rules#ixzz1mOLbG43K

Those Darn Movie Surveys

It seems the movie industry is getting more desperate ... and more annoying. If you are a regular survey taker you know what I mean. There's not a day goes by that any given survey site will have a movie survey to take, often many of them.
The problem with the movie related surveys is that they rarely pay off. You go through a plethora of screener questions - always the same and always very long, then you might get to an actual survey where they ask which, if any, of the listed movies you've seen or plan to see. Then, somewhere along the way you will usually get a "sorry, you screened out of this survey" message.
The survey companies and their clients know you are getting fed up with these surveys because they often title the survey differently. One may say "movies" while another may say "entertainment" or some such euphemism or synonym for a movie survey.
I've stopped taking the surveys entirely. If it even hints at being a movie survey I ignore it. I'm sure that's not what the movie companies want me to do. But, on the other hand, if they are going to be so annoying with their surveys, as well as so deceitful about not awarding points, then I have no compunctions about turning off their survey requests. You should too.

Mechanical Turk for Fun and Profit

Mechanical Turk for Fun and Profit

Taking Your Time With Surveys ... Or Else!

I'm a believer in the premise that taking surveys with racing speed is important if you are ever to realize any amount of serious money from surveys ... well, as serious as say one to two hundred dollars a month, as I do.
But, the survey companies don't like speeders and they continue to test ways to slow people like me down. They've become more serious recently it seems to me. Some even measure the time it takes someone to complete a survey. Take less time than they think is necessary to seriously complete a survey and you might find that you won't get the reward you were promised. Of course, once you become somewhat proficient at taking surveys it's quite likely you can diligently take the survey, complete all the questions and tasks and still not spend enough time on the survey in the eyes of the survey company.
That's not fair, but that's the way it is.
For me, I'm not giving in that easily and I've developed a method that works to satisfy the time requirements of the survey companies and my own desire to maximize my time. I'm multi-tasking. I open two windows on my computer (this might not work as well if you take surveys on your cell phone with its smaller screen) and log on to two of my favorite survey sites. I answer a couple of questions on one site before switching to the other and back, etc. etc. That way I'm able to maintain my pace and more often than not satisfy the survey companies.
This method has worked pretty well for me. Another variation is to start a survey - leave it for a few minutes to check email or do something else - and then return to the survey. However, the first method is my preferred one. It takes a little getting used to, but after a while you are really speeding down the survey highway at warp speed.

How Survey Companies Know Who You Are

Survey hosting companies’ real purpose is to gather information on people. It’s an effort for which these companies go to great lengths. Sure they offer great opportunities for you to make a few dollars or win a few prizes, but for the companies this is a serious business. How serious can be seen by way of the efforts they make to verify the information they gather about you.

There are several companies that help in this effort. One is called Imperium. You can read more about them at imperium.com. Like a number of other companies in this field, Imperium’s purpose is to help survey companies – as well as other businesses and organizations – “achieve high-level data integrity.” What that means is Imperium is charged to figure out how they can go about verifying the information you give about yourself in a survey – and, by extension, to bounce you out of a survey if you give false or misleading information.

Are You Who You Say You Are?

Imperium has been around since 1990. They have constructed databases for large Fortune 500 companies like Bank of America, Dun & Bradstreet, GE and many more. More recently they have come to specialize in what they call “data integrity and fraud prevention” matters. That includes management systems for online surveys, digital fingerprinting, and identity validation. They also specialize in online parental consent programs.

Among Imperium’s efforts that are particularly relevant to online survey taking are several services. One is called RelevantID. It’s a service designed to assure and certify data quality. Its use of “digital fingerprinting technology” has to do with preventing online fraud and insuring the quality of data retrieved through online surveys. So, for example, the program can detect if users are duplicating what they do by taking surveys more than once by using different email addresses, names, etc. It also tracks geographic locations to determine if surveys taken are coming from the same place.

Another Imperium service is called “Verity.” According to Imperium, “Verity is an identity validation service that helps reduce fraud by confirming the accuracy of an individual’s self-reported data against well known databases that specialize in consumer demographics. These databases seamlessly integrate billions of records across thousands of databases that cover more than 130 countries. Leveraging this information, Verity validates the accuracy of a person’s name, address and other demographics.” To accomplish this Verity’s market research clients (e.g. survey companies) are furnished with a unique global survey respondent ID for each validated respondent. This Verity ID, provides information into online survey participation and provides a better sense of individuals survey respondent behaviors, possible fraud, and more. It’s probably one of the reasons survey sites tell you you’ll have to wait before your points or cash is awarded after you’ve completed a survey. They are verifying the information you’ve given.

How Does This Affect You?

There are several other services Imperium offers, and it is by no means the only company doing this kind of work.

What does this mean for online survey takers? Not too much in terms of taking surveys. But, any notion that your online survey activities are a private thing and the information provided is kept that way is probably wrong. Survey companies say they insure that your data is secure and that most of the data they collect is used only in aggregate. That is probably true … maybe.

And, for those who try to game the system by trying to use multiple identities to take the same survey you are probably going to get caught at some point. But, the systems offered by Imperium and its look-a-likes isn’t fool proof either.

So, if you wonder if “big brother” is watching you as you plow through your daily quota of online surveys … it’s probably true.

Speeders Beware

I've frequently said an online survey taker should speed through surveys to avoid wasting time for little reward. I still believe and encourage that philosophy.
However, that doesn't mean the survey companies aren't trying to force you to slow down. They take a number of actions, including bumping you out of surveys if they feel you haven't taken enough time (I still ignore their warnings and it has rarely resulted in any problems for my survey taking and rewards.
But, the companies still keep trying. One of their new wrinkles is having you answer a question that requires you to read it carefully before proceeding. One such tactic is similar to the following:

"Recent research shows that behaviors are affected by context. Differences in how people feel, their previous knowledge and experience, and their environment can affect their behavior. To help us understand peoples’ social media behavior, we are interested in information about you. Specifically, we are interested in whether you actually take the time to read the directions; if not, some results may not tell us very much about behavior in the real world. To show that you have read the instructions, please ignore the correct answer and instead check thirty-four as your answer.  Thank you very much.

7 x 9 = ? 

• 84
• 63
• 20
• 56
• 34
  If you didn't read the question carefully you would likely answer the question as "56" instead of "34" as the survey asks you to do.
  That's a good reason to slow down a little - or keep right on going and disregard whether you'll be excluded or not (after all there are lots of other surveys to take). I'm reading a little more carefully now and it has slowed me down every so slightly. Just a word of caution to you all.
  
  
  
  

Jury Trial Via Survey?

I recently completed a couple of surveys that I found quite interesting ... and strange.
These surveys were real court cases for which I was being asked to sit as a juror in trials having to do with traffic accidents and their consequences. At first I thought it was some sort of joke or scam, but they turned out to be very real.
The cases were provided in a format in which I had to read a summary of the case and then answer questions that had to do with either who was more at fault and/or what if any compensation should be awarded.
I haven't been able to get any more details about the actual cases. But, I'm amazed that an actual court - or at least the lawyers in the case - are resorting to going to the online survey community to get decisions for their clients. It's fascinating to take the survey (or pass judgement on the case), although they are usually quite lengthy.
Perhaps these are lawyers that are using the survey community to see if their case will stand up well for a real jury and help them decide if they should settle the case out of court. Or maybe there are other reasons. Whatever the real reason it leaves me both interested and concerned. Concerned because if I was either the plaintiff or the defendant I'm not sure I'd want to put my fate in the hands of a random sample of online survey takers. No offense guys in the survey community, but really can we all say we would be diligent in giving opinions in cases where we only get a snippet of the case, don't see or hear all the evidence and testimony, etc.?
Yet, it is fascinating. Maybe it is the start of a trend among the legal community so we all may be seeing a lot more of these jury by survey cases.

Cheating on Surveys?

Should you cheat or lie when taking online surveys? Of course not - why would you bother for the few cents a survey is worth?
But, do I cheat/lie? Yes, but let me explain.
Surveys caution you to be truthful in answering their questions and giving opinions. But, sometimes they leave you no choice but to lie or cheat. Here are some examples where you are forced to lie or cheat and there's really not much you can do about it.
1. The selection of answers given doesn't offer one which reflects your true opinion or choice.
2. When there is no appropriate answer available, the survey doesn't offer you a way to opt out of the survey so you have to carry on with the survey or close your browser and start over again.
3. The survey asks you such confidential information that you have no choice but to answer untruthfully or opt out of the survey if possible or, again, close your browser and start over. It shouldn't  be surprising when you are asked very personal or confidential information because surveys, if nothing else, are data collection sites and want to glean as much information about you as possible. That's part of the price you pay for doing online surveys.
4. The survey is so long and so confusing - and sometimes so limited in the answer options - that you lie because you are just trying to get through the darn thing without having to spend an inordinate amount of your time. For example, surveys often give you a long list that asks what kind of survey you may have previously taken. Instead of going through the whole long list each time, I usually check the option of "other online survey." It's not exactly true, but it's not exactly false either.
There may be other times you shade the truth, or answer untruthfully because that's the only option you are given. It's ok - just about everyone does it and the survey companies don't seem to make any effort to create survey options that give you the choice selection you desire anyway.

Don't Bother With MyOpinionNow.com

On occasion I try out new online survey sites, so a few weeks ago I signed up for MyOpinionNow.com. I was actually taken to the site by completing a survey on another site (such intermingling of surveys from one site to another is not uncommon).
MyOpinionNow (MON) says it has over a million members and even offers 100 bonus points just for becoming a member (e.g. signing up to take surveys). There's not much information about what company owns MON - clicking on the "contact us" button takes you to a page where you can email the company, but the only identifying information is that the company is based on New Jersey.
I dutifully signed up because the site looked interesting enough and there seemed to be some decent points awarded and what you could earn for the points seemed good (not great, just good). However, since signing up I've not gotten a single survey from the company. My sign in page indicates I have 120 points (100 for signing up and another 20 for I don't know what). Even checking back occasionally (as opposed to waiting for them to send me an email) proves fruitless as there has not been a single survey available to take.
I don't know what the other million people who are claimed by MON to be members of their site are doing, but as for me I'm not going to bother with the site any longer. There are enough survey sites that you can join where you can be assured of taking many surveys and earning points every day (Opinion Outpost and Focusline being among the best). Having to wait for a site that doesn't offer any surveys to take is a waste of time - and that describes MON precisely.

Toluna Issues Continue

You'd think that one of the important things for a survey site to do would be to keep the survey takers/members pleased enough with the experience to want to continue using the site. Toluna seems to think otherwise.
Ever since their redesign, Toluna seems to take pleasure in confounding their users. I've written of this before. I've also written to Toluna suggesting their changes are making their site less user friendly. Indeed it is one of the most unfriendly survey sites around.
Do, I still use Toluna - yes, I do, I'm sorry to say. That's because there are still points to be gained and cash to be won. But, Toluna certainly doesn't make it easy to be a fan.
Take for instance the fact that when you see a message that there are no more surveys to take. Guess what, with a little clicking you can find many surveys available. And that's important because you can earn points even when you are not eligible for a particular survey. So, you have to take the time to click around the site to find the surveys, despite Toluna saying there are none. Does, this sound like a user-friendly survey site? Certainly not.
Another issue - Toluna is one of the slowest sites to award you the points you've earned. And, although this is just my opinion, it seems like Toluna has a higher rate of non-payment for surveys you've taken and completed. This happens frequently with many survey sites. But, Toluna seems to be the leader of the pack in this regard.
There are many other issues with the new Toluna web design and the site in general. What's most confusing and frustrating is that Toluna seems to be so unwilling to acknowledge and correct the problems.
Oh well, sometimes survey taking can be enjoyable ... and then there's Toluna!

Survey Police

I found a site that is about surveys - much like this site is. The url for Survey Police is http://www.surveypolice.com/.
It seems quite comprehensive with a lot of information and links. I could dispute some of the survey rankings it gives, but in general it is appealing. One thing not so appealing is the registration requirement - although what you are actually register for is unclear.
You might want to check it out.

Product Sampling

Online surveys often tout that you'll be able to test out products as part of your membership. Sometimes the products are food items, or gadgetry, or something.  I've had several opportunities to test items - currently I'm testing some mac and cheese products - and they seem enjoyable enough. Although they don't come along very often, the one I'm currently on is offering 10,000 points to complete the test - so they can be very lucrative.
Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do to increase the chances of getting to test a product. And, there may be some you really don't want to test. The key is to be on the lookout for answering survey screeners that may ask questions like "would you be willing to ...." and the like.
Usually, the testing is in two phases. They send you two versions of a product and you are asked to test them about a week apart. After each one you receive an email and provide feedback for that test before moving on to the second one. Sometimes the testing response may be through a paper survey which you mail back. Either way, the work is easy and the rewards are good. So, keep your eye open for product tests.