Who Is Behind Online Surveys?

You probably know that the online surveys you take are fronts for large companies and corporations that are paid by other companies to elicit information from people like you about their products and services. Sometimes these companies want opinions and information, sometimes all they want is to market and advertise to you – and they do so in the form of surveys.

One of the largest survey companies around is Luth Research of San Diego, California. Luth describes itself as “A market research industry leader since 1977, Luth Research delivers actionable insights to our customers by getting closer to the consumer with innovative market research technology.”

You may know Luth better as the company that sends you survey opportunities from SurveySavvy – a typical online survey site at which you take surveys, get points, cash them in, etc.

But Luth also has other components of its business. For example one of its products is ZQDigital Tribe. The Tribe is a carefully selected group of 200 individuals who agree to be monitored with Luth’s permission-based online tracking tool, ZQ Intelligence allowing access to their naturally occurring digital lives. In other words, some folks give Luth access to everything they do online. Luth has other versions of this same process that lets marketers, researchers and advertisers glean consumer information – with permission – from people like you.

Online survey taking is a big business – and there are parts of the business behind just taking surveys that you never see.

Political Ads As Online Surveys?

I've long known that online surveys are often, if not mostly, advertising and marketing schemes. That's fine as long as I get rewards for watching the ads ... er, excuse me, taking the surveys.
But, recently I experienced something different - a political ad masquerading as a survey. The so-called survey was for the California-based Howard Jarvis political organization and it was touting it's political viewpoints via a video about the upcoming elections (2012) in California. There's probably some ballot measure they are sponsoring ... or opposing: the video doesn't make it very clear what they are doing other than opposing big government.
The ad/survey requires you to view the same video several times - and the video is quite long. After you answer a few questions. The whole survey will take approximately 10 minutes. I persisted through the whole thing, although I'll admit after the first viewing of the video I lost interest and spent time doing other online surveys at another site.
What was also annoying about the survey/ad was that as I watched I had to use my mouse to position a scale that recorded my like or dislike about the during the course of my viewing. That was a real pain in the you-know-where.
Was it worth it? Probably not. Was it annoying? You bet. Will I be taking any more such thinly-disguised campaign/political ads. Definitely not. Should you. That's up to you, but as I've always cautioned: If your interest in taking surveys is making some money or getting prizes, speed is the key. Don't waste time on ads that take a very long time. The time watching the Jarvis ad could much better be spent on other pursuits that will earn you more.

The New Toluna - Part II

It's been several days since Toluna rolled out it's new design. My earlier post seems to be spot on - the new design is pretty bad.
Not only do you have to wander all over the page to perform functions that were abundantly clear and easy in the old design, but now it is much harder to perform functions since several windows will open per the function you are trying to perform. Moreover, the issue of being told "you have reached the limit" number for surveys taken in a day is still quite puzzling. And, I've discovered that when you receive such a message it might not be true. I kept clicking on the survey link on the home page - even after I was told there were no more surveys to be taken - and new surveys were indeed available. Go figure!
Emails to Toluna have gone unanswered - but not responding is not something new with Toluna.
What seems to be also quite apparent is that there seem to be fewer surveys overall. Perhaps this is just a passing thing. But, if it persists, it will be much harder to earn points.
Lastly, with all the changes Toluna has made, one thing has not changed - Toluna is very, very slow to award points for surveys you have successfully completed. You would have thought if you are going to go to all the time and trouble to do a re-design, you would address the one thing that most Toluna members complain about. And, it's not like speeding things up is impossible. Any number of other survey sites - like Opinion Outpost for example - give you your points/rewards with lightening speed.
Toluna remains one of the more popular survey sites - but I can't help but think it's days of popularity may be numbered unless it takes a more consumer-friendly approach to its site, and the new design isn't going to help that effort.

Toluna's New Look

Toluna has rolled out its new design and I can't say there's much there to cheer about. It's like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Toluna has been having problems for some time. For example, it appears to be slower than ever in rewarding points for surveys taken - and they don't seem to be responsive to complaints about that.

I also ran across a new wrinkle in their new design. When I completed a few surveys the following message popped up: 

"It seems you have already taken the maximum number of surveys allowed for today. Not to worry. Please try again tomorrow for your next chance to participate in our surveys."

I'm not sure if this is just a poorly written way of saying there are no more surveys to be taken at the moment or if Toluna is really putting a limit on the number of surveys that can be taken in a given day. I'm sure there'll be more on that in the future. However, if they are indeed putting limits on the number of surveys that can be taken, that would mean the earning potential would also be greatly lessened. If that's the case, Toluna will be a site I exit from rather quickly.

Stay tuned.

Online Survey Review: e-Poll

A review of e-Poll 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.

e-Poll - Grade: B-

The Good

e-Poll might best be described as the little engine that could. It’s not a particularly great site but it’s good enough at what it does.

Its polls are infrequent and the rewards are meager, but you get something for the time invested, which isn’t all that much (in terms of time nor rewards).

Bridge Entertainment, Inc. is the owner/operator of e-Poll.

e-Poll offers a variety of rewards: everything from CDs and DVDs at Amazon.com to gift cards from stores such as Starbucks and Target. It also allows you to donate your rewards to charity. Rewards are given in the form of points. Point values vary depending on the length and type of survey. A basic survey might be worth 200 points.

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 and that reward points are miserly. The minimum number of points required for getting a reward of any kind is 2500 points – so it will take you quite a while to collect enough points to get something. And with few surveys offered, you had better be patient. Unlike some sites like Focusline or Opinion Outpost where you can be assured of many survey opportunities per day, you’ll be lucky to get a handful of e-Poll surveys per month. So, it is slow – very slow. Sometimes I wonder if it is worth maintaining my e-Poll membership, but it seems harmless enough and doesn’t take much time (I guess that is a good news/bad news situation).

The Ugly

I can’t say there are any “ugly” elements to e-Poll. It’s just sort of there, popping up once in a while in my email box. While it might be the little engine that could, it’s also a little engine that could do a lot more – but I guess that’s not what it’s all about.

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

I Hate Movie Surveys

One of the most frequently offered surveys are those for movies or DVDs. I hate them. It's been my experience that more than any other surveys (with automobile surveys a close second) movie surveys take the longest, offer the fewest reward points, and are more likely to deny you your points or rewards even after you've completed the survey.
What's even more annoying is that you can take a movie survey that lasts a long time - 10 or 15 minutes - and when you near the end you'll get the message that "you don't qualify for this survey." I believe it's a scam. The studios or movie companies or whomever is sponsoring the survey get the information they want very early in the survey and then basically cut you loose without your completing the survey.
Of course, movie surveys are the most obvious example of how surveys are really ads in disguise. They are nothing more than marketing tactics. So, once you've had your eyeballs on their ads/surveys for a few minutes that's all they want. Completing the survey at that point is irrelevant to them - and certainly offering you any compensation is not something they care about.
For me, at this point, when I see a survey I say "no thanks." Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.

Products Like People Questions

One of the questions that surveys often ask you to answer is to compare a product or service to a person. The question usually is in the form of something like this: If this [product] were a person, how would you describe him or her. Then there would be a series of attributes that you check off. Sometimes there is a slider option in which you favor one attribute or another or a range in between the option. So, if there is an option of "shy" on one side of the screen, the other side might show "outgoing."
I'm sure the marketers and survey managers find great use for these types of questions although I can't figure out what that might be. For me it is very silly and I find it somewhat annoying to try and imagine an inanimate object as a person.
Since I always preach speed in doing surveys this is one area that can really use the fast track. I just click through these things as quickly as possible, varying my choices from one side to the other. I can see no reason for spending any more time than that on them.  While some questions might need a little more time to think (but not too much), these product like a person questions do not - so click fast.

Opinion Outpost Offers Bonus

Opinion Outpost, which I've always felt is one of the best online survey sites, has upped the anti by announcing what they call a "Fantastic Friday" promotion. It's pretty simple - if you take a survey on any Friday you will automatically be entered into a "giveaway." The giveaway in this case is a drawing for a $50 Citibank rewards card. There's nothing else to do. Since online survey takers are probably taking Opinion Outpost's surveys every day anyway, this is really a no brainer.
But, as I've often said, the rewards and sweepstakes and other such bonuses are pretty slim when it comes to the odds of actually winning. In this case, however, since there's nothing else you have to do it represents another example of why Opinion Outpost is such a good survey site. Kudos to them and keep up the good work.

Online Survey Review: MySurvey.com

Online Survey Review: MySurvey

Opinion Outpost Tip

If you are familiar with Opinion Outpost you know it is one of the better online survey sites. It provides lots of survey opportunities, the points add up quickly, and cash payments via PayPal are almost instantaneous. It doesn't get much better than that.
You may also be familiar with a little tactic that can help you boost your point count - but it bears repeating.
When you conclude an Opinion Outpost survey you are taken to a screen where you are asked if you want to take another survey. If you don't want to take another survey you click on the "No Thanks" bar. Here's the hint - ALWAYS say "No Thanks." When you do you are taken to a screen where you can play a points game - you just click "pay" and you are given a chance to get more points. If you don't say "No Thanks" and you click on "Take Another Survey" you'll be taken straight to the next survey, if there are any, without getting a chance to win bonus points.
I don't know why Opinion Outpost does this. Theoretically you should be able to vie for extra points every time you finish a survey. But, that's not the way it seems to work. When I click on "No Thanks" I've been rewarded with 5, 10 or even 20 bonus points on occasion.
So, there's the little tip for the day. Enjoy.

New Look For Toluna

Toluna.com is launching a test (beta) version for its site. At first look, the site features a blue-hued tone to it instead of the white and yellow/gold look for the current site, not that that makes a huge difference. But, there are some changes and new features worth mentioning.
One of the first things being touted by Toluna is a new "Gifties" virtual gift application that will allow participants to send virtual gifts (some are "real" says Toluna) to yourself or to family and friends. I'm not sure what value that is - why not just have rewards given straight to survey takers. We'll have to see how that works out.
Next, Toluna is saying that it will be easier to interact on the various pages such as rewards page, content pages, etc. They are also touting the ability to interact with various social media. However, that's always been the case so I'm not sure what's new about that.
In looking at the new page it would seem that while things have been moved around, there's really not much new. One thing that is new is on the right side of the page there are now "followers" - people who are supposed to be following your posts. On my page there are 27 followers, although I have no idea how that came to be because I've never known there to be a "following" option in the old Toluna. There is also  a "following" indicator, though again I have no idea how I came to be following anyone. Whether any of these features is of any use or benefit is unclear.
What appears to be a fly in the soup here is the new Rewards page. Here's where you'll see some significant changes. There are lots of gifts you can get by cashing in your rewards points. I've never been a fan for gift items - the gifts aren't usually worth what the points necessary to get them. I'm into surveys for cold hard cash and it seems like it just got harder to get them. Toluna is now saying you need a minimum of 60,000 points to cash in to get $20. If I'm not mistaken that's more points needed to get cash than before. And, there's still no ability to use something like Paypal, so you'll still be waiting for weeks to get your check in the mail.
There are a few more bells and whistles to the new site. But, I'm not getting the feeling that all this is worth the effort. As the old saying goes, "if it ain't broken, don't fix it." Toluna seems to have spent a lot of time and effort on this new version of its site, but what needed to be fixed, such as better rewards and lower thresholds for points, is still the same or worse.
Take a look yourself and let me know what you think of the new Toluna site.

Starting To Survey

I'm often asked by those interested in starting to take online surveys, "what survey site should I start with?"
It's a good question. For those interested in just the fun of it, almost any survey site will do - after all if it's not about earning cash or prizes it really doesn't matter which survey site you begin with. However, if your interest is in trying to boost your income (ever so slightly because you'll never make bundles of money from taking online surveys), earn a few rewards like gift cards, or even to be able to make donations to charity with whatever you earn, then there are a few sites that are better than others.
Assuming your interest does not extend to taking several hours a day to take surveys, there is one that I think stands out - at least for now - from all the rest and that is OpinionOutpost. It's one of the Survey Sampling International sites - and that's not always a good thing. But in the case of OpinionOutpost they are still managing to be a very good site. Why. First, they have a goodly number of surveys to take every day so it's not hard to take enough to start building up points that you can later cash in. Second, the points per survey are usually pretty generous - that's not always the case with other survey sites. Third, when you have enough survey points to cash in, you can get paid instantly via PayPal. When I cash in my OpinionOutpost points my PayPal account is credited almost instantly. If you don't think that's a big thing, try waiting several weeks for other sites to award you points, let alone send you your winnings. Some sites stick stubbornly to paper checks and snail mail and that's not fun.
So, try OpinionOutpost. If you are just starting out with online surveys I think you'll find it fun and rewarding. Of course, survey sites often change their policies, so let's hope OpinionOutpost stays as it is.

Overview: GFK Custom Research

Overview: GFK Custom Research North America

GFK Custom Research is one of the largest market research companies in the world. You might be more familiar with its nameplate “Roper” which does political surveys and a lot more.

GFK isn’t an online survey site you sign up to take surveys. It is, however, a company that distributes surveys on behalf of its clients. If you take online surveys you may have seen them and their familiar orange-framed surveys. You might also have seen their url of Fivefive.surveys.com. GFK surveys are distributed by any number of survey sites such as Opinion Outpost, Toluna and others.

Headquartered in New York, GFK Custom Research North America is part of the GfK Group, the world's fourth largest market research company.

Online surveys are only a portion of what the company does. You can visit their main web page to see the large number of research and data collection activity they perform (see www.gfkamerica.com)

One of the things I’ve noticed about GFK surveys is that they are invariably some of the longest surveys out there.  GFK requires you to put a lot of time into their surveys. I don’t think I’ve taken one of their surveys that weren’t at least 20 minutes long. That’s not a critique, just an observation. But, it does make it hard to speed through a long survey because GFK’s are generally highly involved and require you to take time to complete because there are typically a lot of questions that require thought and it’s harder to just check a box randomly to just get through the survey and move on to the next one.

Generally though GFK surveys are good in that they usually come with a higher point or reward potential. And that’s a very good thing.