Power And Money For The People (yougov.com)

Member Name: meah

Product:	yougov.com
Date:	14/12/03 (43 review reads)
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Although I'd seen the name YouGov in several national newspapers, I only logged on to the site when one of my children sent me a referral link by email. Not being very political, I didn't expect to find anything to interest me except the opportunity to earn a few extra pennies. Two months later www.yougov.com is one of my favourite sites.

WHAT IS IT?

The idea behind YouGov is very simple. Founded as an online research company by leading political commentators, the site has a database of ordinary people who it selectively invites to take part in polls for major clients like the NHS, Greenpeace, The Sunday Times, Channel 4, the TUC, The Observer, The Daily Telegraph and The Mail on Sunday. The money saved by not having to employ staff to question people in the street is used to pay those invited to give their opinion in each survey (usually about 50 to 60p per poll). The site has over 100,000 members and forecasted the results of the last election to within 1% of the actual result.

As well as the paid for polls, the site also has articles on politics and society by some very well known correspondents, analysis of the poll results and unpaid open access polls on lifestyle and public interest topics such as Music, Sport and Entertainment.

THE SITE

The homepage is very well designed with no pop ups or banner advertising and clear links to the Poll Reports, Open Access Polling and the About Us sections in the centre of the page. To the left are the areas for members to log in and view their accounts, and along the top you'll find links to poll archives and reports, Peter Kellner's columns, user support and new registrations. Navigation is very easy even for me, which means it should be child's play for most people. If you do have any problems, the FAQ in the user support section are very helpful and clearly explained.

OPEN ACCESS POLLING

except for occasional prizes), the polls are interes
ting enough to keep me coming back once or twice a week. You can currently vote on topics like 'Your Desert Island Discs', BBC vs ITV, the Rugby World Cup, Product Gripes and what you think about the service you receive from your bank. One problem I have with this section is that new polls aren't added often enough - before the recent rugby poll the last addition to the Sport section was in July. The exception to this is in the Current Affairs section where new polls accompany articles by John Humphrys every week or so.

The other two sections in this area of the site are Letters to the Editor and Special Features. I don't usually bother much with the letters as they're mainly on politcial issues like the Hutton Inquiry and Cherie Blair (I get enough of that in my newspaper). The Special Features are (or were as they've stopped recently) much more interesting with polls and reports from the People's Think Tank on issues like how British Airways compares with other airlines, reactions to events in the news and views on homosexuality and the Church of England. One repondent, chosen at random, is awarded fifty pounds.

REGISTERING

After reading the brief terms and conditions you are asked to fill out a form which asks for the usual details (user name, password, age, name, address and contact numbers) as well as demographic information such as which party you voted for in the 2001 Election, how many cars your household has, when you finished full time education, the work history of yourself and your partner, how often you watch Newsnight, your marital status, religion and the newspaper you normally read. Some of these questions are quite personal but your answers are treated in confidence and the more details you complete, the more polls you're likely to be invited to participate in. The process should take less than ten minutes as you're only asked to click on options or select from drop down boxes. When
you're finished, your account is credited with one pound.

If you've been referred by another member, remember to enter their email address in the second box from the top.

YOUR ACCOUNT

Once you've signed up you can view your account details every time you log in. As well as being able to amend your details, you can view a listing the polls you've recently completed, the credit you earned for each one, your total credit since joining and the money you've made from your referrals.

THE POLLING CLUB

The first thing to say about YouGov is that you definitely won't get rich through being a member of the Polling Club. My eldest son joined over two years ago and his account is still under thirty seven pounds. However, the new referral scheme means it is possible to make quite a bit of money through friends and acquaintances, as your account is credited along with theirs for every poll they complete in the first three months after they register. My wife and I have only joined in October and we've already earned almost five pounds each (almost ten pounds for the person who referred us).

I've been sent eight polls since I registered, my wife a couple less. The subjects have included my political preferences (my view of Michael Howard and who I would vote for if there was an election tomorrow), the rebuilding of Wembley Stadium and my experiences with the local NHS Trust. Each poll has taken me around ten minutes to complete and I've earned between 50 and 75p for each one. The political polls are not very interesting for me but they're easy to complete and don't take up much of my time. The poll on the local NHS was perfect for me as I've had a lot of experience with them in the last few years but I wouldn't have felt able to communicate my opinion to the powers that be (newsletters are sent out to every MP containing details of recent polls) otherwise. It probably made no d
ifference but it definitely made me feel better.

New polls are sent out by email. You just have to click on the link, log in and then complete the questions. Usually the polls consist of answers in boxes you only need to click on, though sometimes you are asked to type brief information if the poll requires more personal responses. You receive a cheque once your account reaches fifty pounds. I have to say that I don't know anybody who has been paid yet, but given the standing of the people involved in the site and the fact is the 27th positive dooyoo opinion of the site, I'm very confident that they do pay out.

As I said at the beginning, I only started using YouGov so that my son could earn a little more money. However, I now click on the site at least once every two days, even when I haven't received any poll invitations. A lot of the articles are quite interesting even for someone like myself with hardly any interest in politics and the open access polls are varied enough to have something of interest to anyone. Throw in the opportunity to be paid for communicating the things you normally moan about to people who might be able to do something about it and you can't really go wrong. Have a look for yourself.

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