How 'Polls' Rank in the Google Zeitgeist
Mark Blumenthal | December 7, 2009
Topics: Gallup , Google , Google Zeitgeist , Rasmussen
My column for the week manages to combine polling, the Google 2009 Zeitgeist list, the Gallup Poll and Rasmussen. Click here to read it all.
Also, since they do not seem to have been included in the column here are the links to recreate my Google Trends searches on "polls" and "Gallup AND poll" vs "Rasmussen AND poll," plus one not included in the column.
By Mark Blumenthal | December 7, 2009 10:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)
To measure popularity in a "wisdom of the crowds" way, shouldn't the comparison between Gallup and Rasmussen be between hits on their websites, and not searches for them? Search volume would seem to measure curiosity more than popular judgment -- perhaps it's something more like linear with the first derivative of popularity.
The Alexa traffic graphs are fairly similar in regards to the up-tick for Rasmussen at the end, though it's noisier...
http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/gallup.com
http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/rasmussenreports.com
And the Alexa stats also has something that might be interesting: audiences are getting very skewed to the older male demographics, with Rasmussen much more so than Gallup. Now I'm wondering about whether there's a partisan skew to "poll consumers". (If there is, than this obviously precludes using it as the result of "the wisdom of the crowd", since, like polling, you need your crowd to be of independent and representative judgments.)
Posted on December 7, 2009 6:58 PM