Tuesday, November 2, 2010

I'm Sorry, Did You Wanna Ask Me Something?

If you, yourself, have a Twitter or Facebook account, you probably are well aware that lots of celebrities do too. (Note to self: Don't admit your constant stalking of celebrities' tweets or updated Facebook statuses.) Whoops. Anyways, often times, these celebrities will ask their fans for feedback on their most recent outfits they wore to an event, or just general questions about what they should do, wear, what movies to see, etc. The list goes on and on. You might not realize that what they are doing can be considered a form of "surveys," which are a common method used in researching.

Now, you might be asking yourself where I am going with this. Surveys are commonly used on a daily basis, whether we realize it or not.  They consist of general questions that result in feedback that forms a consensus of opinions from the public.  What separates a survey from an interview is the simple fact that surveys do not get very specific and down to the nitty-gritty.  However, they can involve more specific questions about one general topic.  In other words, there is a very fine line when evaluating the difference between a survey and an interview.

Celebrities, often times, will tweet questions to their fans pertaining to a certain topic, with hopes that they will receive feedback that will aid in their "research."  Although this is not formal research they are conducting (I'm pretty sure none of the celebrities that I know of are professional scientists, unless you want to count Tom Cruise?) That's neither here nor there. What I am trying to have you understand is that by providing your feedback to these celebrities, with hopes that they will respond, RT (re-tweet), or simply read what you wrote to them, you are involved in a survey -- in a way.  "But don't surveys involve circling or checking off the best answer?" Not necessarily.

While browsing the Internet, I recently came across a website that displays a tweet from the rapper Bow Wow (wait, who?) that poses a question about if he was the only person who hates breakfast. The general consensus from fellow tweeters in regards to his question was "Hell Yes!" The people who took part in answering his question and forming this result were involved in a form of a survey.

So -- the next time you find yourself reading Kim Kardashian's tweets and being asked a question about which pair of Christian Louboutins you thought looked best on her, sit back, try to hold yourself back from vomiting, and remember that by answering her question and providing feedback, you are participating in an informal social media survey.

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