This document discusses the unreliability of web polls and how easily they can be manipulated. It notes that 67% of web polls are made up and 103% don't make sense. It then gives a fictitious example ice cream poll results to illustrate absurd outcomes. The document argues that web polls have no protection against multiple voting or manipulation by poll administrators and cannot provide a credible representation of any population. While web polls may be cheap, they are not scientific and have many flaws that undermine their validity.

1. Web Poll Shows 67% of Web
Polls are Made Up
(and 103% of Them Don't Even Make Sense)
Al Sweigart
http://coffeeghost.net

3. Ice cream poll:
• Favorite flavor:

4. Ice cream poll:
• Favorite flavor:
–Chocolate:

5. Ice cream poll:
• Favorite flavor:
–Chocolate: 2

6. Ice cream poll:
• Favorite flavor:
–Chocolate: 2
–Vanilla:

7. Ice cream poll:
• Favorite flavor:
–Chocolate: 2
–Vanilla: 700

8. Ice cream poll:
• Favorite flavor:
–Chocolate: 2
–Vanilla: 700
• Results:

9. Ice cream poll:
• Favorite flavor:
–Chocolate: 2
–Vanilla: 700
–Pat Buchanan: 72,012,495,538,528
• Results:
–Pat Buchanan

10. heh heh, whut?

14. Web polls are horrible.

15. The malicious reasons web polls suck...

16. “72 trillion Americans love
chocolate ice cream.”

17. “72 trillion Americans love
chocolate ice cream.”
“You don’t love chocolate ice cream?”

18. “72 trillion Americans love
chocolate ice cream.”
“You don’t love chocolate ice cream?”
“TERRORIST.”

19. (This image represents the bandwagon effect?)

20. • People who fill out polls want their opinion to
be publicly counted.

21. Protection mechanisms:

22. Protection mechanisms:
• Cookies don’t work.

27. Protection mechanisms:
• Cookies don’t work.

28. Protection mechanisms:
• Cookies don’t work.
• Logging IP addresses doesn’t work.

29. Protection mechanisms:
• Cookies don’t work.
• Logging IP addresses doesn’t work.
–Bot nets
–Social sites with lots of like-minded visitors.

30. You can’t trust the poller.
• It’s trivial for admins to change the votes.

31. You can’t trust the poller.
• It’s trivial for admins to change the votes.

33. • There is no such thing as a CREDIBLE
public web poll.
–Time Magazine “marble cake” hack.

34. Time’s most influential person of 2009:

35. Time’s most influential person of 2009:
moot

36. Time’s most influential person of 2009:
moot?

38. Sorry.

39. “I would remind anyone who
doubts the results that this is an
Internet poll. Doubting the
results is kind of the point.”
Time.com's Entertainment
section managing editor,
Josh Tyrangiel

40. The incompetence reasons web polls suck...

41. Web polls are not scientific.
• Not a good, representational sample of any
population…

42. Web polls are not scientific.
• Not a good, representational sample of any
population…
…except people who
have filled out web poll.

43. Web polls are good because:

44. Web polls are good because:
• They’re cheap.

45. Web polls are good because:
• They’re cheap.
<cricket chirp>

46. Web polls are good because:
• They’re cheap.

48. Not just web polls.
• Reddit, Digg, etc.
• Blog comments.
• Amazon reviews.
• Ebay seller/buyer reputation.
• Wikipedia.

57. Thanks.
Al Sweigart
al@coffeeghost.net
http://coffeeghost.net