Reply #9: It Will Change, Not End [View All]

[KharmaTrain]

There's lots of stuff in polling data other than the "beauty pageant" numbers that are extremely useful to many people. Zogby and Gallup didn't do their work for altruistic purposes, they have and will continue to make money from them.

Don't confuse the gather of the data with the interpretation. If there was a major flaw in this campaign, it will be the apparent change in people's communication habits. We're using cellphones, puters, hiding behind voice mail and not reachable the way we were 10 or 20 years ago. Until now the pollsters didn't realize how fast things have changed (c'mon how many of us used cellphones as our prime phones prior to 2000??) and they will adjust accordingly.

The ultimate game will be to perfect online polling...somehow coming up with a "signature" that identifies the individual rather than the machine, and then creating new ways to reach and track these people.

As George Carlin says..."you build a better mousetrap, some schmuck will build a better mouse"...