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Survata (YC S12) replaces paywalls with "surveywalls"

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11–20 of 46 posts

Re: Survata (YC S12) replaces paywalls with "surveywalls"

#11
post #10

Survata, how about a sticky to the top of the site? Just a thought - it'll be easier on the mobile crowd.

And demo that survey sticky on your homepage. I've answered side-bar surveys before and I'm more honest in my answers than when I'm trying to get behind the wall.

Re: Survata (YC S12) replaces paywalls with "surveywalls"

#12

No. You probably don't need a degree in experimental psychology to understand that forced recruitment gives you invalid/biased/low quality data. These surveys are annoying to the users; more importantly, the data provided has little if at all value to the organization behind the survey. No matter how well you design your survey. I don't even want to start on how bad/biased some surveys are designed. The only way the…

"You probably don't need a degree in experimental psychology to understand that forced recruitment gives you invalid/biased/low quality data."

Interesting point. Anecdotally, I am less honest with my selections if I'm taking a survey specifically to get a reward (i.e. contest, Kongregate points, access to a site), as I usually just want to get it done with as fast as possible.

However, if it has tangible results (i.e. will tailor my experience on the site like Netflix) then I am likely to spend more time choosing honestly.

Re: Survata (YC S12) replaces paywalls with "surveywalls"

#14
People hate taking surveys. The only reliable way to get data out of people in survey form is to ambush them on the phone or in person and pressure them into answering some questions for you. And even then, the data has to be filtered appropriately. Paywalls and most online polls are the wrong place to ask people serious questions.

Re: Survata (YC S12) replaces paywalls with "surveywalls"

#15
post #7

Interesting idea. Google is already doing this ( http://www.google.com/insights/consumersurveys/home ) and they have solid relationship with big publishers. Question to founders - 1. How are you different from Google? 2. As a UX person, I'm not sure what sort of data I will get from these surveys. Is there anyway you can maintain the quality of responses? I assume in most of the cases users will give dummy data for t…

And I think the solid relationships with big publishers is the big part that's hard to replicate.

That said, you could probably more easily approach smaller (more local?) publishers that are more willing to experiment to get traction. Is that what you're planning on doing?

Re: Survata (YC S12) replaces paywalls with "surveywalls"

#16

No. You probably don't need a degree in experimental psychology to understand that forced recruitment gives you invalid/biased/low quality data. These surveys are annoying to the users; more importantly, the data provided has little if at all value to the organization behind the survey. No matter how well you design your survey. I don't even want to start on how bad/biased some surveys are designed. The only way the…

There are cases where surveys are useful, but none of them hinge on getting accurate results. The two that come to mind: push polls, and exploiting sample bias to make yourself look good.

Re: Survata (YC S12) replaces paywalls with "surveywalls"

#17

No. You probably don't need a degree in experimental psychology to understand that forced recruitment gives you invalid/biased/low quality data. These surveys are annoying to the users; more importantly, the data provided has little if at all value to the organization behind the survey. No matter how well you design your survey. I don't even want to start on how bad/biased some surveys are designed. The only way the…

You seem to be evaluating this company based on either A. how it would work for you personally, as someone who isn't interested or B. an inaccurate assessment of how it would work for other people who aren't you. When discussing a company you typically try to avoid both.

For instance, many girls like dolls, but if you don't like dolls that doesn't make dolls a "No." business, and it's not illuminating to hear why dolls are icky. A better discussion would be how and what makes a new doll appealing (or unappealing) and whether it can compete with Barbie.

Clearly the online survey industry is making some money. Certain parts of the web, which may not target you, rely on surveys. Combining surveys and paywalls, if not perfectly novel, is at least interesting. The combination raises a host of issues and potential problems which your comment ignores.

Your being off-base would not quite matter as much if it wasn't so rude to the team that worked on this. Did they do a good job in their implementation? I don't know, it hasn't come up yet.

Re: Survata (YC S12) replaces paywalls with "surveywalls"

#18
post #15
post #7

Interesting idea. Google is already doing this ( http://www.google.com/insights/consumersurveys/home ) and they have solid relationship with big publishers. Question to founders - 1. How are you different from Google? 2. As a UX person, I'm not sure what sort of data I will get from these surveys. Is there anyway you can maintain the quality of responses? I assume in most of the cases users will give dummy data for t…

And I think the solid relationships with big publishers is the big part that's hard to replicate. That said, you could probably more easily approach smaller (more local?) publishers that are more willing to experiment to get traction. Is that what you're planning on doing?

Would also say, there are tons of blogs out there with dedicated readerships in niche, but high value demographics (to advertisers). This is perfect for them.

Re: Survata (YC S12) replaces paywalls with "surveywalls"

#19
This is just content locking with lipstick on, which was up until now among tactics such as cloaking and keyword stuffing, at least in my view. Hopefully they'll make it less scammy. If I could just do a 1min survey to access premium content that would be fine, but my fear is that I would have to go through 1min surveys for stuff that I now get for free.

Re: Survata (YC S12) replaces paywalls with "surveywalls"

#20

Isn't this just a fancy ad? A lot of sites already have lightbox Javascript popups (that AdBlock can't block?) that acts as ads or gateways to getting your email address.

I agree that the lightbox experience is common, but I view the surveys as fundamentally different than advertisements. Part of our idea is that your attention is more valuable than a banner/video ad. If I had 30 seconds of time from a smart HN reader, I'd rather ask for advice than show a commercial. Hopefully getting at that valuable opinion will allow you to get better free content online.

And, just to be clear, we're keeping the surveys fully anonymous; so we will not collect or tie to an e-mail address or other personally identifiable information.

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