Tag Archives: paid for survey

Spending Less, Barbecuing More

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Fun with statistics: Independence Day edition!

According to a survey by Visa credit cards:

  • 21% of Americans didn’t celebrate the 4th of July this year, up from 18% last year.
  • Of those who celebrated, we spent an average of $191, versus $216 last year.
  • Midwesterners spent the most, $211; Northeasterners spent the least at $171.

Analysts who watch the economy, looking for any clue as to the state of our finances, wonder why. Is the decrease in spending results from tighter family budgets, or is it because the holiday fell on Wednesday this year?

Either way, spending might be down, but celebrating with family and friends at a barbecue is actually up. A different survey shows that 68% of us either hosted or attended a BBQ…the highest number in a decade.

“The Fourth of July is all about community, and that’s a white-hot want right now for many Americans who feel increasingly disconnected (due to) divisive politics … and less-nourishing techno-fueled relationships.”   USA Today

So, what did you do? Spend less, BBQ more? No change in habits? Did the economy factor into your plans? We want to know !

Anyway, we hope you had a nice 4th…and a great weekend ahead!

Genetically Modified Foods?

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Do you know GMO? Short for Genetically Modified Organisms, they are scientifically-created/ enhanced/ altered components introduced into food. And they’re starting to cause a stir.

Hypothetically speaking, let’s say we could use science to make a feed hog or steer produce less, uh, poop. This would produce less methane, which supposedly reduces greenhouse gas. Or, less hysterically, let’s say there was some new chemical or mutation that could make an ear of corn twice as big. You may be all for these outcomes, but would you eat these foods? Or, would you at least like to know about their origins?

That’s the gist behind a petition signed by over a million Americans – not to ban these foods, but to force more descriptive labeling. Why?

Polls indicate that 40 percent of U.S. consumers believe that GMO foods are dangerous. Another 40 percent are unsure.  Editorial, Billings Gazette

What do you think? We aren’t taking a particular stand (but the original article is, for sure,) just asking the question. Do genetically modified foods concern you or not? Yes or no, do you want to know the specifics of each food? Let us know!

Consumer Confidence?

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I have a Google alert set for “consumer” to send me potential blog ideas. Today’s alert had a bunch of stories about Consumer Confidence. In a word, it’s down. In the US, the confidence measurement is at 63. I don’t know what that means, but it was 64.9 a month ago. So, in other words, DOWN.

Basically, consumer confidence measures whether you feel safe in making a big purchase or taking that nice vacation, or NOT.

So, let’s hear from the MindField family. What is your confidence level? Are you making purchases? Taking trips? Holding off?

I will go first. We have made a couple of bigger purchases this year, but only the kind that count as investments, such as new floors. Next week, our big vacation consists of driving back home to see family and friends. You could say my confidence level is “meh.”

How about you?

PS: For our Canadian friends: your confidence is UP. What’s that aboot? Send some of that confidence down south, eh?

PPS: New confidence numbers are coming in a day or so. Cross your fingers!

UPDATE: The new number came out….62. Whoops!

UPDATE 2, August 29: New number 60.6! More whoops!

MindField in the News!

100,000 rolls of toilet paper, anyone?

A fun article in the Charleston (WV) Gazette profiles McMillion Research/ MindField Online from its roots as a kitchen-table operation in the late 60’s, through the “standing in the Mall with a clipboard” years, to the telephone banks, and to the internet force it is today.

“We’ve done children’s drinks, soups, adult diapers, every cosmetic known to man, soft drinks, every food, cookies, crackers… you name it, we’ve asked them about it,” says Gary McMillion.

But it’s much more than dish soap and toilet paper. Over the years, McMillion/MindField has polled people about their reactions to world events like the Exxon Valdez oil spill and the OJ Simpson trial.

Basically, when interested parties need answers from a bunch of people – about darn near anything – they come to MindField! According to Gary, a big reason for MindField’s success is a great group of panelists who – of course – like the compensation, but who also really care about helping companies provide better products and services to consumers.

It’s a nice article, so check it out!

Store-brand Stigma? Not Anymore

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One of the great lines about the savings – and the stigma – of buying store-brand products comes from the old Rosanne sitcom.

Rosie is leading a home-ec field trip to the grocery store.  She tells the girls about saving with store brands as she reaches for some Brand-X corn flakes.  Her daughter is mortified. “But we don’t buy that…we use the good stuff!” Says Rosanne: “We use the BOX of good stuff. I fill it with this. It’s only SECOND best for MY family!”

Rosie and Dan scraped to get by during the good times. Well, times have changed. Now, it seems like many of us are scraping. Many of us will buy brand X, as long as it actually does save us some dough.

It’s generally accepted that store brands cost less than national brands, but how much less? A survey conducted for an association of store brand labels says switching to store brands could save the average consumer as much as 36 percent off their grocery bill. Consumer Affairs

The article describes a 4-week study where they bought 30 summertime items: hot dogs, condiments, charcoal, freezer pops, sunscreen, etc. One side bought brand names, one side bought brand X. They did all the careful science-y statistical stuff to make it fair. And they saw that a month’s worth of the good stuff cost $110.00, while the off brands cost $70.00.  The big winner? Buns!

So, yeah, there are savings to be had, as long as the quality is there. That will definitely vary by product and by brand.

What about you? Do you have brand X fever? Across the board? Some things yes, some things no? Never ever ever? Let us know! Read the rest of the article here, and have a great weekend!

(photo: healthkicker.com)

A Few of our 25K Fans Speak…

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On the occasion of reaching 25,00 Facebook fans, MindField Online took a moment to revisit some of the nice Facebook comments we get from friends like you…like this gem from Wendy:

Wendy says: Just finished my first successful survey with MindField Online internet panels…. WOW! What a GREAT survey experience! I can honestly say, as a person who takes surveys with several survey sites on a regular basis, that “THIS” is the best single survey experience I have had yet! I look forward to hopefully receiving MANY MANY MORE Surveys with this awesome survey site!

Thanks Wendy! You can check out the rest of the updated list at our Panelist Reviews Page.  And have a great weekend!

Facebook Fade?

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“I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” would be really cheesy here. So I won’t write it.

Will Facebook disappear in 5 to 8 years? That seems to be the thrust in an article, entitled “Facebook Will Disappear in 5 to 8 Years.”  But first, let’s define ‘disappear.’ The author means faded in significance, not dead and gone.

“In five to eight years (Facebook is) going to disappear in the way that Yahoo has disappeared. Yahoo is still making money, it’s still profitable, still has 13,000 employees working for it, but it’s 10 percent of the value that it was at the height of 2000. For all intents and purposes, it’s disappeared.” CNBC.com

So, still around, but far from the big gun it is today. But why? He says it’s evolution, and a new age is beginning. The web started with big portals like Yahoo. Remember Yahoo was your home page, you had mail, you had news sources from everywhere posted on  the page? That’s a portal. Then came the social media age, first with Myspace, and then dominated by Facebook. Now, everyone is moving to mobile devices and leaving the desktop behind. Facebook has admitted its troubles in mobile, primarily the inability to make any money from the platform.

So, if all of this is true, what’s next? Do you have any ideas? Do you know of any cool apps or services that could possibly inherit Facebook’s mantle? Let us know!

Facebook Hope and Hype

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Have you been following Trading for Dummies, i.e., the media trying to explain the Facebook IPO to the rest of us?  Head scratcher, right? Yeah, well, don’t look to me for assistance!

So they open at $38 a share, it goes up, it goes down, it closes with a gain of 23 cents – when anything less than a $50 close would be UTTER HUMILIATION! (News media hype.) And Monday it was at $34 bucks.

As Wall Street’s Gordon Gekko might say, “Oh well. So I only made 10 million bucks today.”

Dumb Guy Explanation!

Apparently, two things are at work here. Facebook gets a good chunk of its revenue from advertising on the desktop site. Unfortunately, the news came out in the days before the IPO that General Motors was suspending its Facebook ads, unsure of their effectiveness. That shook some investor confidence.

Second, many FB users are migrating more and more to mobile use on their smartphones. And Facebook really hasn’t figured that realm out quite yet – the advertising, that is. So, they have been buying up mobile players left and right, like Instagram, Lightbox as well as geo-location service Gowalla and mobile gift-card app Karma.

The Outlook! (dumb guy version)

Day One may have been a black eye, but nobody seems to be panicking just yet. One thing is certain…Facebook knows EVERYTHING about its members. Once they figure out how to leverage that info into mobile advertisement, it’s total world domination, baby!

What do you think?  Check out this article, “Facebook stumbles, but still has time to prove itself” to learn more.

(photo: gadgets.ndtv.com)

The Return of the Saturday Sale?

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A while back we told you about JC Penney’s new tactic: canning the big weekend sale and the coupon circular in favor of the Wal-Mart, “low-prices-always” model. Well, nobody’s buying it.

By offering year-around low prices, JCP wanted to change the customer’s belief that ‘the coupon is the golden key that unlocks the door to the biggest discounts’. But experts say consumers have a strong relationship with their coupons and aren’t likely to give them up anytime soon. “We learned coupons are a drug. They really drove traffic.” Consumer Affairs

In fact, business is down 20%, a loss of $160 million. Of course, JCPenney’s CEO says, no, this is still the right idea. You just haven’t caught on yet. It’s YOUR fault, dummies! (I may have added that last bit.)

So what’s the deal? (I’m asking.) Are you a JCP fan? Have you strayed? Do you miss The Big Saturday Sale? Is there less urgency to get there without some big sale that expires at 9pm? Let us know. And have a great weekend!

Poller Bear has a Winner!

Ever seen this guy in your MindField travels? The Poller Bear is a special internal poll that MindField Online uses to find ways to improve our services and company, to make it a better experience for members like you. We also use it to get insights on how to get new business and new clients, so that we can get more survey opportunities for our members.

So, once in a while you will receive a Poller Bear invitation, or see it on Live Now! And regularly someone wins a nice incentive. The latest winner is:

Diane Z. of Spring Hill, Florida!

Diane won $50! She said, “Thank you! I never win anything so this a nice surprise!”

REMINDER: The Cinco de MindField drawing for $50 is tomorrow, Sat May 12! We will announce the winner as soon as we contact and hear back from them! Good Luck!! And have a great weekend!