chinese survey 2.0 ::
Sunday, October 19th, 2008
:: much has been made of China’s hundreds of millions of internet users (253 million according to the last official count)…but, how to understand what they really think? There are many ways to do this, the best of which is a full-on qualitative / quantitative analysis of related Internet word of mouth conversations, but for a quick and dirty read on netizen sentiment, preferences, etc., one such way is with online surveys.
Included below is a “top 5″ review of online survey sites in China. Some of these services simply replicate traditional survey models; others use new technologies to take advantage of Chinese netizens’ tendency to redistribute content in order to reach a wider survey base.
1) Askform
Easy redistribution: AskForm differs from most survey sites in that it provides Flash survey widgets, allowing users to copy and paste AskForm’s widget code for easy embedding in blog and BBS posts. Ease of use in creating surveys: when users create surveys, AskForm makes use of user tags to identify matching surveys in its database, greatly simplifying the survey creation process. The site makes heavy use of AJAX for fast, responsive mouse-based survey creation. Open platform: AskForm follows the trend of openness and interoperability with an open API and the promise of more applications using its platform, making it attractive for commercial and individual use. Personal data center: AskForm will soon introduce a unique reporting module that will present and automatically update all survey data gathered, making user review of data significantly easier. Unfriendly user interface. Reportedly AskForm is working to change this.
2) Taidu8
One of the oldest names in the field, Taidu8 (formerly Data100) is a mainstay of Chinese online survey sites. Large library of surveys. Taidu8 has amassed a large collection of corporate and non-corporate surveys through its years in operation. “PK” Topics: one of the site’s more popular functionalities, “PK” topics (PK is gamer-speak for “player kill”), similar to “Hot / Not” polls in the Anglophone blogosphere, pose users with two choices. Respondents are then pitted against one another, with one side ‘winning’ or losing.’ (An example would be tinyurl.com/6cchy5 ). Paid surveys: for some of the corporate surveys, users can receive money or prizes as compensation for participating. However, Flash embedding of surveys is not an option. Flash is preferable to JavaScript embedding as many BBSes and blog platforms don’t support the use of ’script’ tags. The survey creation process is somewhat complicated.
3) WeZuo
WeZuo pitches itself as an enterprise-level survey, evaluation, and voting system. Distinguishes between polls and evaluations: survey creators can create two types of surveys; there is definitely a certain market space for user evaluations. Attractive page design: the light green page design is fairly comfortable and easy on the eyes. Richer pagination options: WeZuo distinguishes itself by providing the option to split surveys across multiple pages and set up landing pages with notes for respondents. Flash embedding is not an option; this likely has an impact on respondent enthusiasm. While WeZuo remains free, it has already posted pricing information for different user levels.
4) ZhiJiZhiBi
Offers a fairly systematic system of categorization, allowing users to easily find the category to which their survey belongs. Has its own user promotions area, and registered users are presented with an ‘upgrades’ system, increasing ’stickiness’ and user activity. Virtually no survey export or embedding functionality, other than survey URLs. Page design needs to be improved; overly flashy design on survey sites creates a distinct impression of unprofessionalism.
5) SoJump
Clean site design – which appears to have been copied from blogcn, right down to the user registration panel. The survey functionality doesn’t support any browsers other than IE at the moment. The site has adopted some of the more popular Web 2.0 functionalities, including tagging. There is apparently no survey export or embedding functionality. In addition, the survey design is fairly run-of-the-mill, with the standard textbox and radio button widgets rather than custom CSS-styled widgets.
// AjS
