We recently included several winning Top Question Tuesday selections on an interactive poll. Stay tuned to this blog as we’ll be releasing the results over the next several weeks! And don’t forget to submit your own nominations for Top Question Tuesday using the box on the right of this blog.

One question, timed to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street earlier this year,  asked which muppet was the respondent’s favorite. Cookie Monster led the list with 16% naming him as their favorite, followed by 11% saying Elmo, 10% each saying Big Bird or Oscar, 9% saying Grover, 5% each saying the Count or Ernie, and 2% saying Bert. 7% of our sample said they were too unfamiliar with the show to choose, and another 7% said “another muppet” is their favorite.

With a few exceptions, most subgroup responses mirrored the overall demographics. Males were slightly more likely than average to prefer Cookie Monster (19% of males vs 16%  of the overall sample ), while females were slightly more likely than average to prefer Big Bird (14% of females vs 10% of the overall sample). Those 18-29 were more likely than average to select Grover (16% of youth vs 9% overall), while those over 65 were much more likely to answer “not sure” or that they were too unfamiliar with the show to choose.

If you watched Sesame Street as a child, or watch it now with your own children, do you have a favorite muppet? Did you pay attention to any of Sesame Street’s  40 year anniversary celebrations earlier this year? What do you think the future holds for television programming aimed at children?

Katy culture, lifestyles media, television, Top Question Tuesday

One of our recent polls questioned people on their news viewing habits as well as what they thought about the news viewing habits of others.  The complete press release is available here, but one of the highlights was the disconnect between what people said about themselves and what these same people believe about others.  When asked about their personal news viewing habits, 85% of those surveyed claimed to follow the news closely. However, when asked about the news viewing habits of others, 72% of those surveyed believe most of the country does not follow the news closely.

A similar disconnect was found last year when we asked about people’s finances (read our blog post on it here). We found that most people believe they personally live within their means, but also believe that most other Americans do not.

In your view, why do so many people  see a negative trend (such as not following news or living within their means) among others, but believe they are an exception to this trend? And which statistic do you think is more accurate – that 85% of us follow the news closely, or that 72% of us do not follow the news closely?

Katy culture media, polls

There has been plenty of talk over what mid-term election outcomes will mean. Will majority changes mean that Americans disagree with the President? Are people simply discontent with the state of America in general?  In a recent Zogby Interactive poll (administered November 4 – 6), 72% of likely voters said they believe that Democrats will lose seats in 2010. This is amidst Republican wins last Tuesday in Virginia and New Jersey, but a Democratic win in New York’s 23rd.  The President’s approval rating hovers around 50% and few are happy with leadership for healthcare reform, a major topic not only of political debate but also of our everyday news.  On top of these figures, 89% of likely voters say that the American public is polarized.

With these indicators that voters are discontent and the belief that America is polarized, how should pundits and other media figures interpret these numbers?  Do you think the 2010 elections will mean Democratic losses and if so, why?

Leann Uncategorized elections, health, history, media, politics, zogby

Some banks have responded to public anger over overdraft fees on debit cards by revising their policies, and the FDIC is calling for tighter restrictions.

So how common is it for people to overdraw their checking account, knowingly or not? An August Zogby poll found that almost a quarter (24%) says they’ve done it since the start of the recession. Who are the guilty parties? Differences among political party are slight, with Democrats (27%) slightly more likely than independents (23%) and Republicans (21%) to say they have overdrawn on their checking account since the start of the recession.
Age makes a big difference, as those ages 65 and older (9%) are the least likely to say they have overdrawn,  compared to New Globals, ages 18-29 and Nikes, ages 30-49, being most likely age groups to say they have done so (30% each).  People with a college degree (21%) are slightly less likely than those without (27%) to say they have overdrawn.

From the “no kidding” file, those who say they or someone in their immediate family has lost a job due to corporate downsizing within the past year (32%) are far more likely than those who have not (21%) to say they have overdrawn on their checking account, and those who classify themselves as being in the investor class (16%) are far less likely than those who do not (28%) to say the same.

Without any previous data to compare all of this to, it’s hard to say whether or not a quarter of those polled saying they have overdrawn since the recession is a concerning number or not. An FDIC report from 2008 found similar numbers, with 75% of customers reporting no overdraft transactions in a 12 month period , but that could be seen as the start of the recession or maybe it was an early indication of things to come.

Have you overdrawn your checking account since the recession began? How careful are you to avoid overdrafts? Should  the government step in to ease the cost of overdrafts for consumers?

Paul Uncategorized, economics media, recession, zogby

I am sitting in my living room. Immediately to my right is my dining room. In my dining room are, variously, a box holding my wedding gown…from 1988, a box of stuffed animals and a 3 foot tall Tigger, a remote control car still in the box (these even though my youngest son is a senior in high school), the cat carrier, two rolling footstools and two Cannondale road bikes. Of course I also have a dining room table, china cabinet, and 6 chairs. There are also 3 stacks of boxes, a bookcase and a settee that belonged to my grandmother.  Although I’ve rarely been accused of being neat, I’m not usually living in such chaos. It’s just that I’ve recently moved, downsized to be precise, and I’m trying to fit more than 20 years of family stuff into a house no bigger than the one I moved to just after wearing that wedding dress all those years ago. 

I am among those who are reducing their lifestyle. Why? Well, it’s a cost savings obviously; a smaller place will cost me less money monthly to light and heat. My monthly payment is lower and the maintenance is significantly less on a smaller home, so it’s less work. I’m headed for an empty nest as my youngest son graduates from high school so we no longer need as much room as we used to come the fall, so there’s that as well.

It feels like there’s more to it though. After a lifetime of always feeling as though I needed to have just a little more than enough-just in case, everything from extra towels and sheets to a back up bottle of laundry detergent and a pound of butter in the freezer, I’m now running leaner. We have very little storage space now, no extra closets, no garage and so we’re operating on just having what’s necessary, I’m letting go.

Is it part of the new economy? Yes, that’s some of it, and I’m not alone. On a recent Zogby Interactive survey 29% of Americans report they are driving less as a result of the recession, 5% have downsized their home, 19% are bringing their lunch, 38% have reduced or eliminated going out to dinner, 19% are renting movies, and 34% have changed their travel plans.

So, yes, for myself and plenty others, that’s part of it, but there’s something else I’ve found, it’s freeing to have less. I have less to be responsible for. I donated, sold or gave away plenty, and threw out a fair amount of just plain junk that we’ve carried from house to house over the years. And the result is that I feel better. There’s less to be responsible for, fewer things to maintain, fewer moving parts, and fewer broken ones.

Will I continue to live a smaller life? Have less of a footprint here on earth? Yes, I think I will. Will you? Are you now? Did you always live a sparse lifestyle and you’re glad to see so many of us are catching up? Anyone want to buy a “vintage” wedding gown?

Karen Scott is Managing Editor and co-Director of Project Management at Zogby International. She has two sons, one is a sophomore at Pennsylvania State University (We Are-Penn State!) and one, as mentioned above is a senior in high school. Her life has been full of surprises, among them are the fact that her wedding dress (pictured here) lasted longer than the marriage did, and while she knew she was a (young)  Woodstocker, upon further examination, it seems as though she might have become a Secular Spiritualist while no one was looking.

ZogbyFeaturedContributor Uncategorized animals, economy, international, lifestyle, marriage, media, recession, travel, work, zogby

As President’s Obama poll numbers have dropped, there has been a surge of interest in the composition of the American ideological landscape. Some commentators have said, and some data supports this view, that the average American leans to the right rather than left.

The results of our recent Zogby Interactive survey support this view. When we asked a sample of 2500 adults to position themselves on a 1-9 ideological scale, where 1 referred to extremely liberal and 9 to an extremely conservative position, the average was 5.50 and the median was 6. 3. Democrats, who made up 38% of thes sample put themselves at 3.59 on average. Republicans, who comprised 31% of the sample, at 7.51. The average independent voter – a block that made up 28% of the sample –  was at 5.85. All of this suggests that America leans to the right.

Do you think that as younger generations come of voting age, there will be a change? Where would you position yourself?

Zeljka ideology, politics Generations, ideology, media, Obama, zogby

Some media outlets have recently reported that conservative groups have been more successful in utilizing twitter than liberal groups. This comes in contrast to recent history, where liberal bloggers and online communities have been thought to have played an instrumental role in the election of President Obama. On this view, the success of a political platform is, at least to some extent, due to new technology.

However, one can look at this from a different angle: the recent success of conservatives tweets may be due to a consolidation of conservative opposition to the administration policies. Likewise, it was a wide discontent with the Bush administration that lead to victory for Democrats, and the effects of new media were incidental to those more fundamental changes.

What is your view of the role of technology in political change? Are new technologies primarily a cause or effect of the rise and fall of political ideas?

Zeljka future, internet, media, politics, technology history, media, Obama, technology, twitter

Since the Congress adjourned, there is an ever increasing number of media reports of testy town hall exchanges between the public and their representatives. Some politicians, including House speaker Nancy Pelosi, have suggested that those with more critical views have been coached by professionals. Others have insisted that protesters act spontaneously.

Do you believe that town hall protesters primarily act spontaneously or do you think they have largely being organized? Did you attend any of the town hall meetings yourself?

Zeljka health, politics media

We recently included several winning Top Question Tuesday survey questions on a recent interactive survey. Stay tuned to the blog as we’ll be reporting the results of these questions here over the next several weeks!

One question included on this survey asked where people believed ideology originates. When asked whether a better predictor of people’s ideology and voting habts was their parents and immediate family or encounters with other people and ideas outside of their immediate family, 48% of those surveyed believe that ideology of parents and immediate family while 42% believed it came from encounters with people and ideas outside of immediate family.

Groups that were more likely to believe ideology of parents and immediate family was the stronger predictor include First Globals™ (those 18-29, at 55%), those with a college degree or higher (49%), those who live in the suburbs (49%), those who are married (49%), those who are conservative (51%) and very conservative (56%), and Republicans (53%).
Conversely, those more likely to believe that encounters with other people and ideas outside of the immediate family are the stronger predictor of ideology and voting habits include those over 65 (48%), those in civil unions or domestic partnerships (48%), progressives (47%), liberals (45%), moderates (47%), Democrats (45%) and independents (44%).

Do you believe that immediate family or other influences play a stronger role in where our ideology and voting patterns originate? Why?

Katy Uncategorized first globals, ideology, media, Top Question Tuesday, zogby

I run a business that provides market research and opinion polling. Like every other business in the world, Zogby International has to keep up with technology or face extinction.

The technological threat facing people in my business is the rapid growth of cellphone users who do not have a landline. The solution is another pervasive tool: the Internet.

So writes John Zogby in his weekly column at Forbes.com that outlines why and how interactive polling may displace traditional phone surveys.

Paul future, internet economy, international, internet, John Zogby, media, technology, zogby