We get a lot of email and posts asking about who is really looking at Hey! Nielsen and if all the opinions, comments, and votes are really making a difference. We can tell you that in 2008, as our user base grows (we just hit 50K, yeah!) and becomes more and more diverse, the industry is taking notice and becoming increasingly interested in what Hey! Nielsen members have to say. Just this year, Hey! Nielsen has been a valuable platform for three custom surveys regarding advertising and television viewing: One, a survey of Super Bowl ads, another a survey on a new network TV show, and another on the impact of the writers strike. This is a trend we are dedicated to continuing, where select members of Hey! Nielsen are singled out for their valuable feedback to the industry. So, no only does the general chatter and feedback on the site become a valuable buzz tool for the industry, but additional specific surveys or polls will be another way for your voice to be heard. We recently added a quick poll feature on the site, that we’ll expand over the next few weeks into something that will help us and the industry get a real-time handle on trends and preferences of our tastemaking member base.

Again, we could never promise that posting on the site or taking part in a survey will result in your favorite show being renewed, etc., but the site is gathering momentum as a credible source for feedback to the industry. With more than 41K opinions and nearly 130K comments to date, your input is definitely adding up.

Thanks again for your continued support. We realize there are more improvements to make to the site and we are planning the majority of our 2008 upgrades around the requests of the users.

If you have any ideas for polls you’d like to see on the site, let us know at hey@nielsen.com.