Twitter introduces polls

Users can now create a poll to ask their followers for their opinions ... but don’t necessarily believe the results.

Users will be able to create two-choice polls from the compose box, which will remain live for 24 hours.

Your Twitter feed will soon include a labyrinth of polls, but don’t necessarily believe the results you read.

Twitter’s product manager Todd Sherman today announced the new polls feature in a blogpost.

“We’re excited to share that in the coming days, everyone will be able to create polls on Twitter,” he said. “And, with just a couple of taps, people can weigh in on all the topics they care about.”

Coming soon! We're rolling out the ability for everyone to create polls on Twitter: https://t.co/6RtEuVqzNRhttps://t.co/U8DRds2wpU

— Twitter Australia (@TwitterAU) October 21, 2015

Twitter says users will be able to create two-choice polls from the compose box, which will remain live for 24 hours. People can vote on any poll, with all votes remaining private and not shared publicly.

“If you want the public’s opinion on anything — what to name your dog, who will win tonight’s game, which election issue people care most about — there’s no better place to get answers than on Twitter,” the post says.

“For poll creators, it’s a new way to engage with Twitter’s massive audience and understand exactly what people think. For those participating, it’s a very easy way to make your voice heard.”

Let's settle the beetroot question once and for all. The great Aussie burger has:

— Twitter Australia (@TwitterAU) October 21, 2015

But there’s a warning to about not taking the results too seriously.

Australian technology research firm Telstye managing director Foad Fadaghi said that only a subset of the population used Twitter, and only a subset of these would be taking an interest in the poll.

He said the polls were not going to be scientific, and shouldn’t be relied upon for making business decisions. In addition, lobby groups would be able to manipulate polls if they saw a reason to do it.

Mr Fadaghi said social media had been attributed as having an impact on changes in Australian leadership. and you could see these kinds of polls being used to create a certain impact, or the perception of popularity for a certain policy. But he said Twitter polls may prove useful to marketers.

He said the service was trying to make itself more appealing to a broader population. “It’s not unusual to add polls to blogging platforms. In some ways they’re playing catch-up,” he said.

Maybe the first poll should be: will polling add or detract from the service? For some, Twitter is pretty good as it is and provides a great window into real time happenings on important topics without the clutter of polls.