Throwback Thursday: Poll Dancing

For this Throwback Thursday, I'm digging into the archives of my old blog, Brownfoot Journal, and am dusting off a post from January 31, 2011. Since I first wrote this post, I've not created any more polls: there certainly hasn't been on in The Brown Knowser. Also, I tend to change the look of this blog only once a year.

If you've read it before, I hope you enjoy reading it again. I abbreviated the post, because it spoke of what was to come in future Brownfoot Journal posts and I didn't want anyone to think that those promises related to The Brown Knowser.

Cheers!


I love polls. Apparently, my readers don't.

A couple of weeks ago, I did what I tend to do from time to time, when I'm bored with the appearance of my blog. I play around with it, changing the layout and adding gadgets. I'll rearrange the right-hand column, move my reading list, my archive list, and links up and down, providing prominence for some things, shoving others further down. I like to keep the links to Songsaengnim and Gyeosunim near the top, where they can be easily found. At the bottom, I keep less-important content, such as my subscription links and copyright information.

I've also added a couple of gadgets, such as the list and links to other blogs that I follow and really like, and my Twitter link.

But a couple of weeks ago, when I was making my most-recent change to my blog's layout, I added a gadget to the top of the right-hand column, where I thought it would catch everyone's eye.

I added a poll.

I love polls. I love being asked what I think. I love clicking a button that shares my view, opinion, likes, and dislikes with the community at large. In clicking a button on an online poll, I look forward to seeing the results pop up. I like to see if my opinion matches those of other people who have responded to whatever question is asked. Am I just like everyone else, or am I a rebel, a deviant?

In recent weeks, I've responded to a handful of polls, on topics ranging from the call for a new holiday in February, to what the value of a lottery jackpot must be before I buy a ticket, to whether hyphens should be eliminated from the English language (worst idea, ever).

As you can see, I like voting on important, world-altering questions.

So there I was, rearranging my blog layout, when I thought that adding a poll would be a good idea. The last poll that I posted was about the weather, and whether my readers preferred frigid or sweltering temperatures. That was fun. It was especially fun when I saw that the majority of you agreed with me. I actually like to act differently from the masses, but love it when we think the same way.

I wanted to create another poll, shortly after, but I didn't really have an issue that I wanted to discuss or find shared opinions with my readers. And so, I created this poll.

As you can see, no one voted. And so I'm left thinking: did no one vote because the question wasn't clear or did no one vote because no one saw the poll? If the answer is that no one saw the poll, maybe I need to post a blog entry every time I create a poll, to get your attention. But that wouldn't have worked for this particular poll because I didn't really have a question. Not really. On a philosophical level, I thought that if someone voted Yes, it might mean he or she is a positive person; a No vote might reveal a pessimistic voter.

If you didn't vote because you saw the poll but didn't understand the question, why wouldn't you contact me and say, "Ross, WTF is up with your poll?" Did you think that I would laugh at you and say, "C'mon, the question is obvious. What are you, stupid or something??"

I would never do that. Not to you.