Abstract: In order to conduct polls that are responded to by a target audience, a computer system (such as a server) provides portable electronic devices (such as cellular telephones) associated with users, different versions of a poll, where a given version of the poll includes a query and predefined potential answers. Then, the computer system receives, from at least a subset of the portable electronic devices, responses to the versions of the poll, where a given response includes at least one of the predefined potential answers as a selected answer. Moreover, based on profiles of a subset of the users associated with at least the subset of the portable electronic devices and information specifying the target audience of the poll, the computer system calculates the bias. Furthermore, the computer system performs remedial action based on the calculated bias to correct for the bias in the poll.

Abstract: In order to facilitate user navigation through information, a computer system (such as a server) provides polls to portable electronic devices (such as cellular telephones) associated with users, where a given poll includes a query and predefined potential answers. Then, the computer system receives, from at least a subset of the portable electronic devices, responses to the polls, where a given response includes at least one of the predefined potential answers as a selected answer. Moreover, based on the received responses and response histories (with responses to one or more previous polls) for a subset of the users associated with at least the subset of the portable electronic devices, the computer system identifies links to the information. Next, the computer system provides the links to the information to at least the subset of the portable electronic devices.

Abstract: In order to conduct a poll, a computer system (such as a server) identifies a subset of users based on their current locations, the current time and/or predefined profiles of the users (which specify user preferences and demographic information). Then, the computer system provides, to the portable electronic devices (such as cellular telephones) associated with the identified subset of the users, the poll with a query and predefined potential answers. Next, the computer system receives, from at least a subset of the portable electronic devices, responses to the poll, where a given response includes at least one of the predefined potential answers as a selected answer. Furthermore, the computer system may perform one or more additional operations based on the given response. For example, the computer system may provide a results summary of the selected answers received from other portable electronic devices associated with the subset of the users.