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.