As recently as a couple of years ago, we were keeping our distance from online panels for research.  We even blogged about it.  But things have been changing.  And now evidence is starting to accumulate that online polls can rival (or even exceed) traditional polling methods in accuracy.  A recent article in The Atlantic provides an overview.

In large measure, this is a reflection of widespread behavioral change – people have abandoned land-lines in droves, and screening calls on cell phones is second nature; meanwhile even the boomers and seniors have gotten online, and many of us prefer to communicate through texts and emails.

I considered titling this blog “Eating Crow,” because of our past opinion, but the reality is that we should change our opinions based on new and changing information.  Updating based on new data is the mark of intelligence, and that’s what we’re selling.