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Finding the world's favourite book

22.04.08 Graeme Neill

A new social networking website will try to answer once and for all what the greatest book of all time is. The Poll the People website, at www.pollthepeople.com, is aiming to find everyone’s favourite albums, films and books while encouraging users to share their tastes. The site is in beta testing and will launch in late April. The current number one book is Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.

Users can create a profile and submit their five favourite films, albums and books. They can search charts by genre, and each book has a link to its listing on Amazon. The polls can also be broken down by gender, age, region and country and can be changed at any time.

Penguin and Transworld are collaborating with Poll the People for its launch, along with Polydor, Mercury, Parlophone and Island Records. Nick Hornby, whose novel High Fidelity was driven by Top 5 lists, will be providing his lists for the site’s launch.

Glenn Cooper, former digital media head at Island Records, said that the site was an attempt to provide a comprehensive survey of people’s tastes.

“Poll the People was borne out of frustration with the endless stream of magazine, TV and online polls where results were based on a very limited survey,” he said. “I saw an opportunity to combine the global obsession with Polls and Top five list-making with the increasingly popular world of online communities to create a truly definitive survey based wholly on public opinion.”

The site was designed by digital creative marketing company Hyperlaunch.

Poll the People

Media Transworld Penguin Graeme Neill Home Poll the People

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Comments on this article

By greg

Graeme mate, the link at the foot of the article doesn't work :-)

22 Apr 08 09:10

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By philip.jones@bookseller.co.uk

It does now ;-)

22 Apr 08 09:15

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By im a tree

So Poll the People was borne out of frustration at the endless stream of polls - so what better that to start loads of new ones. Genius

22 Apr 08 11:47

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By Glenn

Polls which are open to the public and are based on what the people really think are far removed from "supposed polls" based on small unrepresentative focus groups or the views of a few journalists. Hence the reason for creating the site.....let the people speak....and it's fun too

22 Apr 08 13:11

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By kate

I agree with the last post. I've never been asked for my opinion on any of those channel 4 "100 best soppy films" etc polls....have you? Finally, a true and honest reflection of public opinion!! What a great idea!

22 Apr 08 13:44

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By pip

I just can't believe anyone is taking this bit of frippery seriously.

22 Apr 08 14:53

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By kate

have you been on then? Pretty addictive once you get started! ;)

22 Apr 08 15:33

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By pip

I barely have time to post comments on this site, never mind contribute to some irrelevant poll grrrr

22 Apr 08 15:38

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