

Forget poll widgets - Prediction markets right in your website - gtzi
http://blog.askmarkets.com/2009/07/17/the-widget/

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riklomas
The reason why polls are so popular is because they're easy to understand. You
have one vote, you select the option you think is the correct answer to the
question and the result show the spread of people's opinions.

Adding a layer of complexity to this by "investing" makes it harder for the
user to understand. It took me a good two minutes and a read of the blog post
to understand how eaxctly to vote (or invest). If this was a widget on another
website, I wouldn't know what it was or to do with it. There's no obvious way
to select an option and it's not particularly clear that you have to click on
the row then select the amount to invest.

There needs to be a better explanation of what exactly the widget does within
the widget itself, otherwise users will get confused and not use it.

~~~
gtzi
Riklomas, thank you for your time and comment, I think you're right. We
believe that an answer to a poll is the binary truncation of one's belief, and
what we're trying to grasp is the full answer. Still, it's harder to extract
it indeed, and the main reason is that we are used in submitting our views in
polls, not markets. However, given that simplicity and directness is our main
target with producing the widget, do you think that a different terminology
(like betting or playing instead of investing, or what?) will make things more
straightforward for the busy user?

~~~
eru
Just an UI improvement: How about using sliders to control the invested
amounts?

Use some Javascript to ensure that all sliders add up to 100% (or so). If you
need an inspiration for the finer points, look at how the game `Master of
Orion' (the original, not the sequel) does resource allocation.

~~~
gtzi
I still believe that entering a number is a more straightforward way to
introduce/implement the concept, than having 'n' sliders etc. Also, the step
of extra thinking before "you put the -exact amount- money where your mouth
is" results into the added value of the service, a more insightful
representation of users' belief.

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TweedHeads
Interesting concept.

I would refine it as a gambling widget (that's what it is) and offer a
percentage to the host.

Grow it and sell the service to bookies, they'll love it.

