Nielsen Ratings
 

Have any of you guys ever been asked to take part in the Nielsen ratings? I was just chosen several days ago, and I'm really excited about it. I'm given a week that I'm to record my TV viewing habits via a small diary they provide. Plus I get $10 in cash just for helping out. Not a bad deal. It's kind of interesting to know that I'm submitting my opinion on how well shows do this year.

practise a form of self-discipline and make this turn your tv off week. spend the whole week doing productive, meaningful things with your friends and family, and make sure you write out your activities in their diary. at the end of the week, turn the diary in and be a little happier for having had a good week that didn't involve mind-numbing humor, contrived plot twists, and inane laughtracks.

I've been involved in several surveys like this regarding my radio listening habits. I flip stations whenever a commercial comes on so I was looking for extra space to write all the different stations I was listening to. I only got like $2-3 for doing it but was nice to let them know some of my ideas.

$10?!?!

I was also chosen as a Nielsen home, but was only promised $5.

Hope ya'll like Mama's Family, because after this slight, it's going in the diary 3 times a day for a week.

:) I used to be a Neilsen Family Home... got more than $10 and I didn't have to do more than just watch the friggin TV. They modded all the TVs in the house, and all the VCRs. Small 1 bedroom apartment, 2 VCRs and 2 TVs...

I was chosen to do the diary thing for a week, twice.
The first time, they sent three dollars, I blew them off, and kept the three dollars.

The second time they sent it to me they sent seven dollars.
I felt guilty about the first time so I filled this one out and sent it back.
It seems like a lot of work for little pay since my viewing habits are all over the board, so to speak.
I forgot about it for three days, and I had a little trouble remembering all I had watched, so I had a lot of time filled out for video game-playing sessions. ;)

Do any of you guys participate in the permanent ratings? My aunt has a box on each of her tv's with buttons that dictate the age and gender of the viewer. Say if 7 year old Jimmy was watching her tv, he'd press his assigned button or 'sign-in' as a guest viewer. The box intercepts the channels viewed, what time, and who was watching. Then, everynight at 2am, the box phones home to Nielsen ratings and reports the viewing for that night. Apparently, one person watching her tv represents 1000 Canadians, so it brings some responsibility to what you watch. And some guilt.