SEATTLE, June 23, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Straw (www.pollwithstraw.com) has launched version 2.0 of its social polling app for iOS, Windows Phone and Android devices that enables individuals, businesses and organizations to conduct quick and easy polls on any topic across a variety of social networks and aggregate the results into a single dashboard.
StrawCast, a brand new feature in version 2.0, lets anyone conduct a poll anonymously without fear of being harassed and bullied by Internet trolls. StrawCast gives users the opportunity to broadcast their polls to all other users of the Straw app in addition to their social networks. It also is put on Twitter via the "@strawcast" handle. This opens up any poll to the entire world, thereby increasing reach and feedback from a much larger pool of respondents. Anyone responding to a poll on StrawCast will not know who the user is, making it anonymous for the pollster and completely safe and troll-free.
"Straw takes the clutter out of social media by making it easy to ask questions to your friends, followers and giving you the results in real time through a single, visual dashboard," said Ben Rudolph, a co-founder of Straw. "Now, with the introduction of StrawCast you can also ask the entire Internet - and do so in a way that's 100% troll free. It's the easiest, safest way to seek help and advice from the world at large, without fear of harassment."
How Straw works
Anyone wishing to ask a question of the Internet can download the free Straw app from the iTunes, Google Play or Windows Phone stores and register it in a minute to begin taking polls. Once set up, a user can post a poll about any topic - from "What color shirt should I buy?" to "Who will win the 2016 presidential election?" That poll is then posted to whichever social networks are desired, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, SMS messaging and the Straw community, via StrawCast. Polls can last any length of time - from an hour to a month. Responses are immediately fed back to the app from all sources and aggregated in a visually simple chart that shows results in real time.
New Features in Straw 2.0
- StrawCast: In addition to going straight to users' social networks and friends via SMS, polls can be broadcast to everyone who has the Straw app installed on their phone. The poll shows up in the StrawCast pane on the main poll screen. It will also be broadcast to the world on the @strawcast twitter handle, dramatically increasing its reach.
- Troll-free polling: StrawCast is a safe, troll-free way to get input from the entire world. Voting is anonymous - as are poll poster ID's - so there's no danger of being mocked, harassed, or insulted.
- Voting via StrawCast: Beyond posting polls, Straw users can vote on polls about topics that might be of interest. When anyone opens the Straw app and swipes to the StrawCast pane, they see a selection of random polls posted by like-minded Straw users. All of these polls can be voted on straight through the app.
- Improved usability: Version 2.0 improves on simplicity and usability with a more beautiful, easier-to-use interface.
- Private results: Users have the option to make their poll results private. Anyone can vote, but they won't see results immediately afterwards as they do with a public poll. This can be helpful to users asking a sensitive question.
- Embed codes: When a new poll is posted, users have the option of generating custom embed code, in addition to sharing the poll via StrawCast, SMS, or social networks. Embed codes can be incorporated into a blog post or website so readers and viewers can vote, straight from the web.
- Real-time editing of running polls: Users can change poll durations and make edits to content and copy in real time, without having to close and re-post polls.
Availability
Straw is available immediately as a free download on iTunes, Windows Phone and Google Play at http://www.pollwithstraw.com/
Additional information:
- Video link: http://youtu.be/D_Shwv9S1mA
- Blog post: pollwithstraw.com/straw2
- Screen shots: http://1drv.ms/1GkrzXk
About Straw
Straw is a Seattle-area social polling startup founded by four current Microsoft employees.
Photos accompanying this release are available at:
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=33993
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=33994
