Although I started to write a piece analyzing the results of
our monthly poll in the Trial Technology LinkedIn group, when I attempted to review the data, I’ll just say it was “missing.”
If you cannot read the LinkedIn post due to link issues, you will find it by clicking here.
If you cannot read the LinkedIn post due to link issues, you will find it by clicking here.
Those who are members of the Trial Technology LinkedIn group are aware that we have had an ongoing monthly poll for over
three years. I noticed a while back that the earlier poll data appeared to be
missing. I finally looked into this further, as I was going to write a piece
about the resulting data. Although it
may not truly qualify as a “scientific” study, we’re talking about a decent
amount of very relevant information, collected from group members over 36
months. Looking at the poll data now, it goes back only 11 months.
So here is my little rant to LinkedIn, which I’ve posted on their forum. While I don’t expect to ever see the data again,
hopefully they will at least consider my perspective before wiping out more
data.
Although it’s nice
that LinkedIn strives "to provide a simple and efficient experience,"
and that it "continually evaluate(s) how (its) current products and
features are being used," the fact that the decision was made to retire
the Polls app and flush all of the data with it, and without any advance notice
to the users, is very disappointing. With
any user-driven application, it would be safe to assume that some people might
actually be using its features, and that they might actually be interested in
the results of their work.
So, what is the
current plan - will new polls be flushed periodically, or will the results
remain accessible "indefinitely" - at least pending another decision
to "remove a feature?"
With that, here is a bit of historical data they weren’t
able to delete.
12/30/2010 iPad Apps for Trial Presentation – This article was written just as the
first two iPad apps for Trial Presentation were released, TrialPad and
Evidence. A new poll is mentioned in an update: 1/10/2011 LinkedIn Poll:
iPad for Legal Professionals - Tool or Toy? http://lnkd.in/MbMRWP
The poll link goes to a page that simply
states, “Poll not found.”
2/13/2011 Exhibit A: iPad App for Trial Presentation – As the wild, wild west of iPad app
development was in full swing, yet another iPad app for Trial Presentation was
released, Exhibit A. The results of the above-mentioned poll are shown at the end
of the article, showing that group members were using their iPads as both a
tool and a toy. I wonder if that has changed. Sounds like fodder for a new
poll, although if you’re reading this a year late, the data may no longer be
available.
1/10/2013 Inside Trial Technology on LinkedIn -
This piece discusses the Trial Technology LinkedIn group, and in fact promotes the
poll feature of LinkedIn. The article shares the poll results of what was the “most
popular poll” at the time -- Which software do you use for trial presentation? Maybe another one to revisit…
Your comments and thoughts on this topic are welcome!