Alumni Engagement With Polls

You are considering creating an alumni group, but it has been a few years, and like anything else, change is inevitable. It would be beneficial to get to know your group again, and understand where they are now and what they have accomplished with their knowledge. If you are going to assimilate an alumni group, it will be necessary to build a situation in which there is dialogue amongst members, and not a monologue of you, or a figure speaking to them. It will be imperative that they interact. The key element is to create a discussion by setting up: questions, problems, and eliciting their comments on them. The more they interact with one-another, the more they can express and learn about themselves.

As you begin the search for your fellow members, general surveys can help you figure out where in the media; your alumni group spends most of its time. You will be able to analyze how and where you will need to look to find them. Discover if they've moved across state lines or even into other countries. As you set up a web site, polls will help you to get an idea on what kind of media you want to utilize primarily video pictures or simple text. You will be able to create an attractive atmosphere for your group that will create a stronger desire to join.

The easiest way to create a group conversation is through a simple survey. Get to know your group and let them get to know themselves. One thing that people like is to hear what their fellow friends have to say on subject matter. It allows them to interact and discuss with the group and helps your alumni to grow. When first beginning an alumnus, select polls that will pertain to what the members have been doing while they have been out of contact. Consider questions that focus on what they have done with the knowledge they acquired through school and where has it taken them. Surveys help each member feel more comfortable with the other members of the group by relating them to each other.

Polling can create encouragement amongst the group. Use the results to offer stimulation and discussion. User generated content in media is very attractive. It makes users feel that they belong here and that their opinion matters to the group. Results also can offer insight into what your members want. You can select preferred types of media that are desired by your group and adjust to the ever changing world of electronics. You will be able to track results of your surveys and adapt to your group's environment to better suit them. Remember that they are the users; appealing to them will help your alumni function better.

In general, surveys can be very beneficial when preparing to launch an alumni group. Through questions and answers, you can stimulate discussions and make them feel comfortable. You can get to know them and help them to know each other, thus creating an atmosphere that all can enjoy.

David Meagor, is founder and creator of BooRoo. The leading edge company focused on Polls, Surveys and Quizzes. BooRoo will fetch the feedback and information you need to make decisions, create connection, convert, retain and manage your organization. http://booroo.com/

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City Room: At Long Last, the Day Is Here! Run to the Polls! - New York Times

And now, the only poll that counts.

After months of being on the receiving end of countless television commercials, mailers and automated phone calls, voters in the New York region finally get their chance on Tuesday to tell a host of candidates for federal and state offices what they really think.

Most of the attention, locally, will focus on New York and Connecticut. Up for grabs are openings for the governor’s mansions in Albany and Hartford, as well as for two United States Senate seats in New York, and one in Connecticut. Every single seat in the House of Representatives is also being contested, in what political analysts say could be an early indicator of just how well Republicans will fare across the country.

Did your local polling place fare any better than during the primaries? Was it worse?

Political analysts caution that anything can happen, especially in a turbulent year dominated by anger and anxiety swirling around the economy. But here is what the electoral picture looks like as voters make their choices.

NEW YORK

Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat, is facing Carl P. Paladino, a Buffalo real estate developer who is a Republican, with most polls showing Mr. Cuomo as a clear favorite. Mr. Cuomo has run a cautious, centrist campaign, and has benefited by avoiding the kinds of high-profile gaffes and provocative statements that Mr. Paladino, who touts himself as a straight talker, has made.

But two other Democrats aiming for Albany — State Senator Eric T. Schneiderman, who is running for attorney general, and Thomas P. DiNapoli, who is hoping to parlay his appointment as state comptroller into an electoral victory  — are facing much tougher races, according to recent polls. Their Republican opponents, respectively, are Daniel M. Donovan Jr., the Staten Island district attorney, and Harry J. Wilson, a former financier.

New Yorkers will also be voting for United States senator, but the state’s two Democratic lawmakers are expected to prevail over their Republican rivals. Senator Charles E. Schumer, who could become the next majority leader, is facing Jay Townsend, and Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, who is running statewide for the first time, is facing former Representative Joseph J. DioGuardi.

Democrats are girding for difficult battles in several Congressional districts, thanks in no small part to donations of more than $1 million from outside nonprofit groups. The most hotly contested fights involve Representative Scott Murphy against Chris Gibson in the Saratoga Springs region; Representative John Hall against Nan Hayworth in the suburbs north of New York City; Representative Michael Arcuri against Richard Hanna in central New York; and Representative Bill Owens against Matt Doheny in the northernmost part of the state.

Also worth watching is whether the State Senate, now controlled by Democrats, reverts to Republican control. And in New York City, one issue that played a major subtext in last year’s mayoral contest  — term limits — will be up for a formal vote, even though it will literally be on the back of the ballot.

CONNECTICUT

In the United States Senate race between Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, the Democrat, and Linda E. McMahon, the Republican and a former pro wrestling executive, Mr. Blumenthal has never trailed in the polls, despite getting pummeled by more than $40 million worth of spending from Ms. McMahon.

The race to succeed the departing Gov. M. Jodi Rell between Dannel P. Malloy, a former mayor of Stamford who is a Democrat, and Thomas C. Foley, a wealthy businessman who is a Republican, has tightened in recent days. As a result, Mr. Malloy needs to do well in Democratic strongholds like Bridgeport and New Haven, or else he will join the long list of Democratic gubernatorial candidates who have lost since 1986.

Two young Democratic congressmen, viewed as rising stars after defeating two veteran moderate Republicans, are on the ropes against more conservative opponents this time. In the northwest, Representative Christopher S. Murphy, who ousted Nancy L. Johnson in 2006, is facing Sam S.F. Caligiuri, a state senator. And in the affluent southwest, Representative Jim Himes, who unseated Christopher Shays in 2008, is battling State Senator Dan Debicella.

NEW JERSEY

The most competitive Congressional race is in South Jersey, outside Philadelphia, where Representative John H. Adler, a freshman Democrat, is trying to fend off Jon Runyan, a political novice who is a former star of the Philadelphia Eagles football team. And though Mr. Runyan has stumbled (when asked during a recent debate to pick one recent Supreme Court decision with which he disagreed, he cited the Dred Scott decision from 1857), Mr. Adler has been hurt by reports that his campaign encouraged a faux Tea Party candidate to siphon votes away from Mr. Runyan.

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Democrats Claim Momentum as Polls Tighten in Key Races - Fox News

With nine days to go until the midterm election and the polls tightening in several key races, top Democratic Party leaders claimed Sunday that momentum is on their side and that the so-called "enthusiasm gap" is closing. 

Democrats said voters are beginning to wake up to the alleged damage Republicans would do to the country by wielding the controls of Congress -- a warning President Obama has sounded at campaign rallies across the country on behalf of Democratic candidates. 

"From this point forward, it's all about turnout and ground game, and we're seeing good early voting trends," Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine said Sunday on ABC's "This Week," predicting his party would hold the House. "The polling is moving. We really haven't seen since Labor Day polls moving against us. Almost all the polls have been moving for us. Now, we still have some work to do, but what Democrats tend to specialize in is the ground game, the turnout." 

The polling offers a more nuanced picture, and Republicans are expressing just as much confidence. In Washington state, Republican Dino Rossi has whittled away Democratic Sen. Patty Murray's lead in recent polls. In California, Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer watched her lead over Carly Fiorina shrink to 2 points in the latest survey out of Rasmussen. 

But Republicans have likewise watched their leads diminish in Senate races critical to their strategy for a congressional takeover. The shifting numbers underscore the unpredictability of a campaign season marked by the rise of outsider candidates, a groundswell in citizen activism and challenges to the establishment on both sides of the political aisle. 

In Pennsylvania, Republican Pat Toomey has traded the lead in recent polls with Democratic Rep. Joe Sestak, despite holding a strong advantage for weeks over his opponent. In Wisconsin, Republican businessman Ron Johnson's lead fell to the 2 points in his race against Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold, according to a St. Norbert College/Wisconsin Public Radio poll released last week. Polls show the Colorado Senate race between Democratic incumbent Michael Bennet and Tea Party-supported Ken Buck a dead heat. And polling in the West Virginia Senate race between Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin and Republican opponent John Raese has been all over the map. 

"It's a very competitive race," said Manchin, who has spent the campaign battling charges that he is too close to President Obama and Washington Democrats. He suggested on "Fox News Sunday" that voters are starting to trend toward him. 

"Now this last week, people are starting to look at who's performed in West Virginia," he said. 

Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said on CBS' "Face the Nation" that he's confident Democrats will retain a majority in Congress. 

"These big interests are fighting hard to get back in power and I think the American people are waking up to that fact and that's why I think you're seeing a closing of the political energy gap," he said. 

But while Obama and his top surrogates are touring the nations in support of Democrats, Republicans are driving up enthusiasm with rallies and cross-country tours of their own. They say the scattered races where Democrats are gaining steam are nothing to worry about and that a nationwide sentiment that resents the expansion of the federal government is on their side. 

"There is a vibration out here that is unlike anything I've ever seen before," Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "I think you're going to see a wave, an unprecedented wave on Election Day." 

Republicans need 39 seats to win a majority in the House of Representatives and 10 seats to win a majority in the U.S. Senate. Steele predicted Republicans would achieve both, though he described the Senate as a tougher climb. 

Toomey, in an interview with "Fox News Sunday," dismissed the tightening polls in his Pennsylvania Senate race. Toomey rocked the political scene in the Keystone State when his popularity in the Republican primary forced Sen. Arlen Specter to switch parties in order to run as a Democrat. Specter later lost to Sestak. 

Despite the sudden hiccup in Toomey's lead, the GOP nominee said he's confident he'll give Republicans a boost in their quest for 51 seats in the Senate. 

"I never expected this to be anything but a close and competitive race," Toomey said. "It's close now, but I feel great about where we are. ... I think the energy and the momentum's on our side." 

Click here for more Fox News "Days to Decide" coverage. 

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