It’s not often that I’m approached by someone I have no connection with about appearing as a guest on Conversations. And, in a crazy left turn you didn’t see coming, that was not the case for this episode.
But I was approached by this week’s guest, Ben Tolchinsky, about assisting with his passion project, The SportsPulse Poll app. As a general rule, my preference is not to do anything that might compromise the user experience of my website or podcast (thus no advertisements) or feel a sense of obligation to someone or something.
That said, I did extend an invitation to Ben to appear as a guest to speak about his life as a sports fan growing up in the greater Cleveland area and also share with Conversations’ listeners about what The SportsPulse Poll is all about. He kindly agreed, and I’m delighted that he did.
Ben’s spent the majority of his professional life in the market research field and has worked with some major corporations along the way. Like many of us, I suspect, he’s grown tired of the “hot take” concept in the sports fan world that seems to require elevated voices, finger-pointing, and creating conflict. As he tells me in this Conversation, he was looking for something that cut through the noise and allowed fans without loud voices – or the platform – to provide their input dispassionately.
He equated it to me sharing stories from sports fans via this podcast. He’s attempting to share stories from sports fans through their collective data.
The concept is straightforward: Download the app via Google Play or the App Store, use the code “PULSE,” answer a few demographic questions, and some static poll questions to get started. Users earn 10 cents per response for participating, and once their balance reaches $5, it can be redeemed for various gift cards. Alternatively, if you’d like to earn 50 cents and put 50 cents in my account, you can use code “2TXFAKQV,” and after completing four polls, an extra 50 cents will appear in both of our accounts.
Ultimately, results will appear on The SportsPulse Poll X/Twitter handle, but, as Ben himself noted, this is not his full-time job (yet;-) and he’s still working out some kinks but hopes to hit his (and the Poll’s) stride by the time the busy fall North American athletic season is in full swing come early September.
In addition to the basics, Ben also shares what the dream scenario would be for him and The SportsPulse Poll. I hope you enjoy getting to know Ben and his unique way of telling sports fans’ stories.