Ask.com Launches Mobile Polling App on the Eve of SXSW

Ask.com Launches Mobile Polling App on the Eve of SXSW

Ask.com, the search engine and Q&A community that has been around in some form since 1996, is launching a new mobile polling app for iOS called PollRoll today. The free app allows users to create quick polls and ask their friends and people nearby for their opinions. The release date, just ahead of the annual SXSW conference in Austin, is no coincidence. As Ask.com's CEO Doug Leeds notes, "SXSW is the perfect testing ground for us to play with mobile polling functionality, including filters like social connections and location, ultimately shaping how these features are integrated across both our flagship mobile app and site.”

PollRoll lets users create a number of different polls, including visual polls where users can attach pictures to their questions. Other features include the ability to filter responses and to leave and read comments about a poll. Users, of course, can also discover polls around them and Ask.com will curate some of the best polls itself. Creating a poll is as easy as writing down your question and a few answers.

SXSW is a tough market to launch any app (and some pundits would argue that it's the worst place to launch any product). PollRoll is a fun little tool, though, that could really benefit from having thousands of geeky users in one place.