Yesterday I got a letter from Nielsen (see screen capture), which bills itself as a “global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, shaping the future of media.” My household has been invited to take part in the Nielsen Media Ratings. The letter was dated April 1, but that was likely a coincidence and not a prank. As an encouragement to participate, Nielsen enclosed a $5 gift with a promise of additional cash gifts in the future.
The mailing from Nielsen included a brochure that explains their program and stresses that my privacy is important and will be safeguarded. The cover letter says that too.
The brochure also says that I was specially chosen and that participating is important because of the opportunity it provides to represent my community in the ratings. Trust me, that’s the last thing my community needs. More on that later.
The $5 thank-you reward was an actual $5 bill, not a gift card or a check. And I thought you weren’t supposed to send cash in the mail? Had I followed by Texas brother’s rule of never opening an unsolicited piece of mail, I would have missed out.
Since I don’t plan to sign up with Nielsen, I will pass on the $5 to the next homeless person I see. I did check on how much the additional cash gifts might add up to, should I decide to participate. According to Microsoft Copilot, the compensation is modest, around $5 month. (If that sounds tempting, there are several ways to be involved with Nielsen, so visit their website for more information.) Still, I wasn’t aware that Nielsen sent out cash to get its ratings data. That seems wrong to me, but information isn’t free.
Years ago, my sister in California was a Nielsen household. I don’t know if she was compensated. My sister was conscientious about almost everything except filling out the Nielsen “diary” each day. That means she often reconstructed her entries from memory. She also sometimes wrote down what she should (her opinion) have been watching instead of what she did watch. I don’t know who pulled the plug on their relationship. Perhaps the breakup was mutual.
Back to why I would be a bad choice as a Nielsen household. I only get a few basic cable channels from Xfinity so almost every channel is unavailable for my viewing. I do some streaming with a ROKU, but don’t pay for any premium services. Other than the local news, I don’t watch anything with advertising. Thus, the rest of my viewing is limited to two C-Span stations, TVW, and PBS. I realize that Nielsen (or its ratings customers) would like to know that, but that’s not the real reason for ratings. They exist to help sell advertising. “Free” TV is great and works for many people. I just don’t want to be part of it. Because of that, I might end up doing an even less reliable job than my sister did.
I should try to explain that to the research associate who follows up on the generous $5 gift Nielsen sent me. Or let the call(s) go to voicemail.
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