The Stanford iPhone class released some great apps and finally got a little love from TechCrunch. One app I have been using frequently is HaveASec.

Developed by Nafis Jamal, Paul Wilson and Andrew He, HaveASec is perfect for collecting mobile surveys and polls even if your participants don't have an iPhone. Unfortunately, we are inundated with spam and it's often difficult to collect useful feedback with traditional tools like SurveyMonkey. One persuasive technique that's been effective for me is sending a short URL via text message. The personal nature of the phone and mobile optimized interface makes it easy to rapidly collect data with HaveASec.

As a researcher interested in contextual sensing, HaveASec is also useful for catching people in action. If you're an app developer you can embed a survey directly within your application and get the rich comments you can't possibly infer from just clickstream metrics. I can also see how health organizations or even restaurants can ask a few non-obtrusive questions to improve their service. I am much more likely to respond to a survey while I'm waiting in line than fill out some piece of paper weeks later. Try making a survey online or directly from your iPhone and let us know what you think in the comments below.

Go directly to HaveAsec in the iTunes App Store here or check out their web page where you can create a survey now.

--Enrique Allen