Surveys, Web Development

2016 PHB Readers’ Survey Analysis – Part 1

Ultimate iPad Expert

UPDATE: If you’re looking for Part 2 of the 2016 survey analysis, click here!

Heyyo Poptropicans, it’s Ultimate iPad Expert here with the 2016 PHB Readers’ Survey results and analysis!

2016PHBReadersSurveyAnalysisPart1

I really apologize for the wait. I know I said I was going to have them out on the 26th, but there was so much to go through.

Over the course of one week, we received 278 responses from people all over the world. And that is why it took so long. I had to go individually through each question counting up the answers and making them into charts, which you’ll see under each question. Similarly, I read through each one of the answers for the final two questions, but I’ll be answering/replying to my favorite ones in a separate post, so a “Part 2” will be coming!

Let me explain the second part. I spent hours working on gathering the survey questions, making the charts, adding commentary in this post, etc. But, I’m still not done with the final two questions of the survey, which are the fill-in ones. And since I wanted to at least get some of it out to you guys, this part will contain all of the other 15 questions. I feel like this post is super long, as it is, so you’ll get a pretty engaging post.

Before I begin, let me explain a really cool feature with these charts. I made them on Google Sheets, which allows me to add the charts and graphs here onto the blog and keep them interactive! 😀 You can hover over different sections (such as slices in the pie charts) to view things about each individual section. Like, how many people chose that option, and its percentage in the whole question. There are also two cool interactive maps, which I’ll explain more when we get to them.

Did you participate in the 2014 Survey?

This question is quite straight forward, but back in 2014, the PHB conducted a similar survey and I was quite curious about the correlation between people taking this survey and that one.

Only 18.5% of the people that took this survey took the one back in 2014, which to me is very interesting. It seems to imply that the majority of users that took this survey came after that survey, in (mostly) 2015. Quite interesting, but let’s move on.

What is your gender?

Another straightforward question, and we have the numbers from the 2014 survey to compare with. You can see above that out of the people taking this survey only about one-third are males, while the majority are females at about two-thirds.

Compared to 2014, the male/female ratio is fairly similar. In 2014, females were still on top, but with about 60% to the males’ just about 40%. It hasn’t really changed much, but it seems the female fanbase is holding and increasing its lead.

Also, this question was open to an “Other” option. This left it open for some chuckle-worthy additions. Some of which include: “Time Lord,” “Leaf,” “Alien,” “Crocodile” (four times), and (my favorite) “Poptropican.”

What is your age?

Let’s move to a new question, with much more divided results. For this question, we asked what age group the participants taking the survey were in. Poptropica’s target demographic is the 6-15 age range, as shown in their account creation process. Commenters of the PHB have tended to lean towards the older section of that demographic, which definitely holds true in the results for this question.

It seems not much has changed since 2014. 12 to 14 is not only still the front-running age group, but it has the same percentage both times at 46%. The 15 to 17 group is also standing its ground, at virtual the same percentage point. It was at 15% in 2014, and is only a little larger at 15.5% now. The younger group of 9 to 11 is now at 30%, 5% down from 2014. These percentage points seem to have been stolen by the 6 to 8 group (which had none in 2014) and the older groups of 18 to 21 and 22 or older (which had a combined 4% in 2014, and is now at a combined 6.2%).

Quite interesting to see that our majority groups have stayed the same, but the younger and older have grown in size in just two years.

What country do you live in?

Now here’s quite an interesting one. This (and the next) question have special charts, although it’s more of an interactive map. You can hover over any country to view the number of people that took the survey from that country.

The more survey participants in that country, the darker the shade of red it appears on this map. Similarly, the lighter the red, the fewer survey participants there are in that country. And if the country shows as gray, then no participants were from that country.

The United States is clearly the leading country of survey participants, so I’ve created the map below, without the US, for comparison of the other countries.

In order to discuss the “data” (I sound so techincal), I’ve created a pie chart, since it’s easier to see the comparison between countries. The first includes the US, the second does not.

The United States dominates with a whopping 71.5%, but we’ll get more into that in the next question.

Aside from the United States’ big lead, though, all of the other participants are quite split. The majority (w/o the US) is Canada with (once again w/o the US) 22.5% of participants. Next largest would be our readers down under, in Australia with half of Canada’s percentage, 11.3%. The next four that follow are New Zealand at 8.5%, India and The Philippines both at 7%, and Hong Kong at 4.2%. All of those make total sense, since the PHB is written in English. Historically speaking, all of those countries (and the US) have a huge British or American influence and so much of their populations speak English.

I find many of the smaller ones interesting, as well, though. Just looking at the map, we’ve got readers all over, which is really cool! 😀

If you live in the US, which state or territory do you live in?

Just like the last question, we’re asking about location. Out of the 178 people who said they were from the US, what states were they from?

It seems like most everyone is pretty spread out. The more populous states (California, Texas, New York, Florida, etc.) seem to be the ones with more participants. Also, there are 7 participants from Massachusetts, so perhaps we had a Creator taking the survey? That’d be super cool.

So, yeh. This results for this question are quite straight forward. The more populous states have more participants.

When did you first find Poptropica?

Now let’s move along to the Poptropica-related question. The first of these is fittingly “When did you first find Poptropica?”

From the charts, we can see that 2010 seems to be the most popular year, with 2011 (my first year) not too far behind. For the most part, certain year sections have about the same numbers. 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2011 are all at just about 12.5%. Also, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 are all at just about 7.9%.

So, yeh. Most people are pretty much split when it comes to their first year on Poptropica.

How often do you play Poptropica?

It seems that most people play Poptropica only a few times a week, since it sits at 18.8%. This is interesting in comparison to 2014, when “a few times a week” was tied (with “about once or twice a day”) for the top spot at 27.6%.

Even including the winning choice, the survey participants are pretty split between all of the options. It seems, however, that most people play Poptropica more than once a week, which definitely makes sense for our community of Poptropica-enthusiasts!

Are you a member on Poptropica?

The age-old Poptropica dilemma. To have membership or not to have membership, that is the question. Well, it seems the huge majority of participants do not currently have membership. All three ‘no’ answers combine for a huge 81.1% of the total. The huge majority of that section is the “I never have” section which takes 57.8% of participants.

I do have to say, though, that even though Poptropica is a free game for the most part, I expected the “Yes” section to have more than 18.9%. Maybe this means people would appreciate membership giveaways more often.

When did you first find the PHB?

Now onto the PHB section of questions! This first one’s results are quite interesting. If you look at the bar chart, you can see that it seems to be continuously increasing as each year goes by.

Frankly, just looking at trajectory, 2016 will likely end up higher than 2015. I’m figuring that our fanbase is growing each year. Super cool! I showed this chart to Slanted Fish, and she mentioned that it’s probably also a possibility that people in past years may have left by now. Either way, it’s quite an interesting result.

How did you find the PHB?

We just went over when you guys found the PHB, but now for the details on how. I don’t find the top answer (searching the web) surprising, considering that’s how I found the PHB in the first place.

But, I do have to say that I was not expecting that to be such an overwhelmingly large section. Searching the web dominates all answers with a huge 82.1%. Surprisingly enough, though, in 2014 83.9% of participants chose that answer.

How often do you visit the PHB?

Another fairly linear result set, which is quite interesting. The largest group, making up 18.3%, checks the PHB several times a day. It seems that, for the most part, most visitors check the PHB pretty often.

In comparison to 2014, most of the numbers have stayed about the same. They are more spread out this time over, but that’s because we added more options, splitting the choice.

It seems, also, that the participants check the PHB more often than they play Poptropica. Thank you guys! 😛

What types of blog posts do you read frequently?

This is the first question in which participants could choose multiple options, so the quite split answers make sense. News posts make up the largest group, with 168 participants choosing it, and Blog Updates are fairly close behind with 144 participants choosing it.

The two lowest sections were both write-in sections, None at 8 participants and The Missing Link at 2. Also, may I just add how awesome it is to see that 104 participants say they frequently browse my series PMFM. Super glad you like the series! 😀

How likely is it that you would recommend the PHB to a friend or colleague?

It seems the participants have rated us pretty highly, because most would recommend us to a friend. Just about 36% of survey participants would highly as possible (10) recommend us to a friend, and the next two answers are also fairly high, 8 and 7.

Also, the most chosen lower numbers are 5 and 0. Well, we appreciated your honesty. 😛

Now for a comparison with 2014. In 2014, participants who voted 0-6 made up 23%. This time, the same group makes up a combined 28.6%. The 7-8 group also grew slightly from 25% to a combined 26.3%. The highest rated section (9-10) has slightly decreased percentage-wise 52% to a combined 45%, but it’s still the largest group by far.

What portions of the PHB/PHN do you regularly browse?

Similar to the frequent blog posts question, for this question, participants could choose multiple answers. The most popular was island walkthroughs (183 people chose it) which definitely makes sense considering our view numbers for those guides. The second most popular is news & sneak peeks which was chosen by 152 participants. The third is the last of our PHB page groups, the “Cool Stuff” pages, which 121 participants chose.

The rest of the options fall more or less around 50%. The highest of these is the Poptropica Wiki! Many of you know I came from the Wiki, so that’s really cool to see.

What other Poptropica blogs or Poptropica-related sties do you frequently visit?

Once again, this question allowed the participants to check as many as they liked. The mostly popular non-PHB site among participants is the Creators’ Blog, gaining 134 participants’ choosing. Popular YouTube gamer, Thinknoodles, is not too far behind gaining the support of 109 survey participants.The third is an interesting one: 73 participants said that the PHB is the only Poptropica-related site they view.

Most of the other options range from 19 to 50 participants, but the highest of these is the site Poptropica Secrets, which 50 participants chose. The final three choices were all write-ins from the Other section.

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Congratulations if you made it through this post! 😀 I hope you enjoyed the results and analysis. I was really intrigued by everything, and I’m excited to share Part 2 with you, when I complete it. Be sure to look out this week for Part 2, because just from the stuff I’ve done, it’s pretty interesting.

UPDATE: Part 2 is now released, click here to check it out!

In case you are curious, we’re planning to do this survey yearly from now on, so look out next January for the 2017 survey.

What do you think about the results? Are you going to tune in for Part 2? Comment below.

• Utlimate iPad Expert •

Published by Ultimate iPad Expert

Hello, I'm Paul, known on the interwebs as Ultimate iPad Expert (UiPE for short). I'm a big film geek, being a big fan of many franchises including Pixar, Disney, Animation, Gravity Falls, Star Wars, Marvel and so many more. I've been on Poptropica since 2011, being the head of the Poptropica Wiki (http://poptropica.gamepedia.com) and now an author on the biggest fan site for the game, the Poptropica Help Blog! Apart from fanbases, I love filmmaking and geography and hope to do something in the film world eventually.

91 thoughts on “2016 PHB Readers’ Survey Analysis – Part 1”

  1. Nice work,UIPE
    I really enjoyed reading the survey analysis,it was interesting.
    Can’t wait for part 2!:p

    Reply

    2. It’s an honor to have the Poptropica Creators leave a comment here, and we hope it continues! As always, thanks for being so invested in the Poptropica community. 😀

      Reply

      5. I was actually born in MD, lived in Fredrick for about 5 years of my life. Then I lived in Tallahassee, FL for about 8.
        This has been the first issue of “Where Has Paul Lived?”

      10. That would be cool, but we already bought our house, like last week, so it’s not for sale anymore. I’m probably not your neighbor. NOOO!!! 😭

      15. Well, I actually looked it up, Richmond is more like just 2 hours, so if you’re 30 mins in the correct direction that puts a difference of 1 1/2 hours.
        Yeh, but it would have been such a coincidence if you moved in right near me. 😀 That would’ve been really strange. 😛

      16. Well, Paul, here’s the first, and probably only issue of “Where Has Sophia Lived”
        I was born in PA, and I’ve been living here my entire life. I am moving to VA Summer 2016.
        The end.
        Yes, my real name is Sophia, but you can call me Sophie. However, I prefer Tall Cactus. 😂

      18. All these name reveals. 😛
        It’s cool, too, cause one of my other friends here in the Pop community is Emily, as well. You may know her as Ylimegirl, she’s a huge help on the Wiki and is working on Orb Legend.

  7. This must have been a really tedious process, thanks for having the time and passion to do this! The creators even left a comment. That’s PHB history!

    Reply

    1. I know, right? Well, actually this maybe wasn’t the first time a Creator commented on the PHB. I’m pretty sure Binary Bard commented a few weeks ago. However, I’m not sure if he’s the Creator Binary Bard or some other guy. Still, I’m very happy that the Creators are starting to notice the community!

      Reply

      1. Well, I think the creators have always noticed the community- but, don’t interact on fan blogs as much. Though, they interact on Twitter quite a bit. 😀

      6. Yeh, it was pretty fun. I spoke in the livestream, for like two sentences, then came back later to do a Dr. Doofenshmirtz impression. 😛
        We may do it this year, too, so maybe you’ll get to this next time. 😀

      8. Yup. 😛 Hehe, I’ll just use my time machine to go back in time and tell past you. You can still check out the live stream, if you want. It should be on one of the posts.
        Yeh.

      10. Yeh, it is possible that was the actual Binary Bard, but ya never know. Could be a fake, either way, I’m pretty sure it’s real this time. 😀
        I love how the Creators are getting more involved in the community. It’s super awesome!

    2. Thanks. It was quite tedious, although I’m having fun seeing the results and reading through all the comments (both from the survey and on this post).
      Super cool that the Creators commented! Jeff Heim commented back last summer, but it’s awesome to have a Creators, as well. Definitely PHB history.

      Reply

  10. OVER 200 RESPONSES THAT’S SO MANY AND I’M SO HAPPY FOR YOU ❤ ❤ 😀 :')

    Also I can't see the graphs from the computer I'm on but were there any others from Singapore? xD

    Reply

    1. It’s literally one huge fetch quest. 😂 But I have to say, the art style is nice and some of the characters have really cool outfits. Plus, the map is like the map in MotM Island. You can transport where ever you want to.

      Reply

      2. Yeah, but I mean the ENTIRE QUEST was a fetch quest. Literally, there was like no story to it. It was pretty easy, too. But man, those islands may be easy, but they are LONG. I only got 2 scenes out of 8 or 10 done before I quit.

      4. Now that I’m thinking about, you’re actually right. The makers of the game probably tried to make an interesting story, but realized it would be too hard for children learning English to understand. Now, I never have had to learn English as a second language, but at my middle school we have to take a foreign language class every other day. I chose to do French, and it’s been very hard for me to understand and learn. So, yeah.

        Also, I’ve never played Forgotten Islands, so I learned something new today:) I was going to play it, but if it’s just a fetch quest with no excuse, than I’m never trying it. Oh, and not to be rude or anything to the creators of that game, but the graphics look absolutely TERRIBLE. At least ODI has a really cool art style.

      5. Good luck with the French! It should be easier than Mandarin, which is what I had to learn. 😛 Forgotten Islands might be fine for younger players, but really isn’t too impressive otherwise, which is a bit of a disappointment. Its graphics are borrowed from Poptropica, yet somehow it doesn’t feel quite the same.

    3. Well, I’m going to stop playing ODI. It’s really long and boring, no plot line, at least for Movie Studio Island. I don’t know about the others. But, I forgot to write down this kid’s username/password. Whatever. I won’t miss this game.

      Reply

      2. I sure was… I kind of wish I could check out the other islands, they seem better, and may even have a plot. But, I got stuck on the island the random kid was on.

      1. Yup. I actually tried making my own account and guessing the access code. That didn’t work, so I was forced to try to guess random passwords. It wasn’t that hard. They literally give you hints to the password, and some of them actually say the exact password. 0_0 I actually got on like 5 other accounts, but they were all expired. That site really needs to fix their security system! 😂

    5. I’ve only managed to play one Our Discovery Island quest, which was Future Island. Someone over at the PoptropicaHelpChat late one night let me borrow an account that they guessed the information for. I took screenshots of all the item cards over the course of the quest and compiled them onto one convenient picture, which I call Item Collages, before unintentionally getting locked out part way through. Not sure if links work here, but here it is for anyone viewing this: http://prntscr.com/9yw1hw . Oddly enough, the card designs look similar to the Advertisement Item Cards in Poptropica still used today.
      I wish I could play some of the other Our Discovery Island quests, but I have had no luck in guessing others’ account information with active access. Since some of the accounts are a few years old by now, their access have long since expired.

      Reply

  12. Such an interesting thing to read… I love pie charts (not just for the name), so this post immediately drew my eye :).

    Reply

    1. Thanks, glad you enjoyed it.
      Part 1 is probably more interesting to you guys, but I enjoy part 2 more because of all the kind comments from everyone. 😛 All up to opinion, frankly.
      Yeh, there’s a good amount of New Yorkers on the PHB.

      Reply

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