I participated in a political focus group last night, which was a first for me. I was part of a group of about twelve people. The moderator asked a series of questions about what was important to us politically. Then we were quizzed on the efficacy of different types of advertising, from traditional print ads and mailers to banner and flash ads. Just about everyone said they put mailed brochures directly into the recycling, which was pretty funny and the moderator swore was at odds with their data on the topic. Later we were shown some different ads and asked to comment. At one point we were asked if we had ever been to a candidate’s website. I said no and the moderator asked why. I said, “I’m interested in the truth about the candidates and I think their websites are not the place to find it.” The whole thing took about two hours and they paid me $75 for participating. It was actually interesting to interact with a bunch of Seattleites I didn’t know and talk politics. Something a little different and I’m paid for my trouble? Sign me up for that again.