Opinion Panel

The Story of this Site

Ben Marks, Managing Director, OpinionPanel

I’ve always known The OpinionPanel Community is one of the most talented online communities in the UK – maybe even in the world! From talking to panellists, I know how bright, creative and connected they are. And their influence spreads far and wide.

In June 2011, we set about creating a new Community website. Somewhere that offered a place to log-in and check points or update profiles. But more importantly a place where our members could showcase their ideas and opinions; where we could show our panellists how we were using the results of the surveys they took part in. Somewhere everyone had an opportunity to comment, contribute and have a voice.

The result is this website – a space that’s built and run by young people, students and recent graduates for young people, students and recent graduates. We worked with a talented design student, Aimee Basson on initial website designs. The development team was built by members of The Graduate Panel. And Jon Finka, our talented Community Manager, joined YouthSight as an intern in May 2011. He now works here full time, editing articles and liasing with panellists and building up the site. And of course, the site includes hundreds of articles and thousands of comments from our Community members.

At every level, the site has been shaped by the expertise and talent of young people, students and graduates. And we further our commitment to supporting young talent and innovation by running the OpinionPanel Journalism Scholarship – a gift of £1000 to the most creative journalism student at the world famous City University Department of Journalism.

We’ve always valued the feedback of our members – we trust and respect their opinion in all kinds of ways. In fact we’ve built a business on it! So if you’ve got an opinion and would like to share it, or you would like to get involved with a regular blog, or you even want to be editor, just drop us a line! Remember, Your Opinion Counts!