We’ve had a wave of “am I emo” polls here on Polls Boutique lately. It started with a few users posting their pictures and asking “am I emo?” and turned into a full blitz of other users joining the trend and asking about their emoness (some, obviously not emo).

But that was just the beginning.

Soon enough, pollsb users felt they needed a clarification on what emo exactly is. Was Edward Scissorhands emo? and how about Siouxsie and the Banshees? Were they emo? asked pollsb user Bmccue7.

“What the heck is emo anyway?” asked Officeshrew and received a link to the wikipedia page on emo:

“a style of hardcore punk which describes several variations of music with common roots…Starting in the mid-1990s, the term emo began to refer to the indie scene that followed the influences of Fugazi, which itself was an offshoot of the first wave of emo… As the remaining indie emo bands entered the mainstream, newer bands began to emulate the mainstream style. As a result, the term “emo” became a vaguely defined identifier rather than a specific genre of music.”

And on emo fashion:

“Emo is also often associated with a certain fashion. The term “emo” is sometimes stereotyped with tight jeans on males and females alike, long fringe (bangs) brushed to one side of the face or over one or both eyes, dyed black, straight hair, tight t-shirts (sometimes short sleeved) which often bear the names of emo bands (or other designer shirts), studded belts, belt buckles, canvas sneakers or skate shoes or other black shoes (often old and beaten up) and thick, black horn-rimmed glasses.”

But emo is so much more than a music genre. And the people at pollsb wanted to explore the boundaries of the term. Was Adolf Hitler emo? asked Splotzie humorously posting a photoshopped photo of Hitler as an emo kid.

Am I emo? asked Bearden829 with an ‘emofied’ version of her buddy icon pic. What about cats? Can cats be emo? asked someone. And how about this dog? It looks pretty emo. Which of my cars is emo? asked car model enthusiast Bushlightfever.

Raging emo debates started on every one of those polls.Everyone told Bmccue7 he’s definitely more of a hippie than an emo, and almost everyone told Ultranerd he was more of a wannabe emo than a real one. Edward Scissorhands was definitely emo, everyone agreed, but Siouxsie wasn’t, since emo didn’t exist back then.

Now we can’t wait for someone to post the ultimate poll, mashing two of pollsb’s main obsessions into one:

Are the Jonas Brothers emo?

Post the poll, and you will certainly be linked from here.

Wow. Jonas Brothers fans have certainly taken a liking to polls boutique and are posting lots of Jonas bros. polls all over the place. Polls include the classics: Which Jonas Brother are you? poll, and favorite camp rock song, and even the interesting: “If the Jonas Brothers could only have one thing: good looks or good music, what would you want them to have?”

Check out all of our Jonas Brothers polls.

Putting up our personal pictures, videos and music online is nothing more than a way of asking: what do you think about my new outfit? should I cut my hair? Should I get this tattoo? I made this video, what do you think? and so on… More often than not, we need others’ opinions to keep ourselves in check, and be aware of other points of view. One of the best ways to getting an advice that will be truthful and honest, is trying to get the outsider’s opinions, people who don’t have any obligation to be nice, who have no intencives to embellish the truth: the crowd.

On polls boutique, asking questions like that is made easy. Just upload your pictures, your videos and audio, and enjoy instant feedback and answers from loads of people from all over the world. Instantly find out what people think about your new haircut, your tattoo, and your hair:

Since we’re all geeks here at Polls Boutique, nothing makes us happier than seeing our poll widget appear in two of the web’s best gaming blogs: PS3 Fanboy, and PSP Fanboy.

Here’s one of their polls referring to this post:

create a free poll on pollsb.com

Be sure to check them out. If you have a blog and are using our poll widget, let us know! We’ll be happy to feature your blog right here!

Using a Polls Boutique poll is a great way to get feedback from customers and people you work with. Just setup a poll and send it to your client and/or peer. You can also embed the poll on your company’s website or intranet. It’s a great way to get instant feedback on your service.

Here’s a good example of using a poll for instant feedback.

Here’s a great way to use photo polls: going to a party and not sure about that new dress? Wanna cut your hair but not sure if it’ll go well with the ladies? Need instant, non-biased answers to help you decide if you should start working on a weight loss program? Photo polls are the tool for you.

In just 5 seconds you can post a “how do I look?” poll on polls boutique and enjoy quick answers from people all over the world. Need your friends’ opinion on the matter? send the poll to your friends. Post the poll on your blog, or website.

create a free poll on pollsb.com

We’re seriously considering starting a new program that will turn a few prolific Polls Boutique users into our editorial team. Those selected will be emailed with news stories (in topics they’re interested in) and will be invited to post relevant polls.

As a first step, we’re interested to know which of you will be interested in joining such a program. We posted a poll about it.

create a free poll on pollsb.com

Here are some ideas on how to get more votes for your polls:

• Vote and comment on other people’s polls and profile pages

Even the golden rule of “do unto others as you want others to do unto you” applies to polls. Taking interest in others polls and profiles will have them do the same for you next time you put up a poll. Plus the more you vote the more your icon will appear on our homepage, so more people will notice you and click on your pretty face.

• Add people as pollsters

When you add other users as pollsters, you’ll get their polls in your pollsters feed (right under your profile name). Since people tend to reciprocate, the more pollsters added, the more will add you, and will see your polls in their feed. They’ll vote on your polls. Just don’t forget to return the favor.

• Send poll to your friends through email or IM

A great way to get some extra votes on our poll is to get your friends to check out and vote on the poll you just posted. All you have to do is click on the “send to a friend” button at the bottom of the poll, or get the URL from the “share” option and paste it in an email message. If in dire need, send a link to your mom. That’s a sure vote.

• Post poll link in relevant message boards, communities, and social networks

Addicted to Facebook? or Myspace? Well, posting your poll’s link in your profile or status update can get you those beautiful votes. Even posting a link on a forum you often write on can get people interested and voting.

• Use the poll widget to place poll on your blog

If you have a website or a blog, why don’t you just post the poll on it? All you have to do is click on the share button at the bottom of the poll, then customize the poll to match your blog, and grab the embed code to paste it in your site.

A Yelp reviewer got a life threatening phone call from a restaurant owner. A poll helps the scared customer decide what to do next.

From Reem Abeidoh’s blog:

“her review discussed everything she witnessed and heard in the restaurant. During her visit, Onstott disclosed to her that he funded his establishment using money obtained from illegal activities. An even worse observance was when a police officer came to the restaurant to serve Onslott with a warrant. The Yelp User also mentioned the sub par service and food in her review. After a quick search, it was evident that this isn’t the first time Onslott and Beso have received negative reviews. Once Onstott discovered the review, he contacted the Yelper. He threatened to harm her and file a lawsuit if she did not immediately remove her review… Within a few hours of the poll being posted on pollsb.com, there were 219 views and 53 votes.”

create a free poll on pollsb.com

The social poll is a drastically different concept than that of the traditional opinion poll.

While both the social poll and the opinion poll try to generate or predict, a result from a controlled, specific target group, the social poll is so much more than a result shown in percentages, or a predicted outcome of an election.

The social poll is about the social interaction that can flourish around polls, around questions and answers, the building blocks of dialogue. It’s about the interaction that people instinctively create when they’re faced with questions and are voicing their opinions.

The social poll isn’t just about the bottom line. It’s also about individuals and their opinions. It’s the capability to show both the macro and the micro of a question, the individual opinion within the mass.

At Polls Boutique, we try and embrace this social interaction: on polls, on results, on a specific person’s opinion. We put it at the top of our priorities. And while we do give our users the chance to generate interesting opinion polls and results, we also get excited about each individual choice and comment, as they complicate the picture and generate something better than just a result.