The Times has used the results of an interactive survey on its website to create a story on Brit's spending habits, complete with the Times' first ever Google map showing the location of survey contributors.

The map was designed using Google Forms and Yahoo Pipes (discussed here by Howard Owens), with help from University of Central Lancashire journalism course leader Andy Dickinson.

Nearly 2500 people responded to the survey.  

"It doesn't have the statistical rigor of an opinion poll, but it's a snapshot of unfiltered opinion and anecdotal, said Tom Whitwell, the Communities Editor of the Times Online. "In the United States, many newspaper have taken the process further, using "crowd-sourcing" to research and write major news stories."

Source: journalism.co.uk