Last night, as the Giants were pulling off one of the greatest upsets in Super Bowl history, graduate students from Northwestern University were using a new technology via various devices and locations on the web, including the iPhone, to poll thousands of fans’ responses to advertisements.

Following each quarter, the students’ website compiled feedback from users concerning the success of individual ads: how much people liked them, and whether or not they would influence future purchasing decisions. Fans participated in the polling through several means; including, Facebook (via the PickMe application launched earlier this year), the iPhone and other Internet enabled mobile devices, as well as the students’ website.

The technology used to accomplish this collective effort, MIMIEO, is a social networking platform created by several Northwestern graduate students in the Master of Science in Information Technology (MSIT) program. MIMIEO provides open and real-time access to consumer polls.

For more, check out iPhone Alley’s recent post.