Are Nielsen ratings accurate at all?

How would you improve Nielsen ratings?

• Many people accuse  Nielsen ratings of being inaccurate, and not including all of the information to truly gauge the popularity of a show.  Though to be fair, advertisers generally won't pay for DVR viewings that don't happen the same day as broadcast, and with regard to online streaming, more than likely, the ads played n those streams are not the same as the ads played on TV.

• Answer:

  I was a "Neilsen household" a few months ago, and it floored me that they were still collecting viewing data via paper mail-in forms!  I understand they collect data by other means as well, but the fact that the paper form method is still in use confuses me. With technology today, one should be able to come up with a system that accurately and anonymously collects ALL viewing data from cable providers and online video providers.  Then all Nielsen would have to is for proper incentive (like they do today) is obtain a link/key from viewers that allows Neilsen to then immediately and electronically link the demographics of certain households for a more granular understanding of viewing habits.