Last week we published the results of our Best & Worst Online Companies poll, which surveyed more than 1,000 participants on which online companies they love and which they hate. Our initial results declared Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) as the winner and ultimate champion in the most hated category, with a 30 percent plurality. However, things have since changed.
While Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) still reigns as the most adored company, Apple has slipped from its much coveted (by none) stance as the most hated, sacrificing its first-place status for the good of its archrival Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT). At present, the most hated poll, taken by 1,625 participants (which is approximately 600 more participants than were present for the original tally), ranks Microsoft as the first-place winner with 31 percent of the vote, and Apple as second, at 26 percent.
This table turning should come as no surprise to anyone who tuned into the madness that unfolded on the boards after we shared our results with the good, understanding, open-minded people of the Internet last week. To briefly recap, Apple defenders from Everywhere Town came out of the woodworks, donning their virtual brass knuckles, to lace the boards with criticisms and deem our survey fraudulent nonsense.
Now, I can't say for certain, but my power of speculation allows me to suggest the following: Considering our results remained consistent for the greater portion of the polling, and an additional 600 pollsters spontaneously popped up just after we published our initial results, could it be that our survey was maaayyybe, possibly manipulated by some Apple lovers who couldn't bear to see their precious software/hardware/life provider endure a mere moment of criticism?
Is it possible that these numbers are as
bogus as Florida Election returns? Might there be Chicago-style votor
fraud? Is it possible that these numbers are bogus? Is it possible
that I just voted 10 times to change the most 'hated' company to Microsoft?
Yes, Yes, Yes and Yes.....
Ah. Throwing a fit and tampering with poll results. That'll get your precious company its love points for sure...
You raise a good point - this is more a gauge of the voters than an objective measure of the companies. The market is the best objective measure we have of running a successful business (at least for public companies- Jim Goodknight and SAS Institute run a very successful company - but that kind of comparison is way too much for a Forum post).
So - taking a market based approach, then I would suggest the following question - who's stock do you love and who's stock do you hate ?
With flat revenues and a real competitive threat in a merged MSFT/YAHOO - I don't like GOOG at $500 - I may not like them at $250. If I had chestnuts hairy enough and more liquidity, I might take the 1 year short position based on a year of flat or declining revenue from the GOOG. When the stock starts to drop - the outpouring of hate will be dramatic. Everyone loves a winner right ?
Compared with MSFT's recent quarter - with solid and regular growth across all lines, including Business software and Personal software - I wouldn't be betting against MSFT.
The idea that the world public would hate the most successful companies just because they are successful. That is really brilliant.
Because Microsoft releases software before it is completely teflon makes them not a real business. What is their marketshare? I understand that it may be shifting, even significantly, but nonetheless they are not likely to go out of business even if they are "hated" by some people who took a poll.
To hate Apple because of the way they have chosen to pursue their place in the market? This premise is stupid as well. The iPhone? iPod? airbook? all tremendous products with a loyal following.
To hate google because they have a successful revenue model. Come on. Anyone with a business mind would love to have the revenue model that google has. Cha-Ching!
Perhaps a poll asking who is the most hated company is asking the wrong questions in the first place.
Google is the most loved company on the internet ? What is with the Google fanboyism ?
Last time I checked:
They are the ones who make annoying landing pages with no content - just ads - profitable.
They are the ones who increase the noise portion of the internet's signal to noise ratio to ridiculous levels.
There are the ones who doubled the weight of pages with useless PPC ads - using bandwidth we all pay for.
They are the ones who routinely crush content producers everytime they shuffle page rank to boost an ally and screw a competitor.
They are the ones corrupting the net neutrality debate - because they know that the weakness in their model is that the ISPs have a direct relationship with the User - so Google wants to neuter those ISPs so that they can't block google's ad traffic and sell their own ISP spot based advertising.
They are the ones who make the Rumsfeldian claim that - when it comes to Pay Per Click fraud - "We can't tell you how we fight click fraud, because then the fraudsters will win". Doesn't Google get paid when the fraud happens too ?
And anyway - do we know that Google's search results are actually valid ? I mean - how is that even verifiable ?
I love IE, but I don't think that somebody makes really big deal of that poll.I mean, yes,it's interesting and it doesn't mean anything.Apple has really agressive marketing strategy now and it's obvious that people who can read between the lines might not like Apple.But such people are not a majority,and in my country, to hate Microsoft is almost "must-do-thing" among programmers. You know, "Microsoft sucks,Linux rulezzzz", all that stuff. So, I think, more people participate in the poll, more Microsoft haters will be.But...
try to make this poll in 2 years, and then, will see:)))
Thanks for the update on the Apple fiasco which produces my second greatest internet evolution laughter just behind 'Politico abusing social networks". It was only a couple of days ago that i realised the you were having a tough and interesting debate on the poll results. I could not add a thing to the discussion because it sesms all the misconceptions and misunderstanding and the defences have been covered in the discussion.
But Bravo to the Apple guys for putting up a brave fight even though as you suggested some "floridasical" manouvres may have done them the trick. But at least it shows how caring people are and that they can go the extra mile albeit in this case unfairly to show it. Any way i happen to be one of the people who voted twice( no fault of mine and before the results were out) but Apple did not still benefit from my extra vote.
Bravo for a great and entertaining post!!! Please make sure in the future all polls closed as soon the results are out. I do still believe scientifically and statistically that the first reslt should still hold!!!!
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