Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Google > Apple in poll of Americans.

Via CNET, an ABC/Langer poll of 1007 Americans, shows that Americans view Google, Apple, Facebook and Twitter favorably by 82% / 74% / 58% / 34% respectively.

But here's where things rapidly go askew (and become interesting).  A subgroup of Americans, under 30 years old, heavily favors Google over Apple, 92% to 81%.  When broken down further, Google leads Apple by 34 percentage points in the "strongly favorable" category.  That's an 18 percentage point disparity from the general group.

This divergence is interesting, considering how Apple is portrayed in the media (by news reports, blogs, advertising) as the company that produces young and hip products that are easy to use (iPhones, iPads, iMacs, etc), while Google is portrayed as a company that produces reliable, useful tools (search, browser, online advertising, mobile operating systems, a browser, etc.)

As the under-30 crowd grows up, will their tastes change, or will their preferences dictate the direction of outcomes for these companies?  In other words, will Apple's value decline while Google's fortunes rise?

I might have to place a stock bet.

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