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Google more popular than Apple, Facebook, Twitter

Google has been voted the most popular technology brand in a recent poll. Apple took silver, Facebook got bronze, and Twitter didn't get a medal. Do you agree with the results?
Written by Emil Protalinski, Contributor

Google is king of tech brands. 82 percent of Americans express a favorable opinion of Google overall, and 53 percent, express a "strongly" favorable opinion of the world's leading search engine. Meanwhile, 74 percent see Apple favorably and 37 percent are strong devotees. In the social networking space, 58 percent of Americans express an overall favorable opinion of Facebook and 34 percent do the same for Twitter.

The data comes from a poll sponsored by ABC News and Washington Post, but executed by Langer Research. The survey was conducted between March 28 and April 1, 2012, by calling a random national sample of 1,007 adults. Results have a margin of sampling error of 3.5 points.

As you can see in the chart above, just 10 percent of Americans haven't formed a basic opinion of Google (and 29 percent of seniors), while 14 percent have no opinion of Apple and Facebook alike. Twitter is less well known, with 31 percent unready to express an opinion of it, or 51 percent of seniors.

Favorability of Google and Apple peaks among people with household incomes of $100,000 or more; 93 and 91 percent express favorable opinions, respectively. Among those under age 30, Google maintains 92 percent favorability, while Apple is at 81 percent. Both are more popular among college graduates (88 and 84 percent) than the other two (a still-impressive 79 and 70 percent). Google is viewed "strongly" favorably by 66 percent of the more affluent, Apple by 60 percent. Among young adults, though, this widens to a 34-point gap in Google's favor.

Facebook's popularity also peaks among young adults, at 76 percent. It's got a particularly sharp drop-off among senior citizens; just 34 percent of adults age 65 and over see it favorably, while 33 percent of seniors view the company unfavorably. There's also an ideological gap: 70 percent of liberals have a favorable opinion of Facebook, compared with 55 percent of moderates and 54 percent of conservatives. Facebook is seen favorably by 63 percent of women versus 53 percent of men.

Twitter has a similar gap, 39 percent for women and 28 percent for men. Even among young adults, Twitter is seen favorably by just 42 percent, and unfavorably by 43 percent. Among seniors its positive rating drops to 18 percent; while 30 percent in this group see it unfavorably.

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