Al Jazeera in top 5 brands
This will be posted tomorrow on Geek.com. You get a preview...
..........
Interbrand, a brand-consulting firm based in the United Kingdom, has performed a survey for the last four years on the brands that consumers think are the best brands on the market. The survey for 2004, which was taken online and consisted of 1,984 entries from 75 countries, shows that consumers worldwide like Apple's brand more than any other. Interbrand attributes this to the success of the iPod and iTunes, as well as to other marketing techniques the computer and technology manufacturer developed in 2004.
Second to Apple on the list is Google, followed by Ikea and Starbucks. Surprisingly, Al Jazeera, the Arab television network, rounds out the top five global brands.
When the results are broken down by region, they show definite lines of interest based on geography. In the Asia-Pacific region, Sony, Samsung, and LG top the list, and in Central and Latin America Cemex, Corona, and Bacardi do.
See the full details on the survey from 2004, as well as past years, at BrandChannel.com.
Joshua’s Opinion
It is not very surprising that Apple tops any list from 2004. With a total of 10 million iPods sold and record profits set, the company is definitely making waves in the consumer gadget market. The question everyone is asking now is whether or not the computer company will be able to increase its computer market share with new ventures like the Mac Mini.
Google takes the prize in my mind. I just can't say enough how impressed I am with that company. I know that it has its own set of problems, but I am happy that it has the foresight to encourage its employees to think outside the box. That is important in the tech industry (in any industry, for that matter).
What I want to know is, "How in the heck did Al Jazeera get on the top five list?" It was number 5 in Europe, which makes lots of sense to me, but to say that the world likes it that much might be going a little bit too far. I smell an agenda somewhere between that key placement and Interbrand's statement that the results of the survey were not influenced by "a flawed electoral college."
As a matter of fact, I would say that the entire survey is suspect in my mind. While there is bound to be some truth hidden in the information given, I have trouble giving too much weight to an online survey with no more control on ballot stuffing than a cookie.
The various musings and kvetchings of a Torah-observing, eBook-editing, wife-adoring, baby-loving ger. Everything from Torah study to technology is fair game. 
