http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/gaming/a145396/xbox-is-fifth-most-discussed-brand-online.html

Microsoft's Xbox has placed fifth in a list of the most discussed brands on social networking websites during 2008.

Digital marketing agency Vitrue compiled the report after monitoring the frequency of blue-chip brand mentions across a variety of social networking sites.

Xbox finished fifth in the list, behind iPhone, CNN, Apple and Disney, while rival Sony came in ninth.

Microsoft as a separate brand came just outside the top ten in 11th, while Nintendo positioned in 14th, PlayStation 15th and Sega 72nd.

Virtrue's chief executive Reggie Bradford said: "A ranking like this begins to bring clarity and credibility to this emerging space.

"We know marketers need a way to measure success and create benchmarks to track their efforts over time, while our industry needs directional trends to help define who is doing well and who can do better engaging their consumers online."

The full Vitrue top ten is:

1. iPhone
2. CNN
3. Apple
4. Disney
5. Xbox
6. Starbucks
7. iPod
8. MTV
9. Sony
10. Dell

Is this world wide?

It fails. Where is Nintendo Wii or Nintendo DS. And nobody is talking about Sony.

I imagine Sony would like their entire company ranking rather than just one facet, so it's not too bad for them either!

No Nintendo in top 10?

Discussed? So that can mean negative as well.

Sure they are,  every other thread created on this website is a Sony thread.  Not to mention that Sony does alot more than the PS3.

This is similar to the use of Google Trends.

How is this a good benchmark when being 5th means having less then a 7th of the total hardware sales being 14th brings?

The only really good news here is that the Xbox has been separated from Microsoft as a company to an extent which given the popularity of everything else Microsoft (Zune, Vista, Windows Mobile ect) is quite the blessing.

As to the mentions I have no idea how they are finding more Xbox mentions then Nintendo mentions, the only thing I can think of is that a lot of Wii users are younger and thus less likely to update on social networks (and in many cases their profiles are not searchable in the same way as adult profiles because of child predator concerns). I am constantly inundated with Wii crap from other peoples facebook updates and almost never have come across anything about the 360 (or to be honest the PS3).

Apple/iphone domination is spot on though especially amongst my college going peers. In my 4 years at UCSD its gone from maybe 20% mac laptops on campus to well over half now. I even know more then a handful of people who actually have Apple logo tattoos, as scary a thought as that is. Maybe that tattoo thing is partially due to the better branding, an apple logo fits much better on a woman's lower back then an Xbox 360 logo with that ubiquitous tagline "jump in". The only way to describe that tattoo on the lower back would be...awkward.

   Except anyone who does video editing or is a video hobbyist (all the good HD cameras are Sony), anyone who likes high end TVs/electronics, anyone who owns a PS3, anyone who knows what CES stands for and a huge swath of other people.

   It may not have the cache it did 10 years ago, but Sony is still a very strong brand and certainly the strongest of all the electronics manufacturers  that are not Apple(vs Samsung, Phillips, Toshiba ect).  They are really suffering at Apple's hands though, Apple has totally stolen all the "it" Sony had in the 90s right from under them with the ipod, iphone and the like.  Apple has just out Sonyed Sony the past 8 years.