Google ranks highest in a corporate reputation survey, suggesting the company's success with its online infrastructure program is working well, and the flap over recent privacy issues isn't yet penetrating.
The Mountain View, Calif.-based search giant was ranked in first place as the U.S.' most reputable company, in Harris Interactive's in twelfth annual survey of the 60 most visible companies in the U.S. Other tech companies figured in results as well, with Apple and Intel at fifth and sixth respectively, and Amazon close behind.
Tech companies in general received positive rankings from three-quarters of people surveyed.
"These top-scoring companies are seen as supporting the infrastructure of the lives of the American public," says Robert Fronk, a senior vice president at Harris, "and they get credit for simplifying, delighting, or enriching people's lives."
Google reached the top in financial performance and workplace environment, coming in third for vision and leadership along with social responsibility, and landing fourth in the products and services department.
The online giant, however, was notably absent from the "emotional appeal" category, possibly as a result of recent privacy controversies surrounding the company.
Google's Android OS was most recently tied to revelations about the collection of location data in smartphone devices, along with storing information gleaned from its Chrome browser, drawing criticism from legislators for its privacy policies.
Google maintains it asks permission before gathering the data, which is says it stores anonymously. Representatives from the search engine giant are planning to attend Senate hearings on the issue next week.
The company may also be the subject of a future probe by the Federal Trade Commission into its privacy practices, indicating more mistrust around the company around the increasingly hot-button issue of data and user privacy.
The FTC recently began soliciting information from other companies around its dealings with Google, a move interpreted by some as preparing for a larger investigation.
If these issues detracted from Google's "emotional appeal" rating in the survey, it doesn't seem to have impacted confidence in its profit-making abilities. The company made $2.3 billion in the first quarter, owing primarily to the growing strength of its Android smartphone operating system.
Also Google's diversification and growing influence in the media industry, as owner of YouTube, may account for its place at the top of the pile.
That Google pushed even Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway down the list to number four suggests the public appreciates the tech company, even if privacy concerns might erode the sentiment down the road.
The Harris report ranks a number of companies in the booming tech industry, led by Google, at the top of its list, while leaders in other industries, like banking's Goldman Sachs and oil giant BP fell toward the bottom, and AIG came in dead last.
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