Zeta Interactive, a leading provider of integrated interactive services in the U.S., has released the list of the top 10 best, and worst, buzzed celebrities in 2009. The New York agency monitors over 100 billion blogs, tweets and other online posts to gauge positive and negative “buzz” about celebrities. Among the celebrities that generated the most positive comments this year include ‘King of Pop’ Michael Jackson, talk show host Oprah Winfrey, singer Taylor Swift, and actor Patrick Swayze.
Apparently, it seems that the death can do wonders for a star’s image. Both Michael Jackson and Patrick Swayze, who kicked the bucket on June 25 at age 50 and on September 14 at age 57 respectively, have managed to clinch the top few placings in the list of ‘Top 10 Best Buzzed Celebrities’.
On the other hand, Chris Brown generated the most negative comments this year. In February, he was accused of assaulting his now ex-girlfriend, singer Rihanna. It was said that Rihanna suffered visible injuries, and identified Brown as her attacker.
Meanwhile, the recent Tiger Woods scandal earned the billionaire athelete a place in this year’s list of worst buzzed celebrities, although he had a higher positive-buzz rating prior to the car accident.
“This year illustrates the true power that social media holds over the fate of a celebrity’s brand image, and both the Tiger Woods story and the death of Michael Jackson are evidence of this,” Al Diguido, CEO of Zeta Interactive, said in a statement.
“With Tiger Woods’ catastrophic fall from grace, we saw his reputation drop from 91 percent positive – higher than any other athlete in the world at that time – to only 47 percent positive in a two week span,” he added.
“On the other hand, after the outpouring of emotion that followed Michael Jackson’s death, we saw a celebrity – once recognized for all the wrong reasons – turn into an online sensation with more positive buzz than any other this past year.”
Best Buzz:
1. Michael Jackson
2. Oprah Winfrey
3. Taylor Swift
4. Patrick Swayze
5. Beyonce
6. Angelina Jolie
7. Jay Z
8. Robert Pattinson
9. Brad Pitt
10. Simon Cowell
Worst Buzz:
1. Chris Brown
2. Jon and Kate Gosselin
3. Kanye West
4. Lindsay Lohan
5. Amy Winehouse
6. Rachel Uchitel
7. Miley Cyrus
8. Paris Hilton
9. Tiger Woods
10. Adam Lambert
Via Reuters