Forget Apple. The Top 10 Non-Tech Companies on Twitter in 2010

Yesterday we took a look at the Top 10 Companies on Twitter in 2010 -- a list produced in collaboration with our editorial partner What the Trend, the trend-tracking company that monitors the rank and duration of every single topic that pops up on Twitter's global Trending Topics chart throughout the year. That list was, no surprise, dominated by tech companies, with Apple taking the No. 1 spot. But a couple non-tech companies -- Uniqlo and the BBC -- did make the list. (To find out why, see yesterday's piece.)

What would the list look like if tech companies were excluded? I'm glad you asked. (Or, wait, I'm glad I asked. Or something.) Take a look:

What the Trend's Top 10 Non-Tech Companies/Products on Twitter in 2010

1. Uniqlo
2. BBC
3. Lanvin-H&M
4. Capricho Magazine
5. Nike
6. Four Loko
7. McDonald's
8. AirTran/Southwest
9. Cadbury-Kraft
10. Toms Shoes

Sometimes marketers dominate Twitter for all the right reasons (e.g., Uniqlo), but other times ... not.

Toms Shoes gained plenty of goodwill in the Twittersphere with feel-good socially-conscious efforts like its One for One program ("With every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need"). McDonald's, meanwhile, got a big boost (if that's the right word) on Twitter thanks to eminently retweetable news stories like this: "McDonald's pulls 12 million cadmium-tainted Shrek glasses." And this: "McDonald's must pay Brazilian manager $17.5K for weight gain." Speaking of Brazil, Capricho is that country's largest teen magazine. (More details on its Twitter notoriety tomorrow.)

And controversial alcoholic energy drink Four Loko got so much bad buzz (see The Week's excellent summation: "The rise and fall of Four Loko") that the Twitterverse cranked into overdrive with the satirical hashtag trend #fourlokoingredients, which prompted harsh hilarity like "dry ice, 2 bags of cocaine, a Chris Brown punch and a liter of U-Gon-Die-After-U-Drink-This" and -- wait for it! -- "crack baby tears."

We'll have another Top 10 list, courtesy of the folks at What the Trend, tomorrow. In the meantime, check out WTT's general Year in Review page right here.

~ ~ ~

Simon Dumenco is the "Media Guy" media columnist for Advertising Age. You can follow him on Twitter @simondumenco.