3)      Google (last season’s ranking: #2): The greatest strength of Google’s pro fanboys is also its greatest weakness: With Apple, Steve Jobs has taught his squad that no amount of intensity is too much.  You can cheer for new products like they’re the rebirth of Christ, and you can burn competitors with scathing words like Mel Gibson in a roadside DUI exam.  Anything goes as long as it’s done with intensity.  But with Google it’s different: the fanboys must root with passion, but they also must act like the game’s not important to them.  We’re all to believe that Google’s playing its own game.  But fellas: come on.  We’re on to you.  You’re as giddy about your team as a 5-year-old on Christmas morning. 

5)      Second Life (last season’s ranking: UNRANKED): The only reason Second Life was unranked last season is because at this time it was still relatively underground to anyone outside of its team.  But when it blew up last fall and started getting media coverage at a level that would’ve made Steve Jobs jealous, we came to see the intensity that Second Life brings to the PFL.  In fact if it wasn’t for the terrible service, the obscenely slow system, and the primitive graphics, Second Life would be competing with Apple for the #1 spot on the PFL Power Rankings.  If you haven’t experienced the passion of Second Life fanboys, you’re missing out.  Their intensity has actually been nominated by a committee in Uruguay as the 8th Wonder of the World.  You really have to hand it to anyone who roots so passionately for a product so shoddy. 

The rest of the top 10…

6)      Microsoft (last season’s ranking: #6): I’m not seeing a lot of passion from Microsoft fanboys in recent times.  We’re really only seeing a lot of jokes made at their expense, with little reply.  The only reason they’re on the list is because any time a negative word is written about Apple or Google you can count on a huge amount of support from the Microsoft fanboys.

7)      Facebook (last season’s ranking: UNRANKED): Facebook lacks the umph of the rest of the group because you get the impression no one aside from 30-something Valley-types are willing to express their enthusiasm for the site as passionately as necessary to make the top 5 of the PFL Power Rankings.  Teens readily admit they prefer Facebook to MySpace, but you get the feeling they’re talking about a service provided by their school rather than something they’re legitimately passionate about.  In other words: lots of users, few true Fanboys. (NOTE: Many might consider this a good thing)

8)      Sony (last season’s ranking: #4): The hype around the PS3 was already in full swing last summer among the company’s PFL players.  For this it rose to the #4 spot in the Power Rankings.  But when the PS3 suffered and the Wii surged, where did the Fanboys go?  We’re not seeing a lot of passion here, fellas.  I really think Steve Jobs could throw a conference on hyping a product and creating a fanboy-base strong enough to cover up the inevitable shortcomings.  Sony should have all of its fanboys attend.

9)      Verizon (last season’s ranking: #9): No criticism from me on Verizon’s low ranking: the fact a wireless carrier is on this list to begin with is impressive enough.  Verizon’s PFL players score low on the Passion Meter, but there are enough people willing to say, “I love my Verizon service” in public settings to justify calling this company a top-10 PFL player.  And that’s really saying something.

10)  eBay (last season’s ranking: #5): Yes, eBay has slipped from the #5 to the #10 spot, but it’s really for no other reason than because so many others are raising the fanboy sport to a nearly unreachable level.  But eBay, I think, has a tremendous future in the PFL because of its unique position as a company that actually supports livelihoods.  It’s always astonishing to me how many people I ask, “What did you do this weekend?” and get the reply, “Nothing much, just spent a bunch of time on eBay.”  It’s not so much that eBay fanboys are outspoken about their passion; their passion is conveyed by the sheer amount of time they spend there.