Consumer Electronics June 4, 2009, 12:01AM EST

Oprah: Tech's Latest Trendsetter

The influential TV host got viewers to embrace such innovations as the Kindle and Twitter. What tech toy might Oprah Winfrey favor next?

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Poolhouse, the Toronto-based creator of pet-related applications on Facebook, recently got an unexpected but welcome phone call from the producers of The Oprah Winfrey Show. Oprah had enjoyed playing with one of the company's applications and wanted to feature it on an upcoming show. "It's beyond comprehension," Poolhouse founder Geoffrey Roche says of Oprah's potential seal of approval. "Every time there's press it's helpful, but with that kind of press you might as well be on the front page of The New York Times."

For years, Oprah has propelled authors, fashion designers, and makers of home furnishings to new heights of success with a mere mention on her TV show or in her O magazine. More recently she's stepped up the focus on technology, introducing her millions of viewers to such Internet services as Twitter and products like Amazon.com's (AMZN) Kindle.

As a result, the tech industry is increasingly looking to Oprah to single out gadgets and online services that might have mass appeal. "Oprah has a wonderful instinct about when to bring the next technology into the public view," says Geoffrey Moore, a partner at Silicon Valley tech consultant TCG Advisors and author of numerous books on innovative technology.

Oprah's Nod of Approval: Priceless

Many trendspotters keep tabs on industry pioneers, such as Apple (AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs, and tech-gadget blogs, including Engadget. But widespread use of computers and the Internet has created demand for a more mainstream arbiter of tech taste. "She represents what the technology can do for you," says Marian Salzman, chief marketing officer at public-relations firm Porter Novelli.

Oprah learns about new gadgets and Web sites "from a variety of sources," says Don Holcombe, spokesman for Winfrey's production company, Harpo Productions. "Friends, colleagues, production staff, and tech companies who are pitching their products, to name a few." Public-relations agencies such as Beautiful Planning Marketing, which specializes in technology and fashion, strive for an endorsement from Oprah for just about every product they pitch. "It is definitely a stand-in-line process," says Beautiful Planning CEO Monique Tatum. "Everyone wants her nod of approval."

With good reason. On Apr. 17, the day Oprah discussed Twitter, visits to the microblogging site spiked 43% compared with the previous week, according to analytics firm Hitwise. Sales of the Solio solar-powered charging device, created by Better Energy Systems, were up 35% in December, the month it was featured in O. When Oprah called Amazon's e-book reader Kindle her "new favorite thing" in October 2008, Google (GOOG) searches for the term "Kindle" skyrocketed 479%. Oprah's endorsement contributed to a demand surge that left Amazon sold out of the devices by the yearend holiday season.