Facebook Kicks Past Google as Most Popular U.S. Web Site

By Nick Mokey March 16, 2010

When offered the choice between looking for information on the Web, or looking at pictures of friends, pasting song lyrics into status messages and raising virtual produce, most people apparently choose the latter. So we can deduce from the latest Web statistics, which show Facebook officially outpacing Google as the most popular Web site in the United States this week.

The global analytics firm Hitwise announced on Monday that Facebook edged Google out for the week ending March 13, grabbing 7.07 percent of all U.S. Web traffic, compared to Google’s 7.03 percent. While still impressive, it’s worth noting that Hitwise only counts traffic to the Google.com domain. Sites like Gmail and Google Reader are not counted.

Facebook saw a 185 percent traffic boost for that week compared to the same week in 2009. The site has narrowly surpassed Google in traffic on holidays and weekends before, but last week represents the first time it has manage to keep ahead for seven straight days.

Why the boost? The runup to this week’s social-media-centric SXSW festival – which officially began on Saturday toward the end of the recording-breaking week– might have something to do with it. In the long term, so might the proliferation of large-scale Facebook games like Farmville, which now boasts 82.7 million active users – over 20 percent of all Facebook users.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Managing Editor

As Digital Trends’ Managing Editor, Nick Mokey oversees an editorial team delivering definitive reviews, enlightening…

Computing

This HP laptop is discounted from $519 to $279

HP 14 laptop with intel Celeron on desk.

There are laptop deals for top-of-the-line machines, but if you only need a basic device for your day-to-day needs, don't spend more than you should by taking advantage of Walmart's offer for the HP 14-inch Laptop. Instead of $519, you'll only have to pay $279 for savings of $240. That's an extremely affordable price for a brand new laptop, but we don't think it will last long. To make sure that you don't miss out on the discount, it's highly recommended that you proceed with the transaction as soon as possible.

Why you should buy the HP 14-inch Laptop
The HP 14-inch Laptop will never be able to match up to the speed of the best laptops, which is expected because of its price. However, if you're thinking about using the device for simple tasks like browsing the internet, watching streaming shows, and typing documents, then its 13th-generation Intel Core i3-N305 processor, integrated Intel UHD Graphics, and 8GB of RAM will be enough. The laptop also ships with Windows 11 Home pre-installed in its 256GB SSD, for an operating system that will be familiar for most people.

Computing

How to connect a keyboard and mouse to the Steam Deck

Steam Deck with Keyboard.

One of the best features of the Steam Deck is its varied controls, from face buttons, to joysticks, to touch controls. But there's never a substitute for a full size keyboard and mouse, and fortunately, you can connect them straight to the Steam Deck. It supports wired and wireless connections, although you'll need a USB hub if you want to use a USB connection.

Computing

This ultra-portable Lenovo 2-in-1 laptop is discounted from $649 to $199

lenovo 500w 2 in 1 laptop deal april 2024 classroom

For super cheap laptop deals, take a look at Lenovo right now. You can pay just $199 and get a Lenovo 500w 2-in-1 laptop. According to Lenovo’s estimated value system, the laptop normally costs $649 which is potentially a little overly optimistic but what we do know is that $199 for a 2-in-1 laptop is incredibly cheap. If you simply want an inexpensive laptop for basic typing of documents or web browsing, you’ll be happy with the Lenovo 500w 2-in-1 laptop. Here’s all we know about it.

Why you should buy the Lenovo 500w 2-in-1 Laptop
The Lenovo 500w 2-in-1 laptop keeps things simple with its hardware but you know you’re in safe hands as Lenovo is one of the best laptop brands. Here, you get an Intel Pentium Silver N6000 processor along with 8GB of memory and 128GB of SSD M.2 storage. At this price, we’re delighted to see 8GB of memory rather than 4GB and also the use of an SSD instead of eMMC. Such additions means the Lenovo 500w 2-in-1 laptop will be a little speedier than other laptops in this price range.