Facebook KOs Google, Toyota’s Continuing Image Crash

Words of the Day

“The liberty of speaking and writing guards our other liberties.” – Thomas Jefferson

Facebook Tops Google For First Time

Facebook – the world’s largest social media site – eclipsed Google in weekly hits to become the most visited website in the U.S. for the first time, according to Hitwise, an Internet research company. 

Facebook garnered 7.07 percent of the visits in the week ended March 13, elbowing out Google’s 7.03 percent.  Facebook has almost tripled its visits from last year, compared with Google’s 9 percent growth last year.

Facebook was launched in 2004, and has quickly become one of the most popular social media sites for both individuals and businesses.  To compete, Google added a social networking feature called Buzz to its Gmail e-mail service last month, allowing users to share photos, comment and clips from its YouTube video site.

Toyota Continues To Hit The Gas on Bad PR

The bad PR gas pedal continues to get stuck at Toyota.  Complaints of sudden acceleration in Toyotas repaired under recalls have nearly doubled in the past two weeks, according to an Association Press analysis of government data.  

Complaints from more than 100 drivers raise more questions about whether Toyota’s repairs will prevent cars from speeding up on their own or if there’s another reason for the problem.

It seems to WordSmith that every time Toyota shifts into a higher crisis communications gear,  concerned driver complaints keep the company’s reputation repair stuck in neutral.