In between opening presents and singing carols, consumers flocked to their computers and logged onto Facebook last week, making it the most visited website in the U.S. on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, according to a tweet from data firm Hitwise.
Facebook's Christmas coup marked the first time the social network had ever been the No. 1 website in the U.S., but it also showed just how important social media has become in consumers' lives. Whether consumers were avoiding relatives, bragging about gifts, making holiday plans, or simply wishing their friends a happy holiday, they were going to Facebook to do so.
The news capped a terrific year for Facebook, one where the social network surpassed all expectations and blew its main rival MySpace out of the water. Facebook was also the most popular search query across all search engines in 2009, The New York Times reports.
