Amazon.com is the most trusted brand in America, says a new study (via BrandWeek), based on how many people trust and would recommend it. ("Amazon.com's chief rival, Wal-Mart, did not make an appearance in the top 10," notes TechFlash). GigaOM points out that "Amazon's recent stellar performance during the fourth quarter of 2009 is a testament to that fact. The company saw its sales jump 42 percent over the same quarter in 2008 to $9.5 billion." You'll note that Toyota was #7 at the time the survey was conducted, but it sure wouldn't be there now, says Marketing Pilgrim: "It's a safe bet that v2 of this study will be out in short order to see just what Toyota did to their TrustR (sounds painful doesn't it?)" Interestingly, Amazon.com was the only online-only brand of the top-10 trusted brands.

The survey was conducted in other countries, too, and Nokia topped the list in China, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Taiwan and Thailand (via Between the Lines). Socially Minded takes a look at the lessons Amazon offers a digital world, pointing out that Amazon’s recommendations, which users love, are actually also a form of advertising that other companies could emulate. And, says The Next Web, “[W]e cannot talk about Amazon without wondering what the latest news surrounding the company means for the Kindle and Amazon’s larger war with Apple. This new data confirms that the Kindle has a strong enough brand behind it to truly go to the mattresses with Apple.”