Special Websites for Special Counsels
On 9/11/1998 a bomb was set off on the Internet. That was the day Independent Council Kenneth Starr posted his report on President Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky to Congress’s website. The surge in web traffic hit major media sites carrying copies of the massive report, too. Even adding five extra servers was not enough to handle the flow to CNN’s servers.
In one fell swoop, the Starr Report put Congress on the Internet in a big way, by using the oldest Internet trick on the books: post porn on your website. People flocked to the site. On top of that, the massive flood of email to both the House and the Senate that day from citizens looking for report slowed Congressional communications to a standstill.
That was then. This is now.
This week Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald launched his own website on his investigation into the Valerie Plame leak. While the website created a stir across the media, suggesting to reporters that the site was a prelude to impending indictments that would be handed up before the Grand Jury disbanded on October 28 (2005), it has yet matched the splash of the Starr Report’s web launch.
Despite the extensive press coverage, as of 10/25/05 the Google PageRank for Fitzgerald’s website remains at 0 out of a possible score of 10 and fewer than 500 websites link to it, according to LinkPopularityCheck.com. While it is true that the number of websites linking to Fitzgerald’s as of October 25 is about double the number of sites linking to the Starr Report, the Starr Report is about seven years old. The vast majority of links to Fitzgerald’s site are from Blogs .
Fitzgerald’s website is nothing special in terms of layout or function. There is no indication anywhere on the homepage as to what the Special Counsel is investigating. There are links to several PDF files with unenlightening names, such as “August 12, 2005 Memorandum of Deputy Attorney General” and “February 15, 2005 Statement of Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald.” To the citizen who doesn’t know the Special Counsel in the CIA leak case by name, this website means nothing.
Buried in the PDF files is a detailing of the authority given to Fitzgerald:
At your request, I am writing to clarify that my December 30, 2003, delegation to you of “all the authority of the Attorney General with respect to the Department’s investigation into the alleged unauthorized disclosure of a CIA employee’s identity” is plenary and includes the authority to investigate and prosecute violations of any federal criminal laws related to the underlying alleged unauthorized disclosure, as well as federal crimes committed in the course of, and with intent to interfere with, your investigation, such as perjury, obstruction of justice, destruction of evidence, and intimidation of witnesses; to conduct appeals arising out of the matter being investigated and/or prosecuted; and to pursue administrative remedies and civil sanctions (such as civil contempt)that are within the Attorney General’s authority to impose or pursue.
It was this document that sparked heightened anticipation that indictments for perjury, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice might be possible.
Popularity is Climbing
It is now 10/26/05 and the number of links to the Special Counsel’s website is approaching 800, according to LinkPopularityCheck.com. The number of Blogs connecting to it has topped 500, according to Technorati.com, but the gap between Blog links and non-Blog links appears to be growing. The buzz on the Blogs reflects the anticipation of an imminent handing up of indictments. While the Grand Jury will be disbanded on Friday, today, Wednesday, is its normal weekly meeting day. Expectations are high.
Higher and Higher
It is now 10/27/05 and the number of links to the Special Counsel’s website has soared to 12,700, according to LinkPopularityCheck.com. Technorati.com lists 739 links and climbing. Ironically, the Google PageRank of the site remains a 0 out of 10.
On a lighter note, a satirical Blog allegedly written by Fitzgerald was launched on 10/24/05. Seems he is a White Sox fan, saddened that Harriet Meirs withdrew her nomination, and thinks Wonkette is a “funny gal.”
Meanwhile, nothing has changed on the Special Counsel’s website, defying the conventional wisdom that content is king and websites need to be updated frequently to achieve high numbers of visitors. Here we have a case of a website that says nothing new becoming the focal point of the nation simply because people are waiting for the next update, and all of this on a zero dollar advertising budget and with no porn. It goes to show you what viral marketing can do. Perhaps the new wisdom is word-of-mouth is king.
To check on the current status of this special website, go to LinkPopularityCheck.com and to Technorati.com and enter “www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/osc/” into the search fields. Then watch the numbers climb.