Downing Street Memo

If you want to see an example of Internet word of mouth in action, read the following from BTC News:

"BTC News White House correspondent Eric Brewer, the first correspondent to introduce the Downing Street Memo at a White House briefing, has been following the number of results returned by a Google search for the phrase, “Downing Street Memo.” On May 1, the number was near zero. On June 18, the number had reached 1,320,000 in a search for the exact phrase and 1,510,000 for the three words."

I tested this phrase in Google and came back with over one million results myself. What is the Downing Street Memo? Here's a copy online. The point of this post, however, is not to bring up the issues raised in the memo itself (which are pretty juicy-read it!), but to point out the incredible power of the Web community. This is what I'm talking about: that a phrase with barely any hits zoomed to the top of the search charts in this short of a time. Why did this happen? Increasing awareness, media spotlight, etc., but I'd bet a raspberry-filled donut that it was mostly from word of mouth: blogs, RSS, social bookmarks, etc.

Related:

• RSS Defined
• Search for Blogs Online
• Search for Discussion Groups and Message Boards
• How to Find What's Popular on the Web