[WEB4LIB] The Net, Self-Organization, & Search

[Robert Tiess]

gprice wrote:
> The scientists' research shows
> that the Internet's structure of "clickable" links within web pages allows for
> identification of communities based on specific topics of interest. These
> communities are considered to be natural, in that independently authored pages
> collectively organize them. This research is particularly significant given
> the fact that no central authority or process governs the formation and
> structure of web pages and links.... This algorithm enables
> businesses and individuals to zero in on specific information by focusing on
> communities of web pages that are related to one-another...For example, an
> individual wishing to study the latest scientific findings on breast cancer
> research is able to locate medical literature, treatments and new developments
> without wading through the pages of irrelevant material that a normal Internet
> search on the subject might produce. This is possible because NEC's algorithm
> utilizes link information to generate its results, rather than specific text
> that may appear on countless web pages."


Sounds similar to Google's PageRank system
http://google.com/technology/index.html

Robert