The Laws of the Web: Patterns in the Ecology of Information

Citation

Fourie, I. (2002), "The Laws of the Web: Patterns in the Ecology of Information", The Electronic Library, Vol. 20 No. 3, pp. 245-246. https://doi.org/10.1108/el.2002.20.3.245.3

In The Laws of the Web … Bernardo Huberman shares his vast expertise of large distributed systems in simple, non‐technical terminology. Over a period of 13 years he has used theoretical models from the field of physics – statistical mechanics – to predict the behaviour of large distributed systems. In this short publication (105 pages in A5 format) he answers numerous requests to make his highly technical research accessible to a wider audience: “… a number of people who saw beyond the mathematical formalism of our work urged me over years to put in the effort needed to explain the power of this methodology to a nontechnical audience”.

In The Laws of the Web … Huberman treats the Web as a gigantic information ecosystem that can be used to quantify and test explanations of human behaviour and social interaction. He shows how theoretical models from the field of physics can be used to predict the underlying regularities of the Web environment, the growth of the Web, as well as the hidden patterns of economic and social conventions. The importance of this is clear if one bears in mind that the Web is mostly considered as a highly chaotic, irregular environment.

The following are a few of the patterns that are addressed: the organisation of links (a few sites have an enormous number of pages, while most have only a few), the use of the Web (the congestions created by users of the Web give rise to “storms” that suddenly appear and reside in statistically meaningful patterns) and patterns in the downloading of information. Apart from sharing his findings, Huberman also explains his methodology on how the Internet can be used to understand the interaction among the users that mediates it.

Huberman succeeds in offering a clear, succinct, stimulating analysis. His results can be used for more effective Web site design, more effective use of the Web for a myriad of purposes, and a better understanding of the social mechanisms underlying the use of the Web.

The Laws of the Web … is based on many years of research and offers facts instead of the usual speculation. It is recommended to especially theorists of social coordination and business strategists, but also to anybody interested in the Internet and how developments may influence their business decisions, et cetera. It is considered as an essential reading for researchers and educators in the Web arena, as well as Web technology developers. It can also be recommended to LIS and IT students.