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

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 128 pages
• Published by: The MIT Press
• Edition: 1st Edition October 1, 2001
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0262083035
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0262083034
• Book Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Weighs: 10.4 ounces

Product Review
"The Laws of the Web has a great many insights to offer."
-- Jane C. Duffy, Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship

"[The] perfect companion on a cross-country flight or during a long quiet evening in a favorite reading chair."
-- David G. Stork, Artificial Life

"An intriguing book."
-- Curtis D. Fry, Technology & Society --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description
Despite its haphazard growth, the Web hides powerful underlying regularities--from the organization of its links to the patterns found in its use by millions of users. Many of these regularities have been predicted on the basis of theoretical models based on a field of physics--statistical mechanics--that few would have thought applicable to the social domain.

In this book Bernardo Huberman explains in accessible language the laws of the Web. One of the foremost researchers in the field, Huberman has established, for example, that the surfing patterns of individuals are describable by a precise law. Such findings can lead to more efficient Web design and use. They also shed light on social mechanisms whose significance goes beyond the Web. In this sense, the Web is a gigantic informational ecosystem that can be used to quantify and test explanations of human behavior and social interaction. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Reader Reviews
The title promises much. One had hoped that with so few pages a concise outline would be the product. Alas no. One has 95 pages of vaguery, allusion to supposed meaningful research which is never explained, and trite examinations of the substantial observations that have been borowed from other authors. His reference to the power law does not result in anything applicable to understanding the Web. His reference "tragedy of the commons" a la Peter Senge, suggests he undestands neither the metaphor nor its relationship to the Web or the information that exists there. Unfortunately this takes up one of the five pages of anything containing potential substance. The discussion of nodes begins vaguely and ends with no law. Another page down. The power law suggests an upper level of tolerance, but in its lack of conclusion loses another page. Social dilemma leaves the reader with the abiding question: So? With the final page ostensibly dealing with a critical number of clicks the reader is left to infer that reading this book is too many clicks (pages turned) and with the end we are left with no code, no guidelines, no greater understanding of the growth of the Web, and appreciation that while the reader is left no wiser, at least the book was short. There is great pretension here, but no delivery.