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

Book 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.

Customer Reviews:

Great Book.......2007-08-04

Although dated, this book still has useful information. It is an expose' on social aspects of the web and the author's opinion of why, how and when things occur. Also, the author discusses how to benefit.

Underappreciated book.......2006-06-11

This is a really good book and is underappreciated in the community. It is one of the first - before Barabasi - that noted the commonality of laws guiding the organization of large emergent systems.

cool book.......2003-09-18

brief book is very interesting... full of intersting obervations about human-computer interaction and information seeking via the web.

A fresh perspective to understand the web.......2002-03-04

In this book, the author introduces results of research that shows there are surprising strong global regularities present on the web resulting from the local browsing behavior of agents. He explains in simple terms and well-chosen familiar examples, key ideas to understand how these regularities come about. The ideas and the regularities described in every chapter are backed by refereed papers from the author and his associates that have appeared over the years (in Science, Nature, ...) and that I would recommend the technically inclined reader to look into. As the author takes the reader through the different chapters, he introduces in simple terms the methodology of study and analysis borrowed from the physical sciences (to study the dynamics of large number of interacting particles) which in my case it was very helpful as I am trained in computer science where we do not get exposed to those techniques. The regularities are explained by way of interesting models (e.g., social dilemmas, six-degrees of separation, Brownian motion, etc.) that make for a refreshing reading.

The author goes further than just presenting and explaining the results as he gives very practical applications where knowing these regularities can help the design of better algorithms, web sites and systems. Among some of the results presented are: a law that can predict how far users will go on clicking on pages of a given site, the existence of `internet storms' where the net becomes very slow even though there is no obvious event that caused it (like when sometimes in a highway you slowdown to a halt even though there does not seem to be any accident), a law that predicts the distribution of the sizes (in pages) of web sites and several other regularities. Among one of the clever applications described is an algorithm that figures out when to wait or request again for a web page so that the user on average downloads it faster.

too many clicks to nowhere.......2002-02-12

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.

Libraries, the First Amendment, and Cyberspace: What You Need to Know

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Religious Motivations and Library Use - A unique approach
Libraries the Frist Amendment and Cyberspace: What You Need
Important contribution to libraries & 1st Amendment studies.

Libraries, the First Amendment, and Cyberspace: What You Need to Know
Robert S. Peck
Manufacturer: American Library Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Digital Law | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Culture | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Computer Science | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Book Banning | Books & Reading | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Constitutional Law | Law | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Unwanted Gaze: The Destruction of Privacy in America
Ethics in Human Communication (Fifth Edition)

ASIN: 0838907733

Customer Reviews:

Religious Motivations and Library Use - A unique approach.......2004-12-22

While the book has 9 plus chapters, the fifth chapter makes a sense, as it is a detailed section on motivations that are not-secular, non-business, and non-academic areas.

The chapters of the book are:
1 Questions and Answers about the First Amendment: Sex, Lies, and Cyberspace 1
2 Basic First Amendment Principles and Their Application to Libraries 25
3 The Sexual Conundrum 45
4 The Right to Offend 62
5 Religious Motivations and Library Use 72
6 Just between You and Your Librarian--Library Confidentiality Laws 84
7 Workplace Issues: Employee Free Speech and Harassment 92
8 Children, Schools, and the First Amendment 105
9 Cyberspace--The Last Frontier 125
Appendixes
A The Library Bill of Rights and Its Interpretations 147
B Guidelines for the Development and Implementation of Policies, Regulations and Procedures Affecting Access to Library Materials, Services and Facilities 176
C Guidelines and Considerations for Developing a Public Library Internet Use Policy 180
D Dealing with Concerns about Library Resources 188
E Conducting a Challenge Hearing 191
F Policy on Confidentiality of Library Records 196
G Policy concerning Confidentiality of Personally Identifiable Information about Library Users 198
Glossary 201
Index

Worth a new edition.

Libraries the Frist Amendment and Cyberspace: What You Need.......2002-03-27

Anyone who works in the Library and Information field need to get this book. This resource will save you alot of mental and financial problems as well as stress. The author does not make the assumption that the reader knows the subject area. This resource is written so that a layperson can understand it. After every chapter there are references that one can peruse if he/she so desires. The appendix is wonderful. The table of contents is methodical and logical. It is a great reference resource and a good read!!

Important contribution to libraries & 1st Amendment studies........2000-05-05

The First Amendment is an integral philosophical and political concept embedded in academic and community library system operations. The First Amendment And Cyberspace answers the questions librarians and library patrons most often have about the First Amendment and library services. Included the issues of basic First Amendment principles and their application to libraries, the right to offend, religious motivations and library use, library confidentiality laws, cyberspace and the First Amendment. A special chapter focuses on children, schools and the First Amendment. Essential reading for library students, librarians, library administrators, and library board members, Robert Peck's The First Amendment And Cyberspace is enhanced with appendices on American Library Association policies and recommendations including Conducting a Challenge Hearing; Guidelines and Considerations for Developing a Public Library Internet Use Policy; and Policy on Confidentiality of Library Records.

The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor, and Privacy on the Internet

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The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor, and Privacy on the Internet
Daniel J. Solove
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Public Relations | Marketing & Sales | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Digital Law | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Human Rights | Constitutional Law | Law | Subjects | Books

Ethics & Morality | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom
Privacy, Information And Technology (Aspen Elective)
The Digital Person: Technology and Privacy in the Information Age
Information Privacy Law
Niche Envy: Marketing Discrimination in the Digital Age

ASIN: 0300124988

Book Description

Teeming with chatrooms, online discussion groups, and blogs, the Internet offers previously unimagined opportunities for personal expression and communication. But there’s a dark side to the story. A trail of information fragments about us is forever preserved on the Internet, instantly available in a Google search. A permanent chronicle of our private lives—often of dubious reliability and sometimes totally false—will follow us wherever we go, accessible to friends, strangers, dates, employers, neighbors, relatives, and anyone else who cares to look. This engrossing book, brimming with amazing examples of gossip, slander, and rumor on the Internet, explores the profound implications of the online collision between free speech and privacy.

Daniel Solove, an authority on information privacy law, offers a fascinating account of how the Internet is transforming gossip, the way we shame others, and our ability to protect our own reputations. Focusing on blogs, Internet communities, cybermobs, and other current trends, he shows that, ironically, the unconstrained flow of information on the Internet may impede opportunities for self-development and freedom. Long-standing notions of privacy need review, the author contends: unless we establish a balance between privacy and free speech, we may discover that the freedom of the Internet makes us less free.

It's a Wired World: The New Networked Economy

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It's a Wired World: The New Networked Economy
Anne C. Leer
Manufacturer: Scandinavian Univ Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Digital Law | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Certification Central | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Intellectual Property | Law | Subjects | Books

Law and the Web of Society (Hastings Center Studies in Ethics)

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Law and the Web of Society (Hastings Center Studies in Ethics)
Cynthia L. Cates , and Wayne V. McIntosh
Manufacturer: Georgetown University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Law | Subjects | Books

Jurisprudence | Perspectives on Law | Law | Subjects | Books

Ethics & Morality | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Law | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

American Law: An Introduction
Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Legal Issues (Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Legal Issues)

ASIN: 0878408606

Model Web Site: A Knowledge Management Approach to E-Business

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Model Web Site: A Knowledge Management Approach to E-Business
Jason I. Epstein
Manufacturer: American Bar Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Web Marketing | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Digital Law | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Law | Subjects | Books

Jurisprudence | Perspectives on Law | Law | Subjects | Books

Science & Technology | Perspectives on Law | Law | Subjects | Books

Media & the Law | Law | Subjects | Books

Reference | Law Practice | Law | Subjects | Books

General | Taxation | Law | Subjects | Books

General | English Law | Law | Subjects | Books

General & Reference | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books

Media Studies | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

An interactive knowledge management system on CD-ROM (including sample forms) that guides business professionals and lawyers through typical legal issues of selling products and services and licensing software over the internet including advertising, privacy and security, electronic contracting, and domestic and international regulations. Also, a user guide in a paperback format is provided.

Web Psychos, Stalkers, and Pranksters: How to Protect Yourself in Cyberspace

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a book everyone should have

Web Psychos, Stalkers, and Pranksters: How to Protect Yourself in Cyberspace
Michael A. Banks
Manufacturer: Coriolis Group Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Digital Law | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Culture | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Privacy | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Hacking | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Network Security | Networking | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Criminology | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

True Crime | True Accounts | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Provides step-by-step instructions for how to protect sensitive, personal information and how to avoid becoming an online target. Shows users how to track down those who may be harassing, abusing, or defrauding them. Alerts the reader to the presence of many kinds of online dangers and violations of privacy, including compromises of passwords and chat room impostors. Includes real-life examples of victims of online predators. Explains the mechanisms by which stalkers, con-artists, and pranksters create hazards and cause problems. Teaches Internet users how to effectively deal with online threats, either by prevention or defensive reaction.

Customer Reviews:

a book everyone should have.......2000-07-19

you really should get this book it tells you what to do if someone is always doing something to you online it is also good to have and read it will tell you how to protect yourself

ASIS powers up supercharged sites. (American Society for Industrial Security; World Wide Web sites)(includes related article on ASIS home page): An article from: Security Management

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ASIS powers up supercharged sites. (American Society for Industrial Security; World Wide Web sites)(includes related article on ASIS home page): An article from: Security Management
Sherry L. Harowitz
Manufacturer: American Society for Industrial Security
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Culture | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Network Security | Networking | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Industry | Automotive | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Security Management, published by American Society for Industrial Security on March 1, 1998. The length of the article is 1635 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: The American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) has redesigned and improved its ASIS Online and Security Management Online sites on the World Wide Web. The society introduced enhancements to its home pages to take advantage of new Internet and World Wide Web technology and improve the quality of information for security professionals. Notable additions to the sites include a user-friendly search engine and introductory pages that can be accessed easily.

Citation Details
Title: ASIS powers up supercharged sites. (American Society for Industrial Security; World Wide Web sites)(includes related article on ASIS home page)
Author: Sherry L. Harowitz
Publication: Security Management (Refereed)
Date: March 1, 1998
Publisher: American Society for Industrial Security
Volume: v42 Issue: n3 Page: p32(3)

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Displacement Effects of Online Media in the Socio-Technical Contexts of Households.: An article from: Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media

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Displacement Effects of Online Media in the Socio-Technical Contexts of Households.: An article from: Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media
Joseph M. Kayany , and Paul Yelsma
Manufacturer: Broadcast Education Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Digital Law | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Culture | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, published by Broadcast Education Association on March 22, 2000. The length of the article is 7016 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the author: This study investigated the impact of online media on other media and family communication. Data gathered from 185 persons in 84 households indicate that time spent in television viewing, newspaper reading, telephone usage, and family conversations is affected by online use. Usage of online media is significantly different among genders and generations. A process of functional displacement may be occurring in which television is being gradually displaced by online media as the primary source of information.

Citation Details
Title: Displacement Effects of Online Media in the Socio-Technical Contexts of Households.
Author: Joseph M. Kayany
Publication: Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 2000
Publisher: Broadcast Education Association
Volume: 44 Issue: 2 Page: 215

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Uncertain Internet liabilities complicate Web loss control efforts.(Risk and Insurance Management Society Conference Report): An article from: National ... & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management

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Uncertain Internet liabilities complicate Web loss control efforts.(Risk and Insurance Management Society Conference Report): An article from: National ... & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management
Sam Friedman
Manufacturer: The National Underwriter Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Running Meetings & Presentations | Skills | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from National Underwriter Property & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management, published by The National Underwriter Company on April 21, 1997. The length of the article is 839 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: Liability issues linked to the use of the Internet and online information services and its relevance to risk managers was a major topic of discussion at the Risk and Insurance Management Society Conference. It is difficult for risk managers to ascertain the levels of Internet liability risk as their is a lack of case law and the issue of liability has yet to be taken up definitively by the courts. Among the issues that must be addressed are defamation and slander, over which conflicting case law exists.

Citation Details
Title: Uncertain Internet liabilities complicate Web loss control efforts.(Risk and Insurance Management Society Conference Report)
Author: Sam Friedman
Publication: National Underwriter Property & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management (Magazine/Journal)
Date: April 21, 1997
Publisher: The National Underwriter Company
Volume: v101 Issue: n16 Page: p3(2)

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