The network of nets also has some cracks
A study shows that websites are less interconnected than assumed
A study shows that websites are less interconnected than assumedFor a long time, it was thought that any two websites on the Internet were no more than 19 mouse clicks apart. A study by Compaq, IBM and AltaVista comes to a very different conclusion. The study of 1.5 billion links between 200 million Web sites shows that there is a direct path between two randomly selected sites only 25 percent of the time. 10 percent of websites lie dormant as isolated islands in the sea of data. 90 percent are linked to another. However, these 186 million of the websites covered are networked very differently.The node - Strong Connected Component (SCC) - consists of around 56 million websites that are strongly linked to each other. In addition, there is an in-block as well as an out-block of 44 million web pages each. These sites are linked on one side and lead either into or out of the center.
Another category of also 44 million websites, the so-called tendrils (fringes), are only indirectly accessible from the SCC.
In this way, the Internet can be compared to the shape of a frayed fly: in the center, the strongly connected node (SCC), flanked by the two in and out wings and surrounded by countless fringes.
On the Internet you can find countless cyber corpses
While the center is mostly commercial websites, the sites from the out block are called destination sites. These are Internet presences of companies that suck traffic from the center but do not return it.
The situation is different in the case of sites from the in-block. These so-called origination sites are mostly from private individuals who link to the offer in the center,
without being linked there themselves. Finally, in the case of the tendrils, it is assumed that these are offers from special interest groups that are not dependent on an exchange with the center. Among these weakly networked websites in particular, there are likely to be plenty of cyber corpses that have long since ceased to be updated.
Commercial sites must be in the center or out block
Websites that depend on a lot of traffic for financial reasons, whether as an advertising medium or as an online store, have a chance of survival above all if they are located in the center or in the out block. For e-shops in particular, belonging to the out-block has the advantage that many visitors from the center are led to the virtual store via links and are less tempted to leave the website there before they have clicked through the range on offer.
Website operators can achieve the necessary networking by advertising on well-visited sites. However, companies that cannot afford broad campaigns also have other options for networking more closely with the center:
E-shops can, for example, enter into cooperative ventures with well-visited websites, such as portals or online newspapers.
Another possibility is the entry in shopping malls or networking platforms. Such offers are currently springing up in Switzerland like mushrooms after a rainy night and are aimed primarily at SMEs. Finally, the entry in search engines should not be underestimated. After all, the most beautiful website is for nothing if it doesn't find a mouse (click).
Thomas Brenzikofer
Another category of also 44 million websites, the so-called tendrils (fringes), are only indirectly accessible from the SCC.
In this way, the Internet can be compared to the shape of a frayed fly: in the center, the strongly connected node (SCC), flanked by the two in and out wings and surrounded by countless fringes.
On the Internet you can find countless cyber corpses
While the center is mostly commercial websites, the sites from the out block are called destination sites. These are Internet presences of companies that suck traffic from the center but do not return it.
The situation is different in the case of sites from the in-block. These so-called origination sites are mostly from private individuals who link to the offer in the center,
without being linked there themselves. Finally, in the case of the tendrils, it is assumed that these are offers from special interest groups that are not dependent on an exchange with the center. Among these weakly networked websites in particular, there are likely to be plenty of cyber corpses that have long since ceased to be updated.
Commercial sites must be in the center or out block
Websites that depend on a lot of traffic for financial reasons, whether as an advertising medium or as an online store, have a chance of survival above all if they are located in the center or in the out block. For e-shops in particular, belonging to the out-block has the advantage that many visitors from the center are led to the virtual store via links and are less tempted to leave the website there before they have clicked through the range on offer.
Website operators can achieve the necessary networking by advertising on well-visited sites. However, companies that cannot afford broad campaigns also have other options for networking more closely with the center:
E-shops can, for example, enter into cooperative ventures with well-visited websites, such as portals or online newspapers.
Another possibility is the entry in shopping malls or networking platforms. Such offers are currently springing up in Switzerland like mushrooms after a rainy night and are aimed primarily at SMEs. Finally, the entry in search engines should not be underestimated. After all, the most beautiful website is for nothing if it doesn't find a mouse (click).
Thomas Brenzikofer
