Researchers developed a model predicting link distributions in web communities, revealing varying degrees of competition dominance across groups. The study may have implications for e-tailers and online commerce, with potential advantages for early adopters.
The study defines web communities as collections of pages with more links within than outside, and uses a maximum flow framework to efficiently identify them. Communities are found to be highly relevant and topically related, with applications in search engines, directories, and content filtering.
A new study by NEC Research Institute reveals that search engines have decreased coverage to 16% of the publicly indexable web, with bias towards popular and commercial sites. The study also found that indexing can take months for new pages, affecting economic viability, scientific progress, and social decisions.