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To attempt to paraphrase some of the key points... Barabasi's involvement in a branch of physics dedicated to finding patterns in randomness led him to examining networks. Among networks he investigated was the Web. He of course took a look at Google etc. He concluded that "there are no random networks" and that all networks exhibit similar patterns.
Barabasi maintains that it is an inherent property of all networks that "everybody connects to the more connected nodes.... it's the rich get richer syndrome." While some societies try to control this by limiting the amount of wealth individuals or companies may have, it's not just Google's algo that favors large and well-funded sites.
But, from this model, says Barabasi, you'd think that Tim Berners-Lee, eg, would be the most connected node on the internet, because he was there first... but he's not. Barabassi adds in the factor of "fitness," what causes people to connect to that node.
Barabassi also pointed out that the human body is an example of a dynamic network that has evolved over millions of years. The internet is less than 30 years old.
Here's also a link [nd.edu] to Barabasi's Study of Self-Organized Networks site at Notre Dame, which includes links to a bunch of material I haven't read but which looks interesting, including the first chapter of his book, and an article called The Physics of the Web [physicsweb.org].
....one thing though. The guy is looking for randomness. Why did he think of a network, that runs on 1's 0's and pure LOGIC???? Not much randomness involved with logic.
It all comes down to humans (or human error). A computer would work perfectly if it wasnt for the fact that a human is needed to run it. I guess the same goes for the web. As soon as you get your first britney spears fan linking to the official site - the balance and equality of the web never becomes the same again :)
