Some fascinating (and as the author points out, somewhat “fashionable”) analogies drawn in this article by Jon Udell, looking at the feedback loops being created by referrer “backlinks” displayed on weblog pages.

“The information trails written in backlinks are, of course, new grist for Google’s mill. They also enable an emerging breed of software, the social network analyzer, to visualize patterns of group formation.

The fact that groups are not readily identifiable seems at odds with the notion that blogging is a collaborative effort. In forums and newsgroups, well-defined groups interact directly in shared spaces. In blogspace, individuals control autonomous spaces. Groups are fluid coalitions. Interaction happens in more indirect ways. These are hard rules to play by. And that is why life took so long to achieve multicellularity.”

» O’Reilly Network: “Blogspace Under the Microscope” by Jon Udell 05/03/2002