Investigating the impact of the blogosphere: Using PageRank to determine the distribution of attention

Kirchhoff, Lars and Bruns, Axel and Nicolai, Thomas (2007) Investigating the impact of the blogosphere: Using PageRank to determine the distribution of attention. In: Association of Internet Researchers, 17-20 October, Vancouver, Canada.

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Abstract

Much has been written in recent years about the blogosphere and its impact on political, educational and scientific debates. Lately the issue has received significant attention from the industry. As the blogosphere continues to grow, even doubling its size every six months, this paper investigates its apparent impact on the overall Web itself. We use the popular Google PageRank algorithm which employs a model of Web used to measure the distribution of user attention across sites in the blogosphere. The paper is based on an analysis of the PageRank distribution for 8.8 million blogs in 2005 and 2006. This paper addresses the following key questions: How is PageRank distributed across the blogosphere? Does it indicate the existence of measurable, visible effects of blogs on the overall mediasphere? Can we compare the distribution of attention to blogs as characterised by the PageRank with the situation for other forms of Web content? Has there been a growth in the impact of the blogosphere on the Web over the two years analysed here? Finally, it will also be necessary to examine the limitations of a PageRank-centred approach.

ID Code:	10517
Item Type:	Conference Paper
Additional Information:	For more information, please contact the authors.
Additional URLs:	http://en.scientificcommons.org/axel_bru...
Keywords:	blogs, blogosphere, Google, PageRank, impact, media
Subjects:	Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification > STUDIES IN CREATIVE ARTS AND WRITING (190000) > JOURNALISM AND PROFESSIONAL WRITING (190300)
Divisions:	Institutes > Institute for Creative Industries and Innovation QUT Faculties and Divisions > Creative Industries Faculty
Copyright Owner:	Copyright 2007 (please consult authors)
Deposited On:	31 Oct 2007
Last Modified:	23 Jan 2009 04:29

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