Building Better Search Engines

Menczer's research group is continuing its studies of Web evolution. One project looks at Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org), a Web encyclopedia constructed entirely by volunteers who create entries and edit them. Menczer wants to see how Wikipedia's network structure, in which many people can edit the same document, differs from that of the Web at large, in which most people have sole control over their own space. Yet another project has obvious commercial applications. Menczer's trying to determine what makes for a successful Web site-the look or the content, or more subtle factors, such as the frequency with which people link to it. It all comes down to human behavior.