Archive for July, 2008

The aesthetics of networks

The aesthetics of networks: A conceptual approach toward visualizing the composition of the Internet by M.K. Sterpka, in: First Monday, volume 12, number 9 (September 2007)

Hierarchy is an entrenched social concept. The Internet however, presents the possibility of envisioning social relations as a level or ‘flat’ configuration. The Internet fosters relationships that are networked, heterogeneous and horizontally distributed. This article contemplates the surface features of networked structures like the Internet by using topographic imagery.