Linked: The New Science of Networks by Albert-Laszlo Barabasi Buy at: Amazon

An introduction to the theory behind why networks are so powerful.

That's social networks, biological networks, computer networks, any kind of network. You hear a lot about network effects, so I thought I should learn a little bit more about the research into the theory of why networks work the way they do and how they develop. This book isn't far from an academic text: the theory is built up slowy, and at the end of each chapter you're left thinking "Yeah, but what about..." and then the next chapter covers the gap you were thinking about.

Highlights for me: the power of weak links in a network (when you find a job, it's not often your closest friend, but an aquatance that has been involved); the origins of the "six degrees"; how a newcomer can make a splash in an established network (the way Google did); the best networks obey a power law (many lightly connected nodes, and a small number of huge hubs).

back