Examining the international internet using multiple measures: New methods for measuring the communication base of globalized cyberspace

Abstract

This article examines the network structure of the international internet using four different sources of data: (1) bilateral bandwidth between countries; (2) hyperlink connections among nations' domain names; (3) structural equivalence of nations from the perspective of websites, measured by the percentage of specific websites' traffic from individual countries; and (4) structural equivalence of nations from the national perspective, using the proportion of a country's 100 most-visited websites shared with other countries. Results indicate that the international internet network appears to consist of series of small worlds determined by language, geography, and historical circumstances. Therefore, one cannot depict the internet only through an examination of the hyperlink connections among nations. There is a need for multiple indicators to accurately describe the global internet. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.