22/12/2014 InsightfulCRM The Internet Map: An Internet users Guide to the Galaxy » InsightfulCRM http://www.insightful.com.au/quirky/internetmapaninternetusersguidetothegalaxy/ 1/9 HOME ABOUT US SUGARCRM » CUSTOMERS BLOGS & INSIGHTS EVENTS MEDIA CONTACT US Insight Article Type keywords... 11 NOV 2014 WENDY EVANS INTERNET MAP, METRICS 0 COMMENT The Internet Map: An Internet users Guide to the Galaxy Ever wondered what the Internet might look like? Perhaps you would like to know what the top performing websites in geographical region are, how the web traffic of a country compares globally, or even where your own website sits spatially? There are a lot of web companies out there that do a good job of visualising Internet usage patterns, traffic flows and the global ranking of websites. But what about connections between websites? What Campaign Planning Template for LinkedIn & Google Adwords 22 Dec 2014 8 Tips for Creating Standout Content 16 Dec 2014 Recent Posts Contact InsightfulCRM on 1300 307 147
Transcript
22/12/2014 InsightfulCRM The Internet Map: An Internet users Guide to the Galaxy » InsightfulCRM
HOME ABOUT US SUGARCRM » CUSTOMERS BLOGS & INSIGHTS EVENTS MEDIA CONTACT US
Insight Article Type keywords...
11 NOV 2014 WENDY EVANS INTERNET MAP, METRICS
0 COMMENTThe Internet Map: An Internet usersGuide to the Galaxy
Ever wondered what the Internet might look like? Perhaps you would like to know whatthe top performing websites in geographical region are, how the web traffic of a countrycompares globally, or even where your own website sits spatially? There are a lot of webcompanies out there that do a good job of visualising Internet usage patterns, traffic flowsand the global ranking of websites. But what about connections between websites? What
Campaign PlanningTemplate for LinkedIn& Google Adwords22 Dec 2014
do these look like? This is where the Internet Map becomes your guide.
What is the Internet Map?The Internet Map is an online project that aims to visualise web traffic and linkingbetween sites. The map includes data from over 350,000 websites from 196 countries andis a snapshot of the Internet as of the end of 2011 (the map also shows current web statsfrom Alexa). Additionally, the map contains information about more than 2 million linksbetween websites, and it is this data that groups websites into the topical clusters ofcircles that appear on the map.
Each circle on the map corresponds to a different website, the colour of the circleidentifies the country that the website is in, the size of the circle indicates the amount oftraffic the site receives and the stronger the link between sites, the closer the circles are toeach other on the map (example below). The result of the project is a beautiful map oftoday’s Internet that is reminiscent of the night sky.
Websites are shown as circles. The US has the greatest number of circles followed by India and China. Picture sourced from
How Do I Fix Data inSpreadsheets: ProperCase16 Dec 2014
13 Cool Tactics toPrevent a PressureBlowout at Work09 Dec 2014
6 Awesome Sites toSource Free Imagesfor your Website09 Dec 2014
How does the Map work?The project models the metric data by using algorithms similar to those used in force-directed graph drawing (you can read more about the research here). The end product isa three dimensional interactive map that has been displayed using the Google Mapsengine.
Visitors to the Internet Map are able to search for specific websites and countries orexplore the map on their own by zooming in and out on specific areas. Visitors can alsoclick on the circles to get a popup balloon containing more information about each siteincluding site description, global and country rankings, and the percentage of totalInternet traffic.
More information from Alexa is shown in balloons. Picture from the Internet Map.
What is the appeal of Internet mapping?Apart from being pretty cool and reminding us how much the Internet has changed overthe last 15 years, maps of the Internet show us patterns and trends, geographicaldifferences, and traffic flows. Not only is this particular map interactive and hugelyentertaining, the displayed data shows us patterns, trends, and data flows, plus the spatialrelationships between sites. As one might expect, the largest clusters of circles are formed
by national websites, i.e. sites belonging to one country, and it is no surprise that Google,Facebook, YouTube and Yahoo have the largest circles on the map. However, the realvalue of this map starts once you zoom in to explore neighbouring websites or focus onspecific countries. The Australian cluster isn’t as easily identifiable on the map as some, soto make things a bit clearer you can check out the corresponding list of Australia’s topsites here.
To start exploring the Internet galaxy, click on the picture below. Enjoy!
Click picture to go to internet-map.net
Not on the Map? Want to improve your traffic flows?
Contact us online here or to speak directly to one of our friendly team members call us on
This mesmerising map of the Internet lets you explore the web’s tiny connections –Business Insider
Sleep map reveals world’s web activity disappears: Sun goes, UK stays awake – Daily Mail
Global Internet map - Telegeography
A ten year splat map of the Internet - Big Think
About the Author
Wendy Evans is a marketing specialist at InsightfulCRM with adegree in Media and over 10 years of experience in business,educational and marketing roles. An award winning writer, Wendyalso loves to research and get creative with content and marketingsolutions. When not in the office you might find Wendy lost in agood book, studying for her Masters Degree or chasing Zen at ayoga class. Wendy can also be found on LinkedIn.
