ntroduction: on not taking the hyperlink for granted / Joseph Turow -- Structuring a marketplace of attention / James G. Webster -- The hyperlink as organizing principle / Alexander Halavais -- Hyperlinking and the forces of "massification" / Philip M. Napoli -- The hyperlink in newspapers and blogs / Lokman Tsui -- The role of expertise in navigating links of influence / Eszter Hargittai -- Google, links, and popularity versus authority / Seth Finkelstein -- The hyperlinked news organization / Martin Nisenholtz -- How hyperlinks ought to change the advertising business / Tom Hespos -- Hyperlinks and marketing insight / Stacey Lynn Schulman -- Hyperlinking and advertising strategy / Eric Picard -- From hyperlinks to hyperties / Marc A. Smith -- The morality of links / David Weinberger -- Linked geographies: maps as mediators of reality / Stefaan G. Verhulst -- Will peasants map? Hyperlinks, map mashups, and the future of information / Jeremy W. Crampton -- The social hyperlink / Lada A. Adamic -- Are hyperlinks "weak ties"? / Markus Prior -- What is the online public sphere good for? / Matthew Hindman.

This book investigates the multi-faceted nature of hyperlinks and their consequences for commerce, communication, and civic discourse in the world of digital media."The Hyperlinked Society" focuses on "links" as one of the most basic - and unexamined - features of online life. Bringing together a prominent array of thinkers from industry and academe, this collection addresses a provocative series of questions about the ways in which hyperlinks organize behavior online. How do media producers' considerations of links change the way they approach their work, and how do these considerations in turn affect the ways that audiences receive news and entertainment? What role do economic and political considerations play in information producers' creation of links? How do links shape the size and scope of the public sphere in the digital age? Do hyperlinks function as "bridging" mechanisms that encourage people to see beyond their personal beliefs to a broader and more diverse world? Or do they simply reinforce existing bonds, encouraging people to ignore social and political concerns that seem irrelevant to their personal interests?This path-breaking collection of essays will be valuable to anyone interested in the now taken-for-granted - connections that structure communication, commerce, and civic discourse in the world of digital media.