Science of the Internet

For those of us interested in the growing amount of information that is available electronically, scientists are now prepared to study the World Wide Web in an official way:

A Science of the Web Begins

From the article: "The initiative hopes to tackle a number of key questions: What features of current Web protocols make the system work? How do Web users represent the meaning, or semantics, of Web content? Can developers exploit the statistical patterns and distribution of content to understand meaning and relevance? What properties of the Web result in social effects? How do users address online privacy protection, intellectual property rights and security? What trends could fragment the Web?"