Uncovering Transnational Hyperlink Patterns and Web-Mediated Contents: A New Approach Based on Cracking.com Domain

Abstract

One unresolved issue in international telecommunications research is the examination of the international hyperlink network that includes the ubiquitous .com domain. Based on the assumption that decomposing or ‘‘cracking’’ .com leads to a more accurate description of the international hyperlink network, this research proposes a method for decomposing .com, applies the proposed procedure, and investigates the differences between two international hyperlink networks—one including .com data and the other excluding .com. The adjusted international hyperlink network showed substantial differences in the centrality of several countries that make extensive use of .com. For example, in contrast to the hyperlink network excluding .com, the network including .com showed a thirtyfold increase in the out-degree centrality of the U.S. and a change in the country’s eigenvector centrality that was greater than that of any other country. In addition, the centrality of China, Japan, and India increased. By contrast, the centrality of countries that do not rely heavily on .com, mainly E.U. members, decreased. The results obtained with the cracked .com data have several implications that are consistent with world-systems theory for the study of international telecommunications and globalization.