Three dimensional visualization of the World Wide Web

Benford, Steve; Taylor, Ian; Brailsford, David F; Koleva, Boriana; Craven, Michael P.; Fraser, Mike; Reynard, Gail; Greenhalgh, Chris

Abstract

Although large-scale public hypermedia structures such as the World Wide Web are popularly referred to as "cyberspace", the extent to which they constitute a space in the everyday sense of the word is questionable. This paper reviews recent work in the area of three dimensional (3D) visualization of the Web that has attempted to depict it in the form of a recognizable space; in other words, as a navigable landscape that may be visibly populated by its users. Our review begins by introducing a range of visualizations that address different aspects of using the Web. These include visualizations of Web structure, especially of links, that act as 3D maps; browsing history; searches; evolution of the Web; and the presence and activities of multiple users. We then summarize the different techniques that are employed by these visualizations. We conclude with a discussion of key challenges for the future.

Citation

Benford, S., Taylor, I., Brailsford, D. F., Koleva, B., Craven, M. P., Fraser, M., Reynard, G., & Greenhalgh, C. (1999). Three dimensional visualization of the World Wide Web. ACM Computing Surveys, 31(4es),

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Dec 1, 1999
• Deposit Date: Oct 10, 2005
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 9, 2007
• Journal: ACM Computing Surveys
• Print ISSN: 0360-0300
• Publisher: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 31
• Issue: 4es
• Keywords: World Wide Web, 3D Visualization, Browsing History, Web search
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1023817
• Additional Information: Final draft of survey paper accepted for ACM Computing Surveys