It’s interesting that Microsoft is using an Excel Add-In, NetMap, to analyze newsgroup structures. The researchers found at least three types of participants: Answer People, Reply Magnets and Discussion People. Hey, I know a few of those “Answer People.” No mention of trolls though — maybe they’re in the Discussion People group.

Somewhat related, but more fun, I won’t admit how much time I’ve spent on the Walk2Web site this week, exploring the connections between web sites. I’m marking it in my time log as “Research” so it’s time invested, rather than time wasted.

It’s a great way to discover new sites in your area of interest, and who knows what other gems (or garbage) you’ll find? It’s fascinating to see a picture of how sites are linked, and it does look like a web after you’ve walked to a few sites. A very messy web, granted.

In the screen shot below I’ve followed a couple of the links from my Excel Tips Index page.

• In the overview you can click on a linked site, to see its connections, or point to a link and see a snapshot of the page.
• Point to the top, bottom, left or right of the page, to scroll in that direction.
• Green links are incoming and blue links are outgoing. A maximum of three of each are shown, and you can click the orange More links to expand the view.
• You can mark sites as favorites, Digg them or StumbleUpon them.

So, if you’re looking for inspiration, or new ideas, or a way to kill an hour, visit Walk2Web. Don’t say that I didn’t warn you.

Filed under: Excel, Internet