hubs and authorities >> by john fraim >> *spark-online issue fourteen

Not too long ago, symbols knew their place in the world and confined themselves mostly to that night world of dreams, the "talking cure" of psychoanalysis in dim offices of therapists or the oblong dimensions of flags and dollar bills. But in our postmodern era, they've taken on a 24/7 schedule and you can see them hanging out everywhere.

Not long ago they stayed hidden from view like "wallflowers" (masculine and feminine wallflowers) around the dim perimeters of the basketball court of the high school dance. Now these wallflowers have taken on a new "in your face" attitude. They've blossomed into sexy young vixens that walk around (and over) popular culture with the verve and audacity of L.A. "valley girls" at shopping malls or modern surfer skateboard dudes monopolizing the sidewalks of California suburbs.

There seems little question that these brash new contemporary symbols are close to that "epicentre" earthquake of the postmodern culture which shakes the foundation of grand, meta-narratives.

Joseph Campbell once observed that the Greek goddess emerges each morning from a New York subway. Jung once observed that airplanes are modern symbols for birds. With the over-production of symbols in our era of postmodern pluralism, they are spread far beyond airplanes floating overhead or goddesses emerging out of subways.

It wasn't long ago that we were encouraged to see symbols produced in everyday life. Now the challenge seems to be to reduce their pesty, buzzing, ubiquity.

There is the possibility that the Internet, that modern manufacturing plant of symbols of cultural content in the form of words and information, might also present a technology for reducing them. Of course no one is really jumping up and down with excitement at this prospect since American capitalism (and certainly NASDAQ) has always rewarded production rather than reduction.

One begins with that basic dictionary definition of a symbol as "something that refers to something else." Hello. Great definition. It's like the dictionary is not very interested in defining reference but rather deferring definition of reference. "Refer to something else for the definition of this word." Is there some type of conspiracy with the Merriam Webster corporation to keep this word secret?

Trying to find the definition is like a dog chasing that elusive tail. Somewhat like the phrases "senseless violence" (with its sub-textual message that there is an opposite here in "senseful" violence) or that American idea of "manifest destiny" another hypnotic phrase cutting off the logic of the statement.

Much of the relevance of symbols and reference to the Internet centres around search engine technology developed in the last years of the twentieth century by the Google scientists at Stanford and the Clever Project at IBM's Almaden Research facility in San Jose.

In an effort toward reduction of the massive content of information and Web pages on the Internet, and yes the possibility of even moving towards some of Jung's grand monistic symbols, the Clever Project team defines two basic types of Web sites: Authorities and Hubs. Authorities are sites other Web pages link to frequently on a particular topic. For the subject of human rights, for instance, the home page of Amnesty International might be such a location. Hubs are sites that cite many of these authorities, perhaps in a resource list or in a "My Favorite Links" section on a personal home page.

One suspects an incredible inequality on the Web between Hub and Authority sites, between "original" producers of content and streaming syndicators of content produced elsewhere. One can look at that vast cyber-city called AOL/Times Warner as the great Authority. One can also see it as the great Hub, its centre referring out visitors to the Authorities lurking in its far ranging cyber-suburbs. And one can also suggest that the great Authority site will be somewhat like Santa's workshop with little Authorities working around the clock to meet the demands of original content.

One of the problems behind the "postmodern condition" is that everyone sees Hubs as the only symbols when the real ones ("Will the real symbol please stand up") are the Authorities often hiding behind the Hubs in the same manner that the dictionary definition of "symbol" hides behind. True symbols are not the Hubs "referring to something else" in their hyper-links to Authorities. Rather, the real symbols will be found in those few Authorities.

And in the process of discovering these Authorities, Campbell's Greek Goddess will not emerge everyday but only once. For those few who are aware and have been able to escape from the "trance of content" she will only need to emerge once rather than each few hours in a thirty second television commercial for perfume. A few will see her for what she really is: that one Authority on beauty.

John Fraim is a regular contributor to *spark-online. He lives in California.