links for 2010-01-26

I don't think this is for building social networking services (front end), but very sure this is for plumbing the depths of all social networking services (data end). With the gang that is either at Google or gone through Google, it's about opening up our social graphs to the Machine that is Google.

[via @karllong]

Cool article on using slime molds to model best connections in complex networks. Key thing is that the molds do as well as engineers, so therefore, there must be some simple principles governing the building of these networks. And we won't need engineers anymore?

"Tokyo’s is not the first transport network to be modelled in this way. A study published in December by Andrew Adamatzky and Jeff Jones of the University of the West of England used oat flakes to represent Britain’s principal cities. Slime moulds modelled the motorway network of the island quite accurately, with the exception of the M6/M74 into Scotland (the creatures chose to go through Newcastle rather than past Carlisle)."