ABSTRACT
This paper explores what the tension between information abundance and attention
scarcity implies for the diversity of information accessible to users of the
World Wide Web. Due to limited user attention, there is a role for gatekeepers
in the online content market. Sites that catalog Web content and primarily present
themselves as content categorization services are identified as the gatekeepers
in the new information age. Exploring the mechanisms by which they organize
content is essential to understanding how user attention is allocated to information
available on the Web. Theories about media content diversity are delineated
to suggest what we may expect with respect to content diversity online. Methods
for future empirical investigation are suggested. Finally, the policy implications
of the argument are presented.