"Hypertext as the death of arcana, or how the click killed curiosity. The depth of the internet is, of course, limitless, a bottomless pit of html that can take us off and away on any number of unexpected byways and diversions. Yet is this expectation of diversion flattening out our experience of the physical world? The days of an internet where every stumble was a moment of true discovery are gone forever, perhaps, as curatorial zeal fast overtakes quiet collectomania as the principle online activity."

it refers to external content, for example through quotes or bibliographical references. It can thus be seen as a ‘node’ within a broader network of cultural content; it may be a starting or ending point, though usually it will be one of many intermediary points on a longer path. Such connections have of course always existed; what the hypertext structure (on which most digital media is still based) adds to this, is not so much a new model, as rather an exponential increase in scope and speed.