COOL links: ride the wave

As the Web evolves it is likely to become more user-centered, where navigation and search are more personalized and individualized. Signs of this are already surfacing in various guises including filters and other censorship tools, the use of cookies as user profile repositories, and metadata-aided search. Whether the user-centered approach will become the predominant model is open to debate, but it does appear that it will continue to make inroads. With minimal adaptations the technology available today can better manage and deliver the vast amount of information on the Web by meeting the user's needs, goals, and preferences. This paper discuss one such adaptation: COOL links. These are multi-ended, computed hyperlinks, which foster a new model of Web navigation, applicable to a variety of disparate domains, including education and marketing. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.