The internet is like a city
The information highway is a relatively common metaphor to describe the city. I would take this further and describe the internet as a city—or multiple cities—with Google and other search engines forming the highways in-between and through them.
I believe that the principles behind good urban form and community are very similar to the principles of an ideal internet; and that the modern american city shares many similar qualities and shortcomings as does the structure of the internet, simply through a different spatial medium.