Mapping the internet as a whole has been a thing for quite a while, going back to Kumar et al in 2000. https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citati

Mapping the internet as a whole has been a thing for quite a while, going back to Kumar et al in 2000. https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=J_XhIsgAAAAJ&citation_for_view=J_XhIsgAAAAJ:ZeXyd9-uunAC https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&h... I recall at least one of those papers characterizing the shape as resembling a bow-tie. This and other early contributions were looking at the link structure of the internet, not textual similarity, though.