] In systems where many people are free to choose between
] many options, a small subset of the whole will get a
] disproportionate amount of traffic (or attention, or
] income), even if no members of the system actively work
] towards such an outcome. This has nothing to do with
] moral weakness, selling out, or any other psychological
] explanation. The very act of choosing, spread widely
] enough and freely enough, creates a power law
] distribution.

Very interesting essay on things such as the 80/20 rule, as applied to everything from wealth distribution to the popularity of individual web logs.

Shirky: Power Laws, Weblogs, and Inequality