Scoping and biasing search to user preferred domains or blogs

• US 20070078854A1
• Filed: 09/30/2005
• Published: 04/05/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Naam, Ramez, Hurst-Hiller, Oliver, Kern, Randall
• Granted Patent: US 8,005,810 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation

Abstract

Architecture that allows a user to search for content or to restrict an online search to a limited number of websites and/or blog sites. Architecture is provided that facilitates data searching via a source component that includes data representative of a website or a blog, and a search component that processes the data to restrict or bias a query based in part on the data. The source component can include one or more of a favorites list, a blogroll, a pointer to an XML file, or a pointer to an OPML (outline processor markup language) file to specify a list of sites or blogs which they frequent. The search component processes a search query and restricts or biases the search by specifying a list of sites or blogs which are contained in the data of the source component, for example, the favorites list, the pointer to an XML file, the pointer to an OPML file, and the blogroll.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented system that facilitates data searching, comprising:

a source component that includes data representative of at least one of a website and a blog; and

a search component that processes the data to restrict or bias a search based in part on the data.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the search component includes a parser component that retrieves a list of sites and enters site information into a query.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the search component includes an execution component that executes the search according to filter data based on the list.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the search component includes an index component that stores metadata structures to enable execution of the search.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the search component restricts the search to content of a specified website or a specified blog site.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the source component the data in the form of a file that defines the at least one of the website and the blog that is searched.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the file includes one of a favorites list, a blogroll, and a pointer to another file.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the pointer points to at least one of an XML file and an OPML (outline processor markup language) file.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the search component performs a second search if results of the search are determined to be inadequate.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the second search is based on data associated with a second of at least one of a website and blog that is different than the at least one of the website and the blog.

11. A computer-implemented method of controlling a search, comprising:

retrieving a list of sites;

entering site information into a query; and

executing the query according to filter data based on the list.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the list includes at least one of a blog site and a website.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising storing metadata structures that enable execution of the query.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising exposing correct metadata structures that enable execution of the query.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising processing the query online.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising limiting the query to content of a site on the list.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising extending the search to multiple sites via the list.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the filter biases the search based on one or more sites of the list.

19. A computer-executable system, comprising:

computer-implemented means for retrieving a document of data sites;

computer-implemented means for entering site information of the data sites into a query;

computer-implemented means for storing metadata structures that enable execution of the query; and

computer-implemented means for executing the query according to filter data based on the list.

20. The system of claim 19, further comprising computer-implemented means for exposing correct metadata structures that enable execution of the query.