SOCIAL SEARCH ENGINE

• US 20110106895A1
• Filed: 10/29/2010
• Published: 05/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Horowitz, Damon, Spiro, Robert J., Stoll, Nathan, Ventilla, Max
• Application Number:
  US12/915,624
• Publication Number:
  US 20110106895A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/453 Help systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/046 Interoperability with other network applications or services

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for a social search engine. In one aspect, a method includes receiving a question from an asker in which the question is associated with one or more topics; selecting candidate answerers based at least partly on each answerer'"'"'s respective relationship to the asker; sending the question successively to groups of one or more candidate answerers according to the ranking until an answer is received from a particular one of the candidate answerers; and sending to the asker the received answer and information that identifies the particular answerer.

Claims

1. A method implemented by data processing apparatus, the method comprising:

receiving a question from an asker in which the question is associated with one or more topics;

selecting candidate answerers based at least partly on each answerer'"'"'s respective relationship to the asker;

sending the question successively to groups of one or more candidate answerers until an answer is received from a particular one of the candidate answerers; and

sending to the asker the received answer and information that identifies the particular answerer.

2. The method of claim 1 in which selecting candidate answerers is based at least partly on a time of day and whether a candidate answerer in the candidate answerers has been historically active during the time of day or prefers not to be contacted during the time of day.

3. The method of claim 1 in which selecting candidate answerers is based at least partly on a whether a candidate answerer is in the candidate answerers is online.

4. The method of claim 1 in which selecting candidate answerers is based at least partly on whether the candidate answerer has been contacted in a recent time period or a contact frequency preference of the candidate answerer.

5. The method of claim 1, in which sending further comprises receiving from a candidate answerer identification of another potential answer and sending the question to the other candidate answerer.

6. The method of claim 1 in which the respective relationship of a candidate answerer to the asker is based at least partly a degree of social indirection between the two.

7. The method of claim 1 in which sending further comprises selecting one or more message formats appropriate for the one or more candidate answerers in the group and sending the question using the selected message formats.

8. The method of claim 7 in which a message format is an instant message, electronic mail, a blog post, a short message service message, a posted comment, a micro-blog post, a wall post, or other social network message.

9. The method of claim 7 in which the message format for a candidate answerer in the group is selected based at least partly on the time of day.

10. The method of claim 7 in which the message format for a candidate answerer in the group is selected based at least partly on a likelihood that the candidate answerer will provide an answer based at least partly on the message format.

11. The method of claim 1 in which the information includes a description of a relationship between the asker and the particular answerer.

12. The method of claim 1 in which selecting candidate answerers further comprises selecting one or more candidate answerers based on topics associated with the selected candidate answerers.

13. A system comprising:

a computer-readable medium including instructions; and

data processing apparatus coupled to the computer-readable medium and able to execute the instructions to perform operations comprising;

receiving a question from an asker in which the question is associated with one or more topics;

selecting candidate answerers based at least partly on each answerer'"'"'s respective relationship to the asker;

sending the question successively to groups of one or more candidate answerers until an answer is received from a particular one of the candidate answerers; and

sending to the asker the received answer and information that identifies the particular answerer.

14. The system of claim 13 in which selecting candidate answerers is based at least partly on a time of day and whether a candidate answerer in the candidate answerers has been historically active during the time of day or prefers not to be contacted during the time of day.

15. The system of claim 13 in which selecting candidate answerers is based at least partly on a whether a candidate answerer is in the candidate answerers is online.

16. The system of claim 13 in which selecting candidate answerers is based at least partly on whether the candidate answerer has been contacted in a recent time period or a contact frequency preference of the candidate answerer.

17. The system of claim 13 in which sending further comprises receiving from a candidate answerer identification of another potential answer and sending the question to the other candidate answerer.

18. The system of claim 13 in which the respective relationship of a candidate answerer to the asker is based at least partly a degree of social indirection between the two.

19. The system of claim 13 in which sending further comprises selecting one or more message formats appropriate for the one or more candidate answerers in the group and sending the question using the selected message formats.

20. The system of claim 19 in which a message format is an instant message, electronic mail, a blog post, a short message service message, a posted comment, a micro-blog post, a wall post, or other social network message.

21. The system of claim 19 in which the message format for a candidate answerer in the group is selected based at least partly on the time of day.

22. The system of claim 19 in which the message format for a candidate answerer in the group is selected based at least partly on a likelihood that the candidate answerer will provide an answer based at least partly on the message format.

23. The system of claim 13 in which the information includes a description of a relationship between the asker and the particular answerer.

24. The system of claim 13 in which selecting candidate answerers further comprises selecting one or more candidate answerers based on topics associated with the selected candidate answerers.

25. A computer-readable medium including instructions operable to cause data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

receiving a question from an asker in which the question is associated with one or more topics;

selecting candidate answerers based at least partly on each answerer'"'"'s respective relationship to the asker;

sending the question successively to groups of one or more candidate answerers until an answer is received from a particular one of the candidate answerers; and

sending to the asker the received answer and information that identifies the particular answerer.