Search system and methods with integration of user annotations from a trust network

• US 20140289232A1
• Filed: 05/30/2014
• Published: 09/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Lu, Qi, Walther, Eckart, Tam, Chung-Man, Lee, Kevin, Xu, Zhichen, Diab, Ali, Norton, Kenneth, Mao, Jianchang, Ku, David
• Granted Patent: US 9,852,187 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/723
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24573 using data annotations, e.g. user-defined metadata
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services

Abstract

Computer systems and methods incorporate user annotations (metadata) regarding various pages or sites, including annotations by a querying user and by members of a trust network defined for the querying user into search and browsing of a corpus such as the World Wide Web. A trust network is defined for each user, and annotations by any member of a first user'"'"'s trust network are made visible to the first user during search and/or browsing of the corpus. Users can also limit searches to content annotated by members of their trust networks or by members of a community selected by the user.

Claims

1. A method implemented on a machine having at least one processor, storage, and a communication platform connected to a network for responding to a request, the method comprising:

receiving a request from a user;

obtaining a search result based on the request;

identifying one or more other users based at least in part on respective degrees of separation between the user and each of the one or more other users;

determining content in the search result which at least one of the one or more other users has previously accessed;

incorporating, in the search result, information about the previous access by the at least one of the one or more other users; and

transmitting the search result with incorporated information to the user as a response to the request.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the one or more other users is a member of a social network associated with the user.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein:

the social network includes a plurality of members including the user;

at least one of the plurality of members is identified as a friend of the user; and

at least one of the plurality of members is identified as a friend of a member other than the user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the one or more other users is connected to the user with a degree of separation not exceeding a predetermined value.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the one or more other users has created an annotation associated with the determined content.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the annotation comprises information about at least one of:

a rating of the determined content, a keyword describing the determined content, a label selected from a predetermined vocabulary, and a description of the determined content.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the search result is arranged based at least in part on an average rating of the determined content from the at least one of the one or more other users.

8. The method of claim 3, wherein:

the friend of the user is assigned a trust weight based on an input from the user; and

the friend of the user is added as a member of the social network based at least in part on the trust weight.

9. The method of claim 3, wherein the friend of the user is automatically identified from a list of users with whom the user has communicated.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the search result includes a visual highlight element applied to the determined content.

11. The method of claim 2, wherein:

the search result is generated based on one or more topics related to one or more documents; and

each of the one or more documents has previously been accessed by at least one member of the social network.

12. A system having at least one processor, storage, and a communication platform connected to a network for responding to a request, the system comprising:

an input control logic configured to receive a request from a user;

a search control logic configured to obtain a search result based on the request;

a trust network control logic configured to identify one or more other users based at least in part on respective degrees of separation between the user and each of the one or more other users;

a personalization control logic configured to determine content in the search result which at least one of the one or more other users has previously accessed; and

a reporting control logic configured to incorporate, in the search result, information about the previous access by the at least one of the one or more other users, and transmit the search result with incorporated information to the user as a response to the request.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein each of the one or more other users is a member of a social network associated with the user.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein:

the social network includes a plurality of members including the user;

at least one of the plurality of members is identified as a friend of the user; and

at least one of the plurality of members is identified as a friend of a member other than the user.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein each of the one or more other users is connected to the user with a degree of separation not exceeding a predetermined value.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the at least one of the one or more other users has created an annotation associated with the determined content.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the annotation comprises information about at least one of:

a rating of the determined content, a keyword describing the determined content, a label selected from a predetermined vocabulary, and a description of the determined content.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the search result is arranged based at least in part on an average rating of the determined content from the at least one of the one or more other users.

19. A machine-readable non-transitory medium having information recorded thereon for responding to a request, wherein the information, when read by a machine, causes the machine to perform the following:

receiving a request from a user;

obtaining a search result based on the request;

identifying one or more other users based at least in part on respective degrees of separation between the user and each of the one or more other users;

determining content in the search result which at least one of the one or more other users has previously accessed;

incorporating, in the search result, information about the previous access by the at least one of the one or more other users; and

transmitting the search result with incorporated information to the user as a response to the request.

20. The medium of claim 19, wherein each of the one or more other users is a member of a social network associated with the user and is connected to the user with a degree of separation not exceeding a predetermined value.