World modeling using a relationship network with communication channels to entities

• US 7,747,648 B1
• Filed: 02/14/2005
• Issued: 06/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: R2 Solutions LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Perluss, Kenneth G., Kraft, Reiner, Maghoul, Farzin
• Primary Examiner(s): Ali; Mohammad
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ruiz; Angelica
• Application Number:
  US11/058,477
• Time in Patent Office: 1,961 Days
• Field of Search: 707/2, 707/3, 707/103.R, 707/104.1
• US Class Current: 707/790
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/288 Entity relationship models

Abstract

Systems and methods for information retrieval and communication employ a world model. The world model is made up of interrelated entity models, each of which corresponds to an entity in the real world, such as a person, place, business, other tangible thing, community, event, or thought. Each entity model provides a communication channel via which a user can contact a real-world person responsible for that entity model. Entity models also provide feedback information, enabling users to easily share their experiences and opinions of the corresponding real-world entity.

Claims

1. A computer system for providing information about an entity to a user, the system comprising:

a world model data store configured to store a plurality of interrelated entity models for a plurality of different categories, each of the entity models being associated with one of the plurality of different categories, the categories including two or more of;

a person, a business, a place, tangible things, communities, thoughts and events, the entity models containing information defining relationships between other entity models of the different categories about a corresponding one of a plurality of entities,

each entity model further having core data that defines each entity being modeled including the name of the entity, a category label, a unique entity identifier and a manager identifier, the entity model further including content section data that includes media content links to audio or video clips relating to the entity, web log content links to web log entries that discuss the entity or are authored by a writer associated with the entity, the entity model further includes a feedback section that stores evaluative information about the entity contributed to the entity model by at least one outside party providing an experience feedback, the entity model further including interrelated entity data to store feedback related to a corresponding entity of the same category;

each entity model further having an associated communication channel for initiating direct electronic communication with a manager responsible for that one of the plurality of entity models, wherein the direct electronic communication comprises the identifier of the manager together with the information contained in the requested one of the plurality of entity models;

a world server networked to the world model data store, the world server being configured to receive a user request for an entity model, to return the information contained in the requested entity model including related entity models based on defined relationships to entity models of different categories; and

a set of instructions executed on a processor, wherein the set of instructions executed on the processor enable the user to access the communication channel associated with the requested entity model and return the manager identifier together with the content section data associated with the requested entity model.

2. The computer system of claim 1 wherein the user request includes a search query specifying a property for the information contained in the entity models and wherein the world server is further configured to identify, as the requested entity model, an entity model for which the contained information matches the property specified in the search query.

3. The computer system of claim 1 wherein the user request includes a request for entity models classified in one of the predefined categories.

4. The computer system of claim 1 wherein the entity models are interrelated by relationships having a plurality of relationship types.

5. The computer system of claim 4 wherein each relationship between two entity models is navigable in at least one direction.

6. The computer system of claim 5 wherein the user request includes a request for entity models that are related to a first entity model by a user-specified relationship type.

7. The computer system of claim 1 wherein the information contained in at least some of the entity models further includes structured metadata describing the corresponding entities, the structured metadata including a plurality of fields and associated values.

8. The computer system of claim 7 wherein the user request includes a request for entity models having a user-specified value for one of the fields of the structured metadata.

9. The computer system of claim 1 wherein the information contained in at least some of the entity models further includes feedback information relating to the corresponding entities, the feedback information being provided by users of the computer system.

10. The computer system of claim 1 wherein the information contained in at least some of the entity models further includes a reference to content related to the corresponding entities.

11. A computer-implemented method for providing information to a user, the method comprising:

defining in a data store, a plurality of interrelated entity models for a plurality of different categories, each of the entity models being associated with one of the plurality different categories, the categories including two or more of;

a person, a business, a place, tangible things, communities, thoughts and events, the entity models containing information defining relationships between other entity models of different categories about a corresponding one of a plurality of entities;

defining, in the data store, each entity model further having core data that defines each entity being modeled including the name of the entity, a category label, a unique entity identifier and a manager identifier, the entity model further including content section data that includes media content links to audio or video clips relating to the entity, web log content links to web log entries that discuss the entity or are authored by a writer associated with the entity, the entity model further includes a feedback section that stores evaluative information about the entity contributed to the entity model by at least one outside party providing an experience feedback, the entity model further including interrelated entity data to store feedback related to a corresponding entity of the same category;

associating with each of the plurality of entity models in the data store a communication channel for initiating direct electronic communication with a manager responsible for that one of the plurality of entity models, wherein the direct electronic communication comprises the identifier of the manager together with the information contained in the requested one of the plurality of entity models;

receiving, at a world server, a user request for an entity model;

returning, by the world server, the information contained in the requested one of the plurality of entity models including related entity models based on defined relationships to entity models of different categories; and

executing a set of instructions executed on a processor, wherein executing the set of instructions performs the steps of;

automatically enabling the user to access the communication channel associated with the requested entity model and returning the identifier of the manager together with the information contained in the requested one of the plurality of entity models.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein enabling the user to access the communication channel includes:

providing to the user a form for entry of input to be communicated;

receiving input from the user via the form; and

transmitting the received input to the manager via the communication channel.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the communication channel is selected by the manager.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the communication channel is selected from a group consisting of an e-mail channel and an instant messaging channel.

15. The method of claim 11 wherein the user request includes a search query specifying a property for the information contained in the entity models, the method further comprising:

identifying, by the world server, as the requested entity model, an entity model for which the contained information matches the property specified in the search query.