Enabling searching of user ratings and reviews using user profile location, and social networks

• US 7,895,177 B2
• Filed: 05/29/2007
• Issued: 02/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: R2 Solutions LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Wu, Su-Lin
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu; Yicun
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mamillapalli; Pavan
• Application Number:
  US11/754,855
• Publication Number:
  US 20080301112A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,365 Days
• Field of Search: 707/3, 707/706, 707/748, 707/772
• US Class Current: 707/706
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

A system and method are directed towards a free-form search query of user reviews using user profile, location information, and/or social networks, to obtain a result having an associated universal aggregated rating. The user may enter in free-form a search query that may then be transparently modified using the user'"'"'s profile, social network, and/or current physical location. The search results may then be presented to the user along with aggregated weighted ratings. The user may also enter products and/or services into a data store, including comments, and a universal rating. In one embodiment, the user may provide a tag to another reviewer'"'"'s comments that may be useable to aggregate ratings. In one embodiment, the user'"'"'s profile, location, and/or social networking information may be used to further annotate the user'"'"'s inputs.

Claims

1. A network device to manage a search query from a mobile device over a network, comprising:

a transceiver to send and receive data over the network; and

a processor that is operative to perform actions, including;

providing to a user a free-form input box;

receiving social networking information about the user;

determining a current location of the user;

receiving from the user a free-form search query;

modifying the search query based in part on the social networking information, or the current location of the user;

performing the modified search query; and

providing a search result having a plurality of results, each result in the plurality of results including a weighted aggregated average rating that is based on weighting of contributing phrases, including sub-phrases, within relevant reviews, wherein the weighted aggregated average rating further comprises determining a weighting based on a fraction of words in a sub-phrase of words in the review over a total number of words contributing to a review associated with the search query.

2. The network device of claim 1, wherein receiving social networking information further comprises:

receiving at least one of a user preference profile, or information about the user'"'"'s friends, family, or at least their first degree of separation contacts.

3. The network device of claim 1, wherein modifying the search query further comprises:

if at least one word within the search query is ambiguous, attempting to disambiguate the term based in part on the social networking information and the current location of the user.

4. The network device of claim 1, wherein the processor is operative to perform actions, further including:

enabling the user to select at least one additional social networking constraint, wherein the additional social networking constraint is employable to further modify the search query.

5. The network device of claim 1, wherein the processor is operative to perform actions, further including:

receiving from the user a free-form input of comments about at least one of a product, service, or business;

performing disambiguation on the comments based in part on the current location and social networking information; and

receiving a universal rating associated with the comments from the user.

6. A system that is operative to manage a search query over a network, comprising:

a data store configured to receive and manage user profiles and user social networking information; and

a universal search and rating manager that is in communication with the data store and is configured and arranged to perform actions, including;

receiving an identifier of a user;

employing the identifier to retrieve information about the user from the data store, including a user profile and user social networking information;

determining a current location of the user;

receiving from the user a free-form search query;

modifying the search query based in part on the social networking information, and the current location of the user;

performing the modified search query; and

providing a search result having a plurality of results, each result in the plurality of results including a weighted aggregated average rating that is based on weighting of contributing phrases, including sub-phrases, within relevant reviews, wherein the weighted aggregated average rating further comprises determining a weighting based on a fraction of words in a sub-phrase of words in the review over a total number of words contributing to a review associated with the search query.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein at least some of the social networking information is determined based on tracking an activity of the user over a network.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein modifying the search query further comprises:

if at least one word within the search query is ambiguous, attempting to disambiguate the term based in part on the social networking information and the current location of the user.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein the universal search and rating manager is configured to further perform actions, including:

receiving from the user a free-form input of comments about at least one of a product, service, or business;

performing disambiguation on the comments based in part on the user'"'"'s current location and user'"'"'s social networking information; and

receiving a universal rating associated with the comments from the user.

10. A non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions for managing a universal ratings over a network, the computer-executable instructions when installed onto a computing device enable the computing device to perform actions, comprising:

receiving from a user a user'"'"'s profile, and user'"'"'s social networking information;

determining a current location of the user;

receiving from the user a free-form comment about at least one item of interest, wherein the comment includes at least one sub-phrase comprising one or more terms;

performing disambiguation on the comments based in part on the user'"'"'s current location and user'"'"'s social networking information;

receiving a universal rating associated with the comments from the user; and

determining a weighting for each sub-phrase within a comment based on a fraction of terms in each sub-phrase of one or more terms, in addition to the entire comment, over a total number of terms contributing to the comment, wherein the weighting further comprises determining a weighting based on a fraction of words in a sub-phrase of words in the comment over a total number of words contributing to the comment terms.

11. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the computing device performs actions, further comprising:

receiving from the user a free-form search query;

modifying the search query based in part on the user'"'"'s social networking information, and the current location of the user;

performing the modified search query; and

providing a search result having a plurality of results, each result in the plurality of results including a weighted aggregated average rating based in part on the sub-phrase weightings of comments.

12. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein performing disambiguation further comprises, enabling the user to provide at least one social networking constraint to further attempt to disambiguate the comment.

13. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the user is enabled to further provide a tag to at least one search result, wherein the search result comprises weighted average ratings for at least one other sub-phrase aggregated from a plurality of users'"'"' comments.

14. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein receiving the universal rating further comprises identifying the received rating with the user.

15. A method, operating within a processor, of performing a search query over a network, comprising:

receiving social networking information about a user;

determining a current location of the user;

receiving from the user a free-form search query;

modifying the search query based in part on the social networking information, or the current location of the user;

performing the modified search query; and

providing a search result having a plurality of results, each result in the plurality of results including a weighted aggregated average rating that is based on weighting of contributing phrases, including sub-phrases, within relevant reviews, wherein the weighted aggregated average rating further comprises determining a weighting based on a fraction of words in a sub-phrase of words in the review over a total number of words contributing to a review associated with the search query.

16. The method of claim 15, the method further comprising:

receiving from the user a free-form input of comments about at least one of a product, service, or business;

performing disambiguation on the comments based in part on the user'"'"'s current location and user'"'"'s social networking information; and

receiving a universal rating associated with the comments from the user.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein receiving social networking information further comprises having the user provide information within a survey.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein modifying the search query further comprises constraining the results of the search query to results based in part on input comments into a search data store from other users within a defined degree of separation from the user.

19. The method of claim 15, further comprising a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon program instructions for performing the method of claim 15.