Generating search results based on determined relationships between data objects and user connections to identified destinations

• US 7,912,941 B2
• Filed: 12/08/2005
• Issued: 03/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Toebes, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Rones; Charles
• Assistant Examiner(s): CAO, PHUONG THAO
• Application Number:
  US11/296,352
• Publication Number:
  US 20070124297A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,930 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/2, 707/3, 707/999.003, 707/705, 709/224
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/903 Querying for retrieval from the web G06F16/953
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques

Abstract

A search system generates an ordered list of destination targets including identified individuals and data objects, based on applying a user context to an information context and to a connection context. The user context identifies a search context (i.e., the information the user is seeking) relative to an identity of the user, and the information context identifies destinations accessible by the user, including data objects and communications-based actions (e.g., voice over IP telephony calls, instant messaging session transcripts, etc.). The connection context identifies relationships between chosen destinations throughout the system, and the strength of those relationships determined from artifacts of the chosen destinations: the connection context is updated based on artifact detection. The portion of the connection context that is relevant to the user context is used to order the portion of the information context that is relevant to the user context, resulting in the ordered list of destination targets.

Claims

1. A method for a system implemented in a network and configured for providing data objects and search services to at least one individual, the method comprising:

recording onto a computer readable storage medium, by the system within the network, artifacts representing accessing of chosen destinations throughout the network by different individuals having respective personal identities, each access of one of the chosen destinations by one of the individuals using any one of a plurality of available user devices being recorded within the network by the system as a corresponding artifact identifying the corresponding personal identity and the corresponding chosen destination, the chosen destinations reachable via the network, the network having multiple information sources, each information source providing at least one of the chosen destinations, the chosen destinations accessed by the individuals via the network from among the information sources including data objects and address identifiers for reaching identified individuals having respective personal identities; and

updating a connection context, identifying relationships between the chosen destinations, as the respective artifacts are recorded, the updating including;

(1) establishing a relationship between a corresponding first and second of the chosen destinations, accessed from among the information sources, based on determining a correlation between a first and a second of the artifacts, the first artifact recorded in response to a first of the individuals accessing the first of the chosen destinations using a first of the available user devices, the second artifact recorded in response to the first of the individuals accessing the second of the chosen destinations using a second of the available user devices that is different from the first of the available user devices, and

(2) updating the relationship between the first and second chosen destinations based on subsequent artifacts, associated with the first and second chosen destinations, indicating selection by the individuals subsequent to the establishment of the corresponding relationship, the updating including increasing a strength of the relationship based on an aggregation of the artifacts and the subsequent artifacts from the individuals, the aggregation identifying an increase in the correlation associated with the first and second chosen destinations.

2. The method of claim 1, where the recording includes:

registering with selected access servers by a context correlation resource, each access server providing access for an individual utilizing a user device according to a corresponding device protocol;

detecting, by one of the access servers providing access to the first of the available user devices, an access by the first individual to the first chosen destination according to the corresponding prescribed protocol; and

sending the first artifact, representing the access by the first individual to the first chosen destination, by the one access server to the context correlation resource in response to the detecting of the access.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein:

the recording further includes second detecting, by a second of the access servers providing access to the second of the available user devices, a second access by the first individual to the second chosen destination according to the prescribed protocol, and sending the second artifact, representing the access by the first individual to the second chosen destination, by the second access server to the context correlation resource;

the establishing including identifying the relationship between the first chosen destination and the second chosen destination based on an identifiable attribute between the first and second chosen destinations.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

generating a search result by the context correlation resource, in response to a user context that identifies a search context relative to the personal identity of an individual seeking a search result, based on identifying a portion of the connection context as relevant to the user context, and creating as the search result an ordered list of destination targets based on the portion of the connection context, the ordered list including selected identified individuals and selected data objects relevant to the user context, and a search result identifier;

the recording further including receiving a new artifact including the search result identifier, and an identifier for one of the destination targets chosen by the individual from the search result.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the updating of the connection context is performed by an Application Oriented Network System configured for monitoring user transactions, the Application Oriented Network System storing metadata associated with the connection context in a context connection storage.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the chosen destinations include at least one of a Voice over IP call destination, an e-mail message destination, a paging message destination, or an instant message destination.

7. A system implemented in a network and configured for providing data objects and search services to at least one individual, the system comprising:

a first network server implemented in the network and configured for recording, within the network, artifacts representing accessing of chosen destinations throughout the network by different individuals having respective personal identities, each access of one of the chosen destinations by one of the individuals using any one of a plurality of available user devices being recorded by the first network server as a corresponding artifact identifying the corresponding personal identity and the corresponding chosen destination, the chosen destinations reachable via the network, the network having multiple information sources, each information source providing at least one of the chosen destinations, the chosen destinations accessed by the individuals via the network from among the information sources including data objects and address identifiers for reaching identified individuals having respective personal identities; and

a second network server configured for updating a connection context, identifying relationships between the chosen destinations, as the respective artifacts are recorded, the updating including;

(1) establishing a relationship between a corresponding first and second of the chosen destinations, accessed from among the information sources, based on determining a correlation between a first and second of the artifacts, the first artifact recorded in response to a first of the individuals accessing the first of the chosen destinations using a first of the available user devices, the second artifact recorded in response to the first of the individuals accessing the second of the chosen destinations using a second of the available user devices that is different from the first of the available user devices, and

(2) updating the relationship between the first and second chosen destinations based on subsequent artifacts, associated with the first and second chosen destinations, indicating selection by the individuals subsequent to the establishment of the corresponding relationship, the updating including increasing a strength of the relationship based on an aggregation of the artifacts and the subsequent artifacts from the individuals, the aggregation identifying an increase in the correlation associated with the first and second chosen destinations;

at least one of the first network server or the second network server implemented as a processor-based device.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein:

the system further comprises a plurality of access servers, each providing access for an individual utilizing a user device according to a corresponding device protocol, the second network server configured for registering with the access servers to output artifacts of user actions;

wherein one of the access servers providing access to the first of the available user devices, in response to detecting an access by the first individual to the first chosen destination according to the corresponding prescribed protocol, sends to the second network server the first artifact representing the access by the first individual to the first chosen destination.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein:

a second of the access servers providing access to the second of the available user devices, in response to detecting a second access by the first individual to the second chosen destination according to the prescribed protocol, sends to the second network server the second artifact representing the access by the first individual to the second chosen destination;

the second network server configured for identifying the relationship between the first chosen destination and the second chosen destination based on an identifiable attribute between the first and second chosen destinations.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein:

the second network server is configured for generating a search result, in response to a user context that identifies a search context relative to the personal identity of an individual seeking a search result, based on identifying a portion of the connection context as relevant to the user context, and creating as the search result an ordered list of destination targets based on the portion of the connection context, the ordered list including selected identified individuals and selected data objects relevant to the user context, and a search result identifier;

the first network server configured for receiving a new artifact including the search result identifier, and an identifier for one of the destination targets chosen by the individual from the search result.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the second network server is implemented as an Application Oriented Network System configured for monitoring user transactions, the Application Oriented Network System storing metadata associated with the connection context in a context connection storage.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein the chosen destinations include at least one of a Voice over IP call destination, an e-mail message destination, a paging message destination, or an instant message destination.

13. A computer readable storage medium having stored thereon sequences of instructions for providing data objects and search services to at least one user by a processor-based device, the sequences of instructions including instructions for:

recording, by the processor-based device within a network, artifacts representing accessing of chosen destinations throughout the network by different individuals having respective personal identities, each access of one of the chosen destinations by one of the individuals using any one of a plurality of available user devices being recorded by the processor-based device as a corresponding artifact identifying the corresponding personal identity and the corresponding chosen destination, the chosen destinations reachable via the network, the network having multiple information sources, each information source providing at least one of the chosen destinations, the chosen destinations accessed by the individuals via the network from among the information sources including data objects and address identifiers for reaching identified individuals having respective personal identities; and

updating a connection context, identifying relationships between the chosen destinations, as the respective artifacts are recorded, the updating including;

(1) establishing a relationship between a corresponding first and second of the chosen destinations, accessed from among the information sources, based on determining a correlation between a first and a second of the artifacts, the first artifact recorded in response to a first of the individuals accessing the first of the chosen destinations using a first of the available user devices, the second artifact recorded in response to the first of the individuals accessing the second of the chosen destinations using a second of the available user devices that is different from the first of the available user devices, and

(2) updating the relationship between the first and second chosen destinations based on subsequent artifacts, associated with the first and second chosen destinations, indicating selection by the individuals subsequent to the establishment of the corresponding relationship, the updating including increasing a strength of the relationship based on an aggregation of the artifacts and the subsequent artifacts from the individuals, the aggregation identifying an increase in the correlation associated with the first and second chosen destinations.

14. The medium of claim 13, where the recording includes:

registering with selected access servers by a context correlation resource, each access server providing access for an individual utilizing a user device according to a corresponding device protocol;

detecting, by one of the access servers providing access to the first of the available user devices, an access by the first individual to the first chosen destination according to the corresponding prescribed protocol; and

sending the first artifact, representing the access by the first individual to the first chosen destination, by the one access server to the context correlation resource in response to the detecting of the access.

15. The medium of claim 14, wherein:

the recording further includes second detecting, by a second of the access servers providing access to the second of the available user devices, a second access by the first individual to the second chosen destination according to the prescribed protocol, and sending the second artifact, representing the access by the first individual to the second chosen destination, by the second access server to the context correlation resource;

the establishing including identifying the relationship between the first chosen destination and the second chosen destination based on an identifiable attribute between the first and second chosen destinations.

16. The medium of claim 14, further comprising instructions for performing the steps of:

generating a search result by the context correlation resource, in response to a user context that identifies a search context relative to the personal identity of an individual seeking a search result, based on identifying a portion of the connection context as relevant to the user context, and creating as the search result an ordered list of destination targets based on the portion of the connection context, the ordered list including selected identified individuals and selected data objects relevant to the user context, and a search result identifier;

the recording further including receiving a new artifact including the search result identifier, and an identifier for one of the destination targets chosen by the user from the search result.

17. The medium of claim 13, wherein the updating of the connection context is performed by an Application Oriented Network System configured for monitoring user transactions, the Application Oriented Network System storing metadata associated with the connection context in a context connection storage.

18. The medium of claim 13, wherein the chosen destinations include at least one of a Voice over IP call destination, an e-mail message destination, a paging message destination, or an instant message destination.

19. A system implemented in a network and configured for providing data objects and search services to at least one user, the system comprising:

means for recording, within the network, artifacts representing accessing of chosen destinations throughout the network by different individuals having respective personal identities, each access of one of the chosen destinations by one of the individuals using any one of a plurality of available user devices being recorded by the means for recording as a corresponding artifact identifying the corresponding personal identity and the corresponding chosen destination, the chosen destinations reachable via the network, the network having multiple information sources, each information source providing at least one of the chosen destinations, the chosen destinations accessed by the individuals via the network from among the information sources including data objects and address identifiers for reaching identified individuals having respective personal identities; and

means for updating a connection context, identifying relationships between the chosen destinations, as the respective artifacts are recorded, the updating including;

(1) establishing a relationship between a corresponding first and second of the chosen destinations, accessed from among the information sources, based on determining a correlation between a first and second of the artifacts, the first artifact recorded in response to a first of the individuals accessing the first of the chosen destinations using a first of the available user devices, the second artifact recorded in response to the first of the individuals accessing the second of the chosen destinations using a second of the available user devices that is different from the first of the available user devices, and

(2) updating the relationship between the first and second chosen destinations based on subsequent artifacts, associated with the first and second chosen destinations, indicating selection by the individuals subsequent to the establishment of the corresponding relationship, the updating including increasing a strength of the relationship based on an aggregation of the artifacts and the subsequent artifacts from the individuals, the aggregation identifying an increase in the correlation associated with the first and second chosen destinations;

at least one of the means for recording or the means for updating implemented as a processor-based device.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the chosen destinations include at least one of a Voice over IP call destination, an e-mail message destination, a paging message destination, or an instant message destination.