Integration of instant messaging with internet searching

• US 8,001,102 B2
• Filed: 07/02/2008
• Issued: 08/16/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/19/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Szeto, Christopher T., Tam, Raymond Chung-Man
• Primary Examiner(s): Le; Uyen T.
• Application Number:
  US12/167,147
• Publication Number:
  US 20080288467A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,140 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/706
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9536 Search customisation based on social or collaborative filtering
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

Techniques for integrating instant messaging with Internet search features are provided. An instant messaging (IM) application allows users to launch a search of the Internet or the World Wide Web for information about another IM user or another topic. If an IM user wishes to locate information relating to a friend, a search is performed through a database of registered IM members to locate a user profile for the friend. If the friend'"'"'s profile is found, the profile is displayed to the IM user. An IM application can link to an Internet search engine to search the Internet for web sites relating to the topic or person. Search results from an Internet search can be sorted based on information about a friend that is stored in the friend'"'"'s user profile.

Claims

1. A method for performing an Internet search launched from an instant messaging (IM) application, the method comprising:

receiving, by a computing device, a search query from a first IM user for an Internet search of a second IM user, the search query initiated by user input to the IM application;

initiating, by the computing device, a search of the Internet for web pages based on information associated with the second IM user to generate search results; and

causing, by the computing device, communication of at least a portion of the search results to the first IM user.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the information associated with the second IM user is retrieved from a user profile associated with the second IM user.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising accessing, by the computing device, a user profile associated with the second IM user for use in the search.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising sorting, by the computing device, the search results based on information associated with the second IM user.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising transmitting, by the computing device, the search query to a search server.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein transmitting the search query further comprises transmitting a URL that contains an ID identifying the second IM user to the search server.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the communicated search results are displayed in a web browser window generated by a web browser application.

8. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions executed by a processor for performing an Internet search launched from an instant messaging (IM) application, the instructions comprising:

code executed by the processor for initiating a search of the Internet in response to search request from user input by a first IM user, the search based on information associated with a second IM user; and

code executed by the processor for causing communication of at least one search result to the first IM user in response to the search.

9. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 8, further comprising code executed by the processor for transmitting a search query identifying the second IM user to a search server.

10. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 8, further comprising code executed by the processor for accessing a user profile of the second IM user from an IM member profile database for use in the search.

11. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 8, further comprising code executed by the processor for causing display of the at least one search result to the first IM user.

12. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 8, further comprising code executed by the processor for sorting the search results in order of relevance to information in the user profile of the second IM user.

13. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 12, wherein the code for displaying the sorted search results further comprises displaying a user profile of the second IM user along with the search results.

14. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 8, wherein the at least one search result is displayed in a web browser window generated by a web browser application.

15. Apparatus for performing an Internet search launched from an instant messaging (IM) application, the apparatus comprising a server computer comprising a processor and operable for:

receiving, by the server computer, a request from a first IM user for an Internet search of a second IM user, the search request received by the server computer via user input to the IM application;

causing, by the server computer, a search of the Internet based on information associated with the second IM user; and

communicating, by the server computer, at least one of the results of the search to the first IM user.

16. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the server computer is further operable to cause sorting of the results of the search based on information in a user profile of the second IM user.

17. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the information associated with the second IM user is retrieved from a user profile associated with the second IM user.

18. The apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising accessing a user profile associated with the second IM user for use in the search.

19. The apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising sorting the search results based on information associated with the second IM user.

20. The apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising transmitting the search query to a search server.