Computer-implemented system and method for prospecting digital information through online social communities

• US 8,190,424 B2
• Filed: 12/05/2011
• Issued: 05/29/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Palo Alto Research Center, Inc. (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Stefik, Mark Jeffrey
• Primary Examiner(s): RIDER, JUSTIN W
• Application Number:
  US13/311,524
• Publication Number:
  US 20120078960A1
• Time in Patent Office: 176 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 704/9
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/355 Class or cluster creation or modification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/358 Browsing; Visualisation therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/022 Knowledge engineering; Knowledge acquisition
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching

Abstract

A home evergreen index and frontier evergreen indexes are maintained. The indexes cover topically-limited subject areas, which include digital information. Each index defines a hierarchy of topics. Each index further matches a topic model to the topic hierarchy'"'"'s topics. Each topic model includes a pattern evaluable against the digital information, which identifies such digital information matching the topic model'"'"'s topic. At least one frontier evergreen index that includes topics that are at least partially distinct from the topics included in the home evergreen index is identified. Vetted assessments for articles identified by the at least one frontier evergreen index are obtained. The articles corresponding to the vetted assessments that are favorable are selected. The patterns that include the topic models of the home evergreen index are matched against the selected articles of the digital information. The selected articles of the digital information that were matched are provided on a display.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented system for prospecting digital information through online social communities, comprising:

a computer comprising a processor and memory within which code for execution by the processor is stored, comprising;

an information storage module configured to maintain a home evergreen index for a home community and a plurality of frontier evergreen indexes for respective frontier communities, the home evergreen index and the frontier evergreen indexes covering topically-limited subject areas, each of the subject areas comprising electronically-stored digital information, the home evergreen index and each frontier evergreen index comprising;

a hierarchy of stored topics; and

a stored topic model matched to each of the topics in the topic hierarchy, each of the topic models comprising a pattern evaluable against the digital information, wherein the pattern identifies such digital information matching the topic model'"'"'s topic;

a frontier candidate identifier module configured to identify at least one frontier evergreen index that comprises stored topics that are at least partially distinct from the stored topics comprised in the home evergreen index;

a frontier candidate evaluation module configured to obtain vetted assessments as provided by the frontier community of the at least one frontier evergreen index for articles of the digital information identified by the patterns that comprise the topic models of the at least one frontier evergreen index;

a frontier integration module configured to select the articles of the digital information corresponding to the vetted assessments that are favorable and to match the patterns that comprise the topic models of the home evergreen index against the selected articles of the digital information; and

a display module configured to provide the selected articles of the digital information that were matched.

2. A system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a subject area evaluation module configured to compare the topically-limited subject areas of the home evergreen index to the respective topically-limited subject areas for a plurality of the frontier evergreen indexes; and

a frontier candidate selection module configured to select the at least one frontier evergreen index from the plurality of the frontier evergreen indexes based on domain-informed evaluation of the comparisons.

3. A system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a subject area evaluation module configured to compare the topically-limited subject areas of the home evergreen index to the respective topically-limited subject areas for a plurality of the frontier evergreen indexes;

an overlap evaluation module configured to determine overlap of the respective subject areas of the home evergreen index and the plurality of the frontier evergreen indexes; and

a frontier candidate selection module configured to select the at least one frontier evergreen index from the plurality of the frontier evergreen indexes based on the overlap.

4. A system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a subject area evaluation module configured to compare the topically-limited subject areas of the home evergreen index to the respective topically-limited subject areas for a plurality of the frontier evergreen indexes;

a similarity evaluation module configured to determine similarity measures of the respective subject areas of the home evergreen index and the plurality of the frontier evergreen indexes; and

a frontier candidate selection module configured to select the at least one frontier evergreen index from the plurality of the frontier evergreen indexes based on the similarity measures meeting at least one of a minimum threshold or up to a fixed number of the articles of the digital information.

5. A system according to claim 4, wherein the similarity measures comprise an amount of potential overlap in core interests of the home community and the frontier communities of the plurality of the frontier evergreen indexes.

6. A system according to claim 5, wherein the core interests comprise one or more of reliance on the same information sources or feeds, citation to the same articles, or the use of comparable topic models in the respective evergreen indexes.

7. A system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a subject area evaluation module configured to compare the topically-limited subject areas of the home evergreen index to the respective topically-limited subject areas for a plurality of the frontier evergreen indexes; and

a frontier candidate suggestion module configured to provide the topic models from the plurality of the frontier evergreen indexes that corresponded to the topically-limited subject areas that did not match the topic models that corresponded to the topically-limited subject areas of the home evergreen index.

8. A system according to claim 7, further comprising:

a frontier candidate integration module configured to match the patterns that comprises the non-matching topic models against the digital information; and

a results display module configured to provide the selected articles of the digital information that were matched.

9. A system according to claim 8, further comprising:

a home evergreen building module configured to add one or more of the non-matching topic models to the home evergreen index as selected by the home community.

10. A system according to claim 1, wherein the digital information comprises one or more of printed documents, Web pages, and material written in a digital media.

11. A computer-implemented method for prospecting digital information through online social communities, comprising:

maintaining a home evergreen index for a home community and a plurality of frontier evergreen indexes for respective frontier communities, the home evergreen index and the frontier evergreen indexes covering topically-limited subject areas, each of the subject areas comprising electronically-stored digital information, the home evergreen index and each frontier evergreen index comprising;

defining a hierarchy of stored topics; and

matching a stored topic model to each of the topics in the topic hierarchy, each of the topic models comprising a pattern evaluable against the digital information, wherein the pattern identifies such digital information matching the topic model'"'"'s topic;

identifying at least one frontier evergreen index that comprises stored topics that are at least partially distinct from the stored topics comprised in the home evergreen index;

obtaining vetted assessments as provided by the frontier community of the at least one frontier evergreen index for articles of the digital information identified by the patterns that comprise the topic models of the at least one frontier evergreen index;

selecting the articles of the digital information corresponding to the vetted assessments that are favorable and matching the patterns that comprise the topic models of the home evergreen index against the selected articles of the digital information; and

providing the selected articles of the digital information that were matched on a display.

12. A method according to claim 11, further comprising:

comparing the topically-limited subject areas of the home evergreen index to the respective topically-limited subject areas for a plurality of the frontier evergreen indexes; and

selecting the at least one frontier evergreen index from the plurality of the frontier evergreen indexes based on domain-informed evaluation of the comparisons.

13. A method according to claim 11, further comprising:

comparing the topically-limited subject areas of the home evergreen index to the respective topically-limited subject areas for a plurality of the frontier evergreen indexes;

determining overlap of the respective subject areas of the home evergreen index and the plurality of the frontier evergreen indexes; and

selecting the at least one frontier evergreen index from the plurality of the frontier evergreen indexes based on the overlap.

14. A method according to claim 11, further comprising:

comparing the topically-limited subject areas of the home evergreen index to the respective topically-limited subject areas for a plurality of the frontier evergreen indexes;

determining similarity measures of the respective subject areas of the home evergreen index and the plurality of the frontier evergreen indexes; and

selecting the at least one frontier evergreen index from the plurality of the frontier evergreen indexes based on the similarity measures meeting at least one of a minimum threshold or up to a fixed number of the articles of the digital information.

15. A method according to claim 14, wherein the similarity measures comprise an amount of potential overlap in core interests of the home community and the frontier communities of the plurality of the frontier evergreen indexes.

16. A method according to claim 15, wherein the core interests comprise one or more of reliance on the same information sources or feeds, citation to the same articles, or the use of comparable topic models in the respective evergreen indexes.

17. A method according to claim 11, further comprising:

comparing the topically-limited subject areas of the home evergreen index to the respective topically-limited subject areas for a plurality of the frontier evergreen indexes; and

providing the topic models from the plurality of the frontier evergreen indexes that corresponded to the topically-limited subject areas that did not match the topic models that corresponded to the topically-limited subject areas of the home evergreen index on the display.

18. A method according to claim 17, further comprising:

matching the patterns that comprises the non-matching topic models against the digital information; and

providing the selected articles of the digital information that were matched on the display.

19. A method according to claim 18, further comprising:

adding one or more of the non-matching topic models to the home evergreen index as selected by the home community.

20. A method according to claim 11, wherein the digital information comprises one or more of printed documents, Web pages, and material written in a digital media.

21. A computer-implemented apparatus for prospecting digital information through online social communities, comprising:

means for maintaining a home evergreen index for a home community and a plurality of frontier evergreen indexes for respective frontier communities, the home evergreen index and the frontier evergreen indexes covering topically-limited subject areas, each of the subject areas comprising electronically-stored digital information, the home evergreen index and each frontier evergreen index comprising;

means for defining a hierarchy of stored topics; and

means for matching a stored topic model to each of the topics in the topic hierarchy, each of the topic models comprising a pattern evaluable against the digital information, wherein the pattern identifies such digital information matching the topic model'"'"'s topic;

means for identifying at least one frontier evergreen index that comprises stored topics that are at least partially distinct from the stored topics comprised in the home evergreen index;

means for obtaining vetted assessments as provided by the frontier community of the at least one frontier evergreen index for articles of the digital information identified by the patterns that comprise the topic models of the at least one frontier evergreen index;

means for selecting the articles of the digital information corresponding to the vetted assessments that are favorable and means for matching the patterns that comprise the topic models of the home evergreen index against the selected articles of the digital information; and

means for providing the selected articles of the digital information that were matched.