On-line social search

• US 8,484,191 B2
• Filed: 12/16/2010
• Issued: 07/09/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Maghoul, Farzin, Ramamurthi, Shiv
• Primary Examiner(s): Coby, Frantz
• Application Number:
  US12/970,732
• Publication Number:
  US 20120158715A1
• Time in Patent Office: 936 Days
• Field of Search: 707/679, 707/770, 707/710, 707/706, 707/732, 707/759
• US Class Current: 707/707
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• 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: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

Example methods, apparatuses, or articles of manufacture are disclosed that may be implemented using one or more computing devices to facilitate or otherwise support one or more processes or operations in connection with performing information searches, such as, for example, domain-specific on-line searches using social survey-type queries.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

electronically processing a social survey query of a user to rank domain-specific content of one or more on-line social networks of said user;

wherein results received in response to one or more digital signals representing said social survey query are ranked based, at least in part, on social relevance to said user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said electronically processing said social survey query further comprises:

electronically processing said social survey query using at least one language-modeling technique.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said electronically processing said social survey query further comprises:

electronically processing said social survey query using at least one pattern matching technique.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said electronically processing said social survey query further comprises:

electronically obtaining socially relevant on-line information in connection with one or more members of one or more on-line social networks of said user.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said socially relevant on-line information comprises socially relevant public on-line information.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein said socially relevant on-line information comprises socially relevant private on-line information.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said one or more on-line social networks of said user comprises one or more on-line domain-specific social networks of said user.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said one or more on-line social networks of said user comprises one or more on-line domain-specific social sub-graphs of said user.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said results received in response to one or more digital signals representing said social survey query are ranked based, at least in part, on chronological ordering of said results.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said social relevance to said user comprises at least one of the following:

explicit social relevance to said user;

implicit social relevance to said user;

or any combination thereof.

11. An article comprising:

a storage medium having instructions stored thereon executable by a special purpose computing platform to;

electronically process a social survey query of a user to rank domain-specific content of one or more on-line social networks of said user;

wherein results received in response to one or more digital signals representing said social survey query are ranked based, at least in part, on social relevance to said user.

12. The article of claim 11, wherein said storage medium having instructions to electronically process said social query further includes instructions to:

electronically process said social survey query using at least one of the following;

a language-modeling technique;

a pattern matching technique;

or any combination thereof.

13. The article of claim 11, wherein said storage medium having instructions to electronically process said social query further includes instructions to:

electronically obtain socially relevant on-line information in connection with one or more members of one or more on-line social networks of said user.

14. The article of claim 11, wherein said one or more on-line social networks of said user comprises at least one of the following:

an on-line domain-specific social network of said user;

an on-line domain-specific social sub-graph of said user;

or any combination thereof.

15. The article of claim 11, wherein said social relevance to said user comprises at least one of the following:

explicit social relevance to said user;

implicit social relevance to said user;

or any combination thereof.

16. An apparatus comprising:

a computing platform enabled to;

electronically communicate a social survey query of a user to be processed and then to rank domain-specific content of one or more on-line social networks of said user;

wherein results received in response to one or more digital signals representing said social survey query are ranked based, at least in part, on social relevance to said user.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein said computing platform is further enabled to:

electronically display a listing of said results to represent socially relevant on-line information in connection with one or more members of one or more on-line social networks of said user.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein said one or more on-line social networks of said user comprises at least one of the following:

an on-line domain-specific social network of said user;

an on-line domain-specific social sub-graph of said user;

or any combination thereof.

19. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein said social relevance to said user comprises at least one of the following:

explicit social relevance to said user;

implicit social relevance to said user;

or any combination thereof.

20. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein said results received in response to one or more digital signals representing said social survey query are ranked based, at least in part, on chronological ordering of said results.

21. A method comprising:

combining and organizing socially relevant content to a particular user, said socially relevant content including responses of domain-specific content from a social network or social sub-network of said particular user; and

electronically directing said particular user to a search engine capable of searching said socially relevant content.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein said search engine capable of searching said socially relevant content is capable of searching said content by performing, at least in part, a faceted social search.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein said responses from said social network or social sub-network of said particular user comprises at least one of the following:

responses from a private social network or social sub-network of said particular user;

responses from a public social network or social sub-network of said particular user;

or any combination thereof.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein said socially relevant content is organized based, at least in part, on at least one of the following:

social relevance to said particular user;

chronological ordering of said socially relevant content;

or any combination thereof.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein said social relevance to said particular user comprises at least one of the following:

explicit social relevance to said particular user;

implicit social relevance to said particular user;

or any combination thereof.