SEARCH ENGINE THAT IDENTIFIES AND USES SOCIAL NETWORKS IN COMMUNICATIONS, RETRIEVAL, AND ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

• US 20080005072A1
• Filed: 06/28/2006
• Published: 01/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Naam, Ramez, Flake, Gary W., Platt, John C., Gupta, Anoop, Goodman, Joshua T., Meek, Christopher A., Hurst-Hiller, Oliver, Griffin, Trenholme J., Horvitz, Eric J., Moss, Kenneth A., Brunell, Bradly A., Gates, William H.
• Granted Patent: US 9,396,269 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation

Abstract

Architecture that monitors interaction data (e.g., search queries, query results and click-through rates), and provides users with links to other users that fall into similar categories with respect to the foregoing monitored activities (e.g., providing links to individuals and groups that share common interests and/or profiles). A search engine can be interactively coupled with one or more social networks, and that maps individuals and/or groups within respective social networks to subsets of categories associated with searches. A database stores mapped information which can be continuously updated and reorganized as links within the system mapping become stronger or weaker. The architecture can comprise a social network system that includes a database for mapping search-related information to an entity of a social network, and a search component for processing a search query for search results and returning a link to an entity of a social network based on the search query.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented system that facilitates social networks, comprising:

a database that stores mapping information that maps search-related information to an entity of a social network;

a search component that processes a search query for search results and returns a link to an entity of a social network based on the mapping information; and

a machine learning and reasoning component that employs a probabilistic and/or statistical-based analysis to build a predictive model to infer an influence of behaviors on a likelihood of social relationships of the social network.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the entity includes an individual and a group of individuals of the social network.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the search component is utilized in a messaging application.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the search component facilitates execution of a background search in connection with interaction between two or more entities of an instant messaging session.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the search component facilitates execution of a background search in connection with interaction between two or more entities.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the search component maps individuals of the social network to subsets of categories associated with the search query.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the search component maps groups of individuals of different social networks to subsets of categories associated with the search query.

8. The system of claim 1 further comprising an update component that updates the mapping information based on the link becoming stronger or weaker.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising an update component that reorganizes the mapping information based on a status of the link becoming stronger or weaker between the entity and a category of information associated with the search query.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the search component is utilized in a collaboration application.

11. The system of claim 1, further comprising a services component that provides a threshold for the entity which when exceeded triggers creation of a service that is provided to individuals of the entity.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the search component facilitates execution of a background search in connection with communications between two or more entities, which results of the background search are cached and dynamically displayed to at least one of the entities.

13. A computer-implemented method that facilitates social networking, comprising:

processing a search query;

accessing a database of mapping information that maps search-related information to at least one of individuals and groups of individuals within a social network;

presenting to a user search results based on the search query, which search results include in part links to a subset of the at least one of the individuals and groups of individuals of the social network that share common topics of interest; and

performing probabilistic and statistical-based analysis to build a predictive model to infer an influence of behaviors on a likelihood of social relationships of the social network.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising executing the search query as a background operation during a communications session between the subset of the at least one of the individuals and groups of individuals of the social network.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising updating the mapping information based in part on changes in the links associated with the social network.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising automatically activating a service which is accessible by the at least one of the individuals and groups of individuals of the social network.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising storing an advertisement for presentation to the at least one of the individuals and groups of individuals of the social network based on the search query.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising personalizing the search query based on an index of files local to a system of the user.

19. A computer-executable system, comprising:

computer-implemented means for receiving and processing a search query of a user;

computer-implemented means for accessing a database of stored mapping information that maps search-related information to individuals of a social network;

computer-implemented means for performing probabilistic and statistical-based analysis to build a predictive model to infer an influence of behaviors on a likelihood of social relationships of the social network; and

computer-implemented means for presenting search results to the user, which search results include links to the respective individuals of the social network that share common topics of interest.

20. The computer-executable system of claim 19, further comprising computer-implemented means for mapping groups of users of different social networks to subsets of categories associated with the search query.