IDENTIFICATION OF PEOPLE AS SEARCH RESULTS FROM KEY-WORD BASED SEARCHES OF CONTENT IN A CLOUD-BASED ENVIRONMENT

• US 20140012836A1
• Filed: 07/08/2013
• Published: 01/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Box Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Box Incorporated
• Inventors: Bercovici, Tamar
• Granted Patent: US 10,452,667 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/722
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/101 Collaborative creation, e.g. joint development of products or services

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed for identifying users of a collaboration system as search results. In one embodiment, the system performs a text-based content search of content items to identify relevant content. The disclosed system stores metadata associated with the content that includes various user information. The user information can be used to facilitate identification of relevant individuals (users or collaborators) as search results, in addition to or in lieu of, relevant content.

Claims

1. A method for identifying collaborators as search results in a collaborative cloud-based collaboration environment, the method comprising:

performing a text-based content search of a plurality of content items to identify content items relevant to a search request received from a first collaborator of a plurality of collaborators in the cloud-based collaboration environment,

wherein each of the relevant content items is associated with metadata including collaborator information; and

processing the collaborator information associated with the relevant content items to identify collaborators for inclusion in the search results.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving the search request from the first collaborator; and

responsive to receiving the search request, providing the search results including the relevant collaborators to the first collaborator.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the search results are provided for electronic display to the first collaborator.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein processing the collaborator information associated with the relevant content items to identify the relevant collaborators further comprises:

extracting the collaborator information from the metadata associated with the relevant content items; and

determining a relevance of each of the collaborators to the search request based on the corresponding collaborator information.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

selecting relevant collaborators for inclusion in the search results based on the relevance of each of the collaborators.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the relevance of each of the collaborators is determined based on actions performed by the collaborators on the relevant content items.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

tracking the actions performed on the plurality of content items in the cloud-based collaboration environment,

wherein processing the collaborator information for the relevant content items to identify the relevant collaborators further comprises applying a weight to each of the actions based on a type of action performed.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the actions include create or upload a content item, edit or modify a content item, and read or access a content item.

9. The method of claim 4, wherein determining the collaborator relevance further comprises:

ranking collaborators based on a quantity of the relevant content items that are created by the associated collaborator.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the content search comprises a text-based key word search.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the content search comprises a semantics-based search.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the search results further include the relevant content items.

13. A method for selecting users of a cloud-based system as search results, the method comprising:

performing a text-based content search of a plurality of content items to identify content items relevant to a search request received from a first user of a plurality of users of the cloud-based system,

wherein each of the relevant content items is associated with metadata including user information; and

processing the user information associated with the relevant content items to select relevant users for inclusion in the search results.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the relevant users are selected based on a corresponding ranking that indicates a quantity of the relevant content items that are associated with that user.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving the search request from the first user; and

responsive to receiving the search request, providing the search results including the relevant users to the first user.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein processing the user information associated with the relevant content items to identify the relevant users further comprises:

extracting the user information from the metadata associated with the user content items;

determining relevance of each of the users to the search request based on the corresponding user information; and

selecting relevant users for inclusion in the search results based on the relevance of each of the users.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the relevance of each of the users is determined based on actions performed by the users on the relevant content items.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

tracking the actions performed on the plurality of content items in the cloud-based system,

wherein processing the user information for the relevant content items to identify the relevant users further comprises applying a weight to each of the actions based on a type of action performed by the user.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the actions include create or upload a content item, edit or modify a content item, and read or access a content item.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein determining the user relevance further comprises:

ranking users based on a quantity of the relevant content items that are created by the associated user.

21. The method of claim 13, wherein the content search comprises one or more of:

a text-based key word search or a semantics-based search.

22. The method of claim 13, wherein the search results further include the relevant content items.

23. A collaboration system comprising:

a processor;

a memory unit having instructions stored thereon which when executed by the processor, causes the collaboration system to;

perform a text-based content search of a plurality of content items to identify content items relevant to a search request received from a first collaborator of a plurality of collaborators in the cloud-based system,

wherein each of the relevant content items is associated with metadata including collaborator information; and

process the collaborator information associated with the relevant content items to select collaborators for inclusion in search results.

24. The collaboration system of claim 23, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further causes the collaboration system to:

receive the search request from the first collaborator; and

provide the search results including the relevant collaborators to the first collaborator responsive to receiving the search request,

wherein the search results are provided for electronic display to the first collaborator.

25. The collaboration system of claim 23, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further causes the collaboration system to:

track the actions performed on the plurality of content items in the cloud-based collaboration environment.

26. The collaboration system of claim 25, wherein processing the collaborator information for the relevant content items to identify the relevant collaborators further comprises:

applying a weight to each of the actions based on a type of action performed.

27. The collaboration system of claim 23, wherein processing the collaborator information associated with the relevant content items to identify the relevant collaborators further comprises:

extracting the collaborator information from the metadata associated with the relevant content items; and

determining a collaborator relevance of each of the collaborators to the search request based on the corresponding collaborator information.

28. A machine-readable storage medium including executable instructions, which when executed by a processor, causes the processor to:

perform a text-based content search of a plurality of content items to identify content items relevant to a search request received from a first collaborator of a plurality of collaborators in the cloud-based collaboration environment, wherein each of the relevant content items is associated with metadata including collaborator information; and

process the collaborator information associated with the relevant content items to identify collaborators for inclusion in the search results.