Search guided by location and context

• US 9,536,004 B2
• Filed: 10/03/2014
• Issued: 01/03/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Flake, Gary, Gates, William H. III, Horvitz, Eric J., Goodman, Joshua T., Chaudhuri, Surajit J., Griffin, Trenholme J., Hurst-Hiller, Oliver, Moss, Kenneth A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Singh, Amresh
• Application Number:
  US14/506,448
• Publication Number:
  US 20150149430A1
• Time in Patent Office: 823 Days
• Field of Search: 707/754
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/444 Spatial browsing, e.g. 2D maps, 3D or virtual spaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location

Abstract

The subject disclosure pertains to web searches and more particularly toward influencing resultant content to increase relevancy. The resultant content can be influenced by reconfiguring a query and/or filtering results based on user location and/or context information (e.g., user characteristics/profile, prior interaction/usage temporal, current events, and third party state/context . . . ). Furthermore, the disclosure provides for query execution on at least a subset of designated web content, for example as specified by a user. Still further yet, a localized marketing system is disclosed that provides discount offers to users that match merchant criteria including proximity. A system for actively probing populations of users with different parameters and monitoring responses can be employed to collect data for identifying the best discounts and deadlines to offer to users to achieve desired results.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a processor; and

a memory communicatively coupled to the processor, the memory having stored therein computer-executable instructions configured to implement the system including;

a search component configured to identify relevant web content in accordance with a query;

a determination component configured to at least one of identify a present physical location based on data provided by one or more sensors, the one or more sensors providing one or more of GPS, Wi-Fi, RFID, proximity or acceleration data, or to identify a present physical location based on a selection;

a location component configured to identify limited web content by limiting the relevant web content to a geographic region surrounding the present physical location, a size of the geographic region being determined based at least in part on a selection;

a third-party component configured to relate a user associated with a user device with a group of one or more people, the group comprising people engaged in a common activity with the user;

a context component configured to filter the limited web content based on user information and context information corresponding to one or more members of the group who are not the user such that context information of a first member of the group who is physically closer to the user has a greater effect on limiting the limited web content than does context information of a second member of the group who is physically further from the user; and

an interface component configured to forward the filtered, limited web content for presentation to the user device.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the determination component is configured to identify the present physical location based at least on the data provided by the one or more sensors, the one or more sensors providing one or more of GPS, Wi-Fi, RFID, proximity or acceleration data to provide more comprehensive information related to the present physical location.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the determination component is configured to identify the present physical location based at least on the selection via an interface of the user device.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the location component is configured to bound the query based at least on the identified present physical location of the user device.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the user information is configured to identify characteristics of the user including at least one of age, gender, ethnicity, education level or political affinity.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the search component is configured to push advertisements to the user device.

7. A method comprising:

receiving a query;

identifying relevant web content in accordance with the query;

at least one of identifying a present physical location based on data provided by one or more sensors, the one or more sensors providing one or more of GPS, Wi-Fi, RFID, proximity or acceleration data, or identifying a present physical location based on a selection;

identifying limited web content by limiting the relevant web content to a geographic region surrounding the present physical location, a size of the geographic region being determined at least in part on a selection;

identifying that a user is associated with a group of one or more people, the group comprising people engaged in a common activity with the user;

filtering the limited web content based on user information and context information corresponding to one or more members of the group who are not the user such that context information of a first member of the group who is physically closer to the user has a greater effect on limiting the limited web content than does context information of a second member of the group who is physically further from the user; and

providing the filtered, limited web content for presentation to a mobile device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein identifying a present physical location is based on the data provided by the one or more sensors, the one or more sensors providing one or more of GPS, Wi-Fi, RFID, proximity or acceleration data to provide more comprehensive information related to the present physical location.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein identifying a present physical location comprises receiving the selection via an interface of the mobile device.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising bounding the query based at least on an identified present physical location of the mobile device.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the user information identifies characteristics of the user including at least one of age, gender, ethnicity, education level or political affinity.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein identifying relevant web content in accordance with the query also identifies advertisements, and further comprising pushing the advertisements to the mobile device.

13. A method comprising:

receiving user information;

receiving a query;

identifying a present physical location based on at least one of;

data provided by one or more sensors, the one or more sensors providing at least one of GPS, Wi-Fi, RFID, proximity or acceleration data, or

a selection;

receiving a designation of a geographic area;

causing at least one of the user information, the query, the present physical location, or

the designation of the geographic area to be provided to a server system;

receiving from the server system web content based at least in part upon the at least one of the user information, the query, the present physical location, or the designation of the geographic area;

receiving a designation of a group comprising people engaged in a common activity with a user;

causing the designation of the group to be provided to the server system;

receiving from the server system web content corresponding to one or more members of the group who are not the user such that a first member of the group who is physically closer to the user has a greater effect on the web content than does a second member of the group who is physically further from the user; and

causing a mobile device to present the web content corresponding to one or more members of the group who are not the user.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the at least one of GPS, Wi-Fi, RFID, proximity or acceleration data provides information related to the present physical location.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein identifying a present physical location comprises receiving and accepting the selection via an interface of the mobile device.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising bounding the query based at least on an identified present physical location of the mobile device.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the user information identifies characteristics of a user including at least one of age, gender, ethnicity, education level or political affinity.

18. The method of claim 13, and further comprising:

receiving an advertisement with the web content; and

providing the advertisement to the mobile device.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein the mobile device includes functionality of at least one of a mobile phone, a computer, a hand-held computing device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a pager, or a watch.

20. A system comprising:

a processor; and

a computer-readable medium communicatively coupled to the processor, the computer-readable medium having encoded thereon computer-executable instructions to configure a mobile device to perform operations including;

receiving user information;

receiving a query;

identifying a present physical location based on at least one of;

data provided by one or more sensors, the one or more sensors providing at least one of GPS, Wi-Fi, RFID, proximity or acceleration data, or a selection;

receiving a designation of a geographic area;

causing at least one of the user information, the query, the present physical location, or

the designation of the geographic area to be provided to a server system;

receiving from the server system limited web content based at least in part upon the at least one of the user information, the query, the present physical location, or the designation of the geographic area;

identifying that the user is associated with a group of one or more people, the group comprising people engaged in a common activity with the user;

filtering the limited web content based on user information and context information corresponding to one or more members of the group who are not the user such that context information of a first member of the group who is physically closer to the user has a greater effect on limiting the limited web content than does context information of a second member of the group who is physically further from the user; and

causing a mobile device to present the filtered, limited web content.