Supporting voting-based campaigns in search

• US 9,672,530 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2013
• Issued: 06/06/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Judd, Tilke Mary, Alakuijala, Jyrki A., Moolenaar, Abraham, Arac, Ardan, Chow, Marvin, Samper, Eduardo Jodas, Dovlecel, Alexandru Ovidiu, Dickman, Peter W., Sabur, Zaheed
• Primary Examiner(s): Hayes, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): FENSTERMACHER, JASON B
• Application Number:
  US14/143,284
• Publication Number:
  US 20150120400A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,254 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/335 Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles filtering in web context G06F16/9535, G06F16/9536
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0224 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0256 User search
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 13/00 Voting apparatus

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, receiving a search query from a user; determining that a voting user interface (VUI) is to be provided based on the search query, the VUI enabling the user to submit one or more votes in a vote-based campaign; receiving search results that are responsive to the search query; and transmitting instructions to display the search results and the VUI.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method executed using one or more processors, the method comprising:

receiving, by the one or more processors, a search query from an authenticated user;

identifying, by the one or more processors, a user-specific index of one or more content items, the one or more content items including social networking posts provided by the authenticated user that are available through a computer-implemented social networking service;

identifying, from the user-specific index, by the search query, at least one content item of the one or more content items that is associated with a vote-based campaign;

based on identifying the at least one or more content items that is associated with the vote-based campaign, determining, by the one or more processors, that the search query indicates an intent by the authenticated user to search for resources associated with the vote-based campaign;

in response to determining that the search query indicates an intent by the authenticated user to search for resources associated with a vote-based campaign, determining, by the one or more processors, that the search query conforms to one or more requirements of the vote-based campaign;

in response to determining that the search query conforms to one or more requirements of the vote-based campaign,

providing a voting user interface(VUI) based on the search query, the VUI enabling the authenticated user to submit one or more votes in the vote-based campaign;

receiving, by the one or more processors, search results that are responsive to the search query;

transmitting instructions to display the initial search results and the VUI within an electronic document;

receiving, by the one or more processors, through the VUI, user input indicating one or more votes for one or more contestants participating in the vote-based campaign; and

in response to receiving the user input indicating one or more votes for the one or more contestants participating in the vote-based campaign, updating a social networking electronic document that is associated with the authenticated user, the updating including;

adjusting, by the one or more processors, a stream of posts of the social networking electronic document based on the one or more votes for the one or more contestants to include one or more posts associated with the one or more contestants, and

transmitting instructions to display the adjusted stream of posts within the social networking electronic document.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the search query indicates an intent further comprises determining that the search query indicates an explicit intent to search for resources associated with the vote-based campaign.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the search query indicates an intent further comprises determining that the search query indicates an implicit intent to search for resources associated with the vote-based campaign.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the search query indicates an intent further comprises:

identifying content associated with the user in one or more computer-implemented services; and

determining that the content is associated with the search query.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the content indicates an implicit intent to search for resources associated with the vote-based campaign.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the search query conforms to one or more requirements of the vote-based campaign further comprises determining that one or more attributes of the authenticated user and one or more attributes of the search query conform to the one or more requirements of the vote-based campaign.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the VUI comprises a plurality of choices, each choice associated with a contestant of the vote-based campaign.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the search results and the VUI are displayed in a search results display.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the vote-based campaign is associated with one or more producers of the vote-based campaign.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing data associated with the one or more votes to a third-party aggregator.

11. A system comprising:

one or more computers and one or more storage devices storing instructions that are operable, when executed by the one or more computers, to cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising;

receiving, by the one or more processors, a search query from an authenticated user;

identifying, by the one or more processors, a user-specific index of one or more content items, the one or more content items including social networking posts provided by the authenticated user that are available through a computer-implemented social networking service;

identifying, from the user-specific index, by the search query, at least one content item of the one or more content items that is associated with a vote-based campaign;

based on identifying the at least one of more content items that is associated with the vote-based campaign, determining, by the one or more processors, that the search query indicates an intent by the authenticated user to search for resources associated with the vote-based campaign;

in response to determining that the search query indicates an intent by the authenticated user to search for resources associated with a vote-based campaign, determining, by the one or more processors, that the search query conforms to one or more requirements of the vote-based campaign;

in response to determining that the search query conforms to one or more requirements of the vote-based campaign,

providing a voting user interface (VUI) based on the search query, the VUI enabling the authenticated user to submit one or more votes in the vote-based campaign;

receiving, by the one or more processors, initial search results that are responsive to the search query;

transmitting instructions to display the initial search results and the VUI within an electronic document;

receiving, by the one or more processors, through the VUI, user input indicating one or more votes for one or more contestants participating in the vote-based campaign; and

in response to receiving the user input indicating one or more votes for the one or more contestants participating in the vote-based campaign, updating a social networking electronic document that is associated with the authenticated user, the updating including;

adjusting receiving, by the one or more processors, a stream of posts of the social networking electronic document based on the one or more votes for the one or more contestants to include one or more posts associated with the one or more contestants, and

transmitting instructions to display the adjusted stream of posts within the social networking electronic document.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software comprising instructions executable by one or more computers which, upon such execution, cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:

receiving, by the one or more processors, a search query from a user;

identifying, by the one or more processors, a user-specific index of one or more content items, the one or more content items including social networking posts provided by the authenticated user that are available through a computer-implemented social networking service;

identifying, from the user-specific index, by the search query, at least one content item of the one or more content items that is associated with a vote-based campaign;

based on identifying the at least one or more content items that is associated with the vote based campaign, determining, by the one or more processors, that the search query indicates an intent by the authenticated user to search for resources associated with a vote-based campaign;

in response to determining that the search query indicates an intent by the authenticated user to search for resources associated with a vote-based campaign, determining, by the one or more processors, that the search query conforms to one or more requirements of the vote-based campaign;

in response to determining that the search query conforms to one or more requirements of the vote-based campaign,

providing a voting user interface (VUI based on the search query, the VUI enabling the authenticated user to submit one or more votes in the vote-based campaign;

receiving, by the one or more processors, initial search results that are responsive to the search query;

transmitting instructions to display the initial search results and the VUI within an electronic document;

receiving, by the one or more processors, through the VUI, user input indicating one or more votes for one or more contestants participating in the vote-based campaign; and

in response to receiving the user input indicating one or more votes for the one or more contestants participating in the vote-based campaign, updating a social networking electronic document that is associated with the authenticated user, the updating including;

adjusting, by the one or more processors, a stream of posts of the social networking electronic document based on the one or more votes for the one or more contestants to include one or more posts associated with the one or more contestants, and

transmitting instructions to display the adjusted stream of posts with the social networking electronic document.