Patent Application
20150169760
Today, many users are members of, or otherwise involved in social groups. These groups may be accessed through a social network or other web site. Oftentimes social groups pertain to a particular interest, vocation, or hobby shared amongst the members of the group. Consequently, a given user might be a member of several different social groups. Some of these groups might be work related, family related, or related to a particular interest or hobby of the user.
An approach is provided for an information handling system to use social groups to improve search results. In the approach, a user interface is displayed that allows a user to specify a search criteria and one or more social groups. Data stores are then searched for the search criteria with the searching resulting in a set of search results. The search results are compared to previously tagged search results, with the previously tagged search results being results that were previously tagged by members of the specified social groups. Based on the comparing, set of search results is identified that match the previously tagged search results. The search results are displayed at the user interface with the identified set of one or more search results being visually highlighted, such as displayed first, at the user interface.
The foregoing is a summary and thus contains, by necessity, simplifications, generalizations, and omissions of detail; consequently, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. Other aspects, inventive features, and advantages of the present invention, as defined solely by the claims, will become apparent in the non-limiting detailed description set forth below.
The present invention may be better understood, and its numerous objects, features, and advantages made apparent to those skilled in the art by referencing the accompanying drawings, wherein:
As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the present invention may be embodied as a system, method or computer program product. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer readable medium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.
Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may be utilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readable storage medium would include the following: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.
A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signal with computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may take any of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to, electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium that is not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.
Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing.
Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of the present invention may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. The program code may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer, server, or cluster of servers. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).
Aspects of the present invention are described below with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readable medium produce an article of manufacture including instructions which implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other devices to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide processes for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
The following detailed description will generally follow the summary of the invention, as set forth above, further explaining and expanding the definitions of the various aspects and embodiments of the invention as necessary. To this end, this detailed description first sets forth a computing environment in
Northbridge 115 and Southbridge 135 connect to each other using bus 119. In one embodiment, the bus is a Direct Media Interface (DMI) bus that transfers data at high speeds in each direction between Northbridge 115 and Southbridge 135. In another embodiment, a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus connects the Northbridge and the Southbridge. Southbridge 135, also known as the I/O Controller Hub (ICH) is a chip that generally implements capabilities that operate at slower speeds than the capabilities provided by the Northbridge. Southbridge 135 typically provides various busses used to connect various components. These busses include, for example, PCI and PCI Express busses, an ISA bus, a System Management Bus (SMBus or SMB), and/or a Low Pin Count (LPC) bus. The LPC bus often connects low-bandwidth devices, such as boot ROM 196 and “legacy” I/O devices (using a “super I/O” chip). The “legacy” I/O devices (198) can include, for example, serial and parallel ports, keyboard, mouse, and/or a floppy disk controller. The LPC bus also connects Southbridge 135 to Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 195. Other components often included in Southbridge 135 include a Direct Memory Access (DMA) controller, a Programmable Interrupt Controller (PIC), and a storage device controller, which connects Southbridge 135 to nonvolatile storage device 185, such as a hard disk drive, using bus 184.
ExpressCard 155 is a slot that connects hot-pluggable devices to the information handling system. ExpressCard 155 supports both PCI Express and USB connectivity as it connects to Southbridge 135 using both the Universal Serial Bus (USB) the PCI Express bus. Southbridge 135 includes USB Controller 140 that provides USB connectivity to devices that connect to the USB. These devices include webcam (camera) 150, infrared (IR) receiver 148, keyboard and trackpad 144, and Bluetooth device 146, which provides for wireless personal area networks (PANs). USB Controller 140 also provides USB connectivity to other miscellaneous USB connected devices 142, such as a mouse, removable nonvolatile storage device 145, modems, network cards, ISDN connectors, fax, printers, USB hubs, and many other types of USB connected devices. While removable nonvolatile storage device 145 is shown as a USB-connected device, removable nonvolatile storage device 145 could be connected using a different interface, such as a Firewire interface, etcetera.
Wireless Local Area Network (LAN) device 175 connects to Southbridge 135 via the PCI or PCI Express bus 172. LAN device 175 typically implements one of the IEEE .802.11 standards of over-the-air modulation techniques that all use the same protocol to wireless communicate between information handling system 100 and another computer system or device. Optical storage device 190 connects to Southbridge 135 using Serial ATA (SATA) bus 188. Serial ATA adapters and devices communicate over a high-speed serial link. The Serial ATA bus also connects Southbridge 135 to other forms of storage devices, such as hard disk drives. Audio circuitry 160, such as a sound card, connects to Southbridge 135 via bus 158. Audio circuitry 160 also provides functionality such as audio line-in and optical digital audio in port 162, optical digital output and headphone jack 164, internal speakers 166, and internal microphone 168. Ethernet controller 170 connects to Southbridge 135 using a bus, such as the PCI or PCI Express bus. Ethernet controller 170 connects information handling system 100 to a computer network, such as a Local Area Network (LAN), the Internet, and other public and private computer networks.
While
The Trusted Platform Module (TPM 195) shown in
The user enters a search criteria in search request input field 310 with the search criteria being a search that the user wishes to perform. The user can also select one or more “communities” from communities selection area 320. In one embodiment, the communities selection area includes one or more social groups, such as social media groups, to which the user belongs. The user might belong to such social groups by being a member of the social group at the social media website that provides the social media. In the example shown, the user has entered “types of bats” as the search criteria in search request input field 310. Additionally, two social groups appears in communities selection area 320 (“zoo keepers” and “baseball”) with the user being a member of both of these social groups. The user has selected the “zoo keepers” social group and has not selected the “baseball” social group. In this manner, the user is requesting that the search (“types of bats”) be related to pages found relevant by member of the “zoo keepers” social group and not by members of the “baseball” social group.
The user selects SEARCH command button 325 after entering the search criteria in search request input field 310 and has selecting the desired social groups from the communities selection area 320. In response to selecting SEARCH command button 325, the system searches various data stores for the search criteria, in this case “types of bats.” Since the search engine has no context for the search, the search engine will return all sorts of bats including the mammal as well as baseball bats and other types of bats. To provide the user with results based on the social group (“zoo keepers”) selected by the user, the system compares the search results returned by the search engine with previous search results that were “tagged” by members of the social group, in this case “zoo keepers,” as being relevant to their social group. Based on the comparison, a set of search results returned by the search engine that also match search results previously tagged by members of the social group are identified. This set of identified search results are visually highlighted in search results area 330 of user interface 300. One way that the set of identified search results are visually highlighted in search results area 330 is by displaying this set of search results before displaying search results that did not any of the search results tagged by members of the social group. While only four search results currently appear in search results area 330, the user can scroll down through the search results by using scroll bar 332.
In the example, the first three search results returned were previously tagged by a member of the “zoo keepers” social group as evidenced by the appearance of user-based relevance user controls 335 and 340 appearing proximate to each of the first three search results. User-based relevance control 335, shown as a plus (+) sign is selected by the user to indicate that the user agrees with, or “likes,” the result as being relevant to the social group. By selecting user-based relevance control 335, the ranking of the search result in the “zoo keepers” social group is increased. Conversely, user-based relevance control 340, shown as a minus (−) sign is selected by the user to indicate that the user disagrees with, or “dislikes,” the result as being relevant to the social group. By selecting user-based relevance control 340, the ranking of the search result in the “zoo keepers” social group is decreased. In one embodiment, the rankings associated with each of the set of search results tagged by members of the social group is used to sort the results within the user interface so that results with a higher ranking (e.g., more “likes,” etc.) appear before results with lower rankings (e.g., fewer “likes,” etc.). If a search result
After all search results that are relevant to the selected social groups are displayed, other results that have not been tagged will be displayed. These other results might be results related to the mammalian bat or to baseball bats. The fourth search result shows an example of a search result that has not yet been tagged. This is indicated by a different user-based relevance control appearing proximate to the result (checkbox user-based relevance control 345). By selecting user-based relevance control 345, the user is “tagging” the search result as being relevant to the selected social group, in this case “zoo keepers.”
The user can select user-based relevance control from search results area 330 as well as while viewing a particular search result. When the user selects a search result, a search result item view appears on the user interface. In the case of a previously un-tagged search result, in this example the fourth search result, search result item view 350 is displayed. In screen area 355, the contents of the untagged search result are displayed so that the user can read and review the search result to determine whether the search result is relevant to the user's selected social group. Action panes appear in search result item view 350. These action panes include user-based relevance control pane 360 that allows the user to select the checkbox control in order to “tag” the displayed result and indicate to the members of the social group, in this case “zoo keepers,” that the result is relevant to the group. In addition, an action pane appears as communities selection area 365 showing the user being a member of various social groups (“zoo keepers” and “baseball”). The user can select one or more social groups to which the displayed result is relevant. For example, if the displayed result is regarding wooden baseball bats, then the user could unselect the checkbox next to “zoo keepers” and select the checkbox next to “baseball” to add (“tag”) the result as being relevant to the baseball social group.
Returning to results display area 330, in the case where the user selects a previously tagged search result, in this example one of the first three search results, then search result item view 375 is displayed. In screen area 380, the contents of the previously tagged search result are displayed so that the user can read and review the search result to determine whether the user agrees or disagrees with the inclusion of the result with the social group. Action panes also appear in search result item view 375. These action panes include user-based relevance control pane 385 that allows the user to select a control to indicate whether the user agrees or disagrees that the displayed result is relevant to the social group. As previously described, the user selects the plus sign (+) control to indicate that the user “likes” the result and agrees that it is relevant to the selected social group, and selects the minus sign (−) control to indicate that the user “dislikes” the result and disagrees that it is relevant to the selected social group. The ranking of the result is increased when the user selects the plus sign control and decreased when the user selects the minus sign control. In addition, an action pane appears as communities selection area 390 showing the user being a member of various social groups (“zoo keepers” and “baseball”). The user can select one or more social groups to which the displayed result is relevant. For example, if the displayed result is regarding wooden baseball bats, then the user could unselect the checkbox next to “zoo keepers” and select the checkbox next to “baseball” to add (“tag”) the result as being relevant to the baseball social group.
At step 425, the process searches various data stores, such as by using a search engine that searches computer network 200, such as the Internet, to search for the search criteria. Depending on the sophistication of the search engine, the engine may additionally search for similar terms as well as correct for misspellings found in the search criteria. The search results returned by the search engine are stored in data store 430 as the “raw” search results.
At step 440, the process selects the first social group that was selected by the user. At step 455, the process selects the previously tagged search results for the selected social group from data stores 450 and compares the “raw” search results stored in data store 430 with the tagged search results from the selected social group (with the tagged results being previously tagged as relevant by one or more members of the selected social group). The matched results are stored in data store 460. At step 470, the matched results from data store 460 are moved to the top of the displayed search results (data store 475). In addition, at step 470, user-based relevance controls (e.g., plus/minus signs) are displayed proximate to each of the previously tagged search results.
A decision is made by the process as to whether there are additional social groups to process (decision 480). If there are more social groups that have been selected by the user, then decision 480 branches to the “yes” branch which loops back to select and process the next social group as described above. This looping continues until all social groups have been processed, at which point decision 480 branches to the “no” branch.
At step 485, the matched results are sorted by their individual ranking scores so that results that are higher ranked (e.g., received more “likes” from members of the social group, etc.) appear before lesser ranked results. At step 490, the remainder of the “raw” search results from data store 430 are added to the bottom of the displayed set of results. In addition, at step 490, a user-based relevance control (e.g., a checkbox) is displayed proximate to each of the untagged search results. As previously described, if the user decides that an untagged result is relevant to a social group, the user can “tag” the result by selecting the checkbox control which will add the result to the social group's search data (data stores 450). Subsequent searches performed by this user or other members of the social group would show the newly tagged search result as a “tagged” search result that would appear before untagged search results. Processing thereafter ends at 495.
A decision is made by the process as to whether multiple social groups have been selected by the user (decision 520). Using the example shown in
A decision is made by the process as to whether the user-based relevance control selected by the user is a request to add a new result as being relevant to the selected social group (decision 560). Using the example shown in
Returning to decision 560, if the request was not to add a page as being relevant to the selected social group, then the request is to increase or decrease the ranking associated with the page (e.g., “like” or “dislike” the page as being relevant to the social group, etc.). In this case, decision 560 branches to the “no” branch whereupon, at step 580, the process adjusts the ranking up or down based on whether the user “liked” the result (e.g., used a plus sign (+) control as shown in
A decision is made by the process as to whether there are more social groups chosen by the user to which the user-based relevance control selected by the user should be applied (decision 590). If there are more social groups to process, then decision 590 branches to the “yes” branch which loops back to select and process the next social group as described above. This looping continues until there are no more social groups to process, at which point decision 590 branches to the “no” branch and processing of the user-based relevance control selected by the user ends at 595.
The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that, based upon the teachings herein, that changes and modifications may be made without departing from this invention and its broader aspects. Therefore, the appended claims are to encompass within their scope all such changes and modifications as are within the true spirit and scope of this invention. Furthermore, it is to be understood that the invention is solely defined by the appended claims. It will be understood by those with skill in the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim element is intended, such intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such limitation is present. For non-limiting example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim elements. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim element by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim element to inventions containing only one such element, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an”; the same holds true for the use in the claims of definite articles.
