USOO94894.

64B2

(12) United States Patent (10) Patent No.: US 9.489.464 B2

Cone et al. (45) Date of Patent: Nov. 8, 2016
(54) ENHANCED SEARCH ENGINE (58) Field of Classification Search
CPC ................... G06F 17/30867; G06F 17/30699;
(75) Inventors: Julian Malcolm Cone, Christchurch GO6F 17/3OO29
(NZ); Gary Lee Franklin, Christchurch See application file for complete search history.
(NZ); Michael Arthur Grantham, (56) References Cited
Christchurch (NZ); Wayne Alistair
Munro, Christchurch (NZ); Grant U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
James Ryan, Christchurch (NZ); Shaun
William Ryan, Christchurch (NZ): 6,006,225. A * 12/1999 Bowman et al.
William Ferguson Stalker, 6,182,068 B1* 1/2001 Culliss .............. GO6F 17,30699
707/721
Christchurch (NZ) 6,430,558 B1 8, 2002 Delano
6,438,539 B1* 8/2002 Korolev ............ G06F 17,30864
(73) Assignee: Eurekster, Inc., Christchurch (NZ) 6,493,702 B1 12/2002 Adar et al.
6,502,091 B1* 12/2002 Chundi et al. ................ 707/738
(*) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this (Continued)
patent is extended or adjusted under 35
U.S.C. 154(b) by 13 days. FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
(21) Appl. No.: 13/334,816 EP 1288795 A1 * 3, 2003
EP 12888795 A1 * 3, 2003
(22) Filed: Dec. 22, 2011
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
(65) Prior Publication Data
US 2012/O 130976 A1 May 24, 2012 Kautz, et al., Referral Web: Combining Social Networks and
Collaborative Filtering, Mar. 1997, Communications of the ACM,
Related U.S. Application Data vol. 40, No. 3.*
(63) Continuation of application No. 13/029,780, filed on (Continued)
Feb. 17, 2011, now abandoned, which is a Primary Examiner — Daniel Kinsaul
continuation of application No. 10/573,401, filed as (74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm — Stephen M. De Klerk
application No. PCT/NZ2004/000228 on Sep. 22,
2004, now abandoned. (57) ABSTRACT
(30) Foreign Application Priority Data A search engine system capable of displaying indicative
information to a user from searches performed by entities
Sep. 22, 2003 (NZ) ........................................ 528385 connected directly or indirectly to the user, wherein said
system includes at least one host computer processor con
(51) Int. Cl. nectable to one or more network(s), a database accessible
G06F 7/30 (2006.01) over said network(s), a plurality of data input devices
(52) U.S. Cl. connectable to said network(s) said search engine being
CPC. G06F 17/30867 (2013.01); G06F 17/30699 accessible over said network(s).
(2013.01); G06F 17/30029 (2013.01) 19 Claims, 6 Drawing Sheets

Welcomes.John
has withur Friends
TELFRIENDS ARE OUT
15
S Search Engine run task manager from command
A Hacket
AJHacket
flowboard 8
truck.csmount
the boardroom Café
freeboard
Home Tell Friends Your Network. About Contacts y avg anti-virus home
15 i8 WindowsXP from AZ
Welcome to The Boardroom Caf
320324-AWG60 AntiVirus Sys.
Free Nokia Ringtones, Free Noki.
EC SALESAUCKLAND NEW ZE
FYOForus-DigiTexGK100d

chnmayer
black toldadeer"rugbyeong
"toffee popauckland goat
google sucks
ITW streetcarver
multiple sclerosis
80

http:iidavebarry.blogspot.comf
http:iiwigows.org.n
http:iiawgns.Grinz
http:iiwww.nzaa.co
Xpdf
http:iiwww.realcontacts.com/
SHOUTcast HOME
 US 9,489.464 B2
Page 2

(56) References Cited 2004/0078214 A1* 4/2004 Speiser et al. .................... 705/1
2004/0254920 A1* 12, 2004 Brill .................. GO6F 17,30867
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS 2004/0255122 A1 12/2004 Ingerman et al.
6,671,681 B1* 12/2003
6,732,088 B1
Emens et al. ................. 707/7O6
5, 2004 Glance OTHER PUBLICATIONS
2.93. R
4
1858 RE COOS
Vakkari, Pertti, Subject Knowledge, Source of Terms, and Term
2001/OO37325 A1* 11/2001 SE et al. ................ 707/1 Selection in Query Expansion: An Analytical Study, 2002, Springer
2002/0010625 A1 1/2002 Smith et al. .................... TO5/14 Verlag, ECIR 2002, LNCS 2291, pp. 110-123, 2002.*
2002fOO32735 A1* 3, 2002 Burnstein ... GO6F 17,3O867 Kautz, H. et al., “Referral Web: Combining Social Networks and
TO9.204 Collaborative Filtering”. Communications of the ACM, vol. 40, No.
2002/0107853 A1* 8, 2002 Hofmann .......... G06F 17/30699 3, Mar 1997, pp. 63-65.
2003/004.6281 A1 3f2003 Son ................... GO6F 17,30876 Pujol, J.M. et al., “Porqpine: A Peer-to-Peer Search Engine'.
2003/005581.6 A1 3f2003 Paine et al. ....................... 707/3 http://www.lsi.upc.es/dept/techreps/ps/R03-6.pdf, May 1, 2004.
2004/0042599 A1 3f2004 Zaner et al. ............. 379,144.01
2004/0064554 A1 4/2004 Kuno et al. * cited by examiner
U.S. Patent Nov. 8, 2016 Sheet 1 of 6 US 9,489.464 B2

|EISCñYON5J(METW)|ZI!

||
|
U.S. Patent Nov. 8, 2016 Sheet 3 of 6 US 9,489.464 B2

JseøIJndIoS

||
|
U.S. Patent US 9,489.464 B2
U.S. Patent Nov. 8, 2016 Sheet 6 of 6 US 9,489.464 B2
 US 9,489,464 B2
1. 2
ENHANCED SEARCH ENGINE less, unwanted, offensive, intrusive or in any way undesir
able information or interaction with other nodes/entities.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED Humans consciously and Subconsciously already utilise
APPLICATIONS Such filtering in their daily life by placing greater weighting
on information from friends and acquaintances than from
This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. unfamiliar sources.
13/029,780, filed on Feb. 17, 2011, which is a continuation Throughout virtually every aspect of human life, eco
of and claims priority from U.S. patent application Ser. No. nomic, social, personal and business decisions are either
10/573.401, filed on Jan. 22, 2007, which is a national stage directly or indirectly affected by the preferences, tastes and
entry of PCT/NZ04/00228, filed on Sep. 22, 2004, which 10 actions of our friends, colleagues and acquaintances. This is
claims priority from New Zealand Patent Application No. in contrast to widely accepted economic theory in the fields
528385, filed Sep. 22, 2003, all of which are incorporated of for example, consumer purchases where it is assumed
herein by reference in their entirety. individuals make rational choices based upon the available
product or service information. In actual fact, a recommen
TECHNICAL FIELD 15 dation or an adverse comment from a close trusted acquain
tance regarding a specific product will often override other
The present invention relates generally to a means for factors in a commercial purchase decision, rightly or not.
enhancing a search engine and in particular, providing There are many other areas in which the opinions of
search-related information derived from one or more entities respected acquaintances or even organisations can affect the
known to the user. decision making of individuals or organisations.
Examples of just a few applications or activities in which
BACKGROUND ART trusted or respected contacts or recommendations play a
significant role include seeking employment and filling job
The interconnectivity of individuals and organisations has vacancies, investment opportunities, academic co-operation,
increased exponentially in recent times with the advent of 25 finding accommodation or people to share accommodation
various telecommunication means, including the Internet. with, buying and selling goods and services, arranging
The very success in information availability and distribution Social/sporting functions, finding friendship, romantic and/
afforded by the Internet has placed a premium on effective or Social relationships and so forth.
means of identifying information relevant or interesting to Contemporary living has confronted many individuals
the user. Internet search engines are the most prevalent 30 with a daily surplus of information. This bewildering array
means of extracting relevance from the ever expanding of choices and decisions vies for the individuals attention in
wealth of internet material. However, the majority of search almost every aspect of their work, recreation, and social
engines Suffer from numerous shortcomings. lives. The vast majority of information sources received by
The sheer volume of information available on even the most individuals is biased to Some extent by commercial
most esoteric Subjects requires search engines to filter and 35 interests. Consequently, there is at least the perception the
prioritise the search results. The mechanisms by which this information may be incomplete, misleading or false. The
ranking is achieved include: lack of independent objectivity from these information
a) Keyword frequency and meta tags; Sources leads to skepticism and/or a sense of futility, help
b) Professional editors manually evaluating sites; lessness, or ambivalence in obtaining worthwhile advice. In
c) How much advertisers are prepared to pay, and 40 contrast, a recommendation by a trusted friend of a particu
d) Measuring which web-sites webmasters think are impor lar product, service or the like, is likely to be given far
tant. This is done by link analysis, which gives more greater weighting. Such recommendations will often be
weighting to sites dependant on what other sites are linked accorded far greater significance than any number of expen
to them. sive, professionally produced, and theoretically compelling
U.S. Pat. No. 6,421,675 (enclosed herein by reference) 45 advertisements/product recommendations.
discloses a means of refining searches according to the An individual may seek a friend's opinion on a variety of
behaviour of previous users performing the same search. issues, aside from commercial purchase issues. The choice
While this removes the web-site from its sole dependency of of plumbers, dentists, lawyers and other Suppliers for
the above criteria a)-d) for its ranking, it is still driven by the example, may be strongly influenced by personal recom
influence of the whole web populous, whose interests and 50 mendation. Whilst such specific choices may only arise
tastes may differ greatly from a given individual user. infrequently, friends and acquaintances are often in frequent
It would be desirable to provide a means of influencing contact and may cover a wide range of matters, including
the ranking or weighting of search results according to the opinions/recommendations on issues such as books, films,
preferences of entities (individuals, groups or organisations) entertainment, restaurants, and many others.
deemed of more relevance or importance to the user. 55 It would thus be desirable to harness the recommenda
PCT/NZ02/00199 (incorporated herein by reference) also tions, opinions and discriminatory abilities of a user's
by the present applicant discloses a personal contact network friends, acquaintances (or any other entity known directly or
system whereby a user may form a network of contacts indirectly to the user) to enhance the results of a search
known either directly or indirectly to the user. The network engine. It would also be desirable to provide a user with
may be used for a variety of applications and takes advan 60 indicative information derived from the search activities
tage of the innate human trait to give a higher weighting to conducted by the members of the user's unique personal
the opinions of those entities with whom a common positive network.
bond is shared, such as friendship. All references, including any patents or patent applica
As outlined in patent application PCT/NZ02/00199. tions cited in this specification are hereby incorporated by
incentives to restrict the distribution and flow of information 65 reference. No admission is made that any reference consti
within a network (or the search results of a search engine) tutes relevant prior art. The discussion of the references
include obtaining some form of filtering of irrelevant, use states what their authors assert, and the applicants reserve
 US 9,489,464 B2
3 4
the right to challenge the accuracy and pertinency of the Keywords may include one or more words, phrases,
cited documents. It will be clearly understood that, although images and/or any other alphanumeric characters.
a number of prior art publications are referred to herein, this In its broadest sense, the present invention provides two
reference does not constitute an admission that any of these forms of indicative information, namely search Suggestions
documents form part of the common general knowledge in 5 and search results weighting. Whilst both forms of informa
the art, in New Zealand or in any other country. tion are known, neither has been previously derived from the
It is acknowledged that the term 'comprise may, under search activities of the user contacts.
varying jurisdictions, be attributed with either an exclusive Thus, according to a further aspect of the present inven
or an inclusive meaning. For the purpose of this specifica tion, the indicative information includes search suggestions,
tion, and unless otherwise noted, the term 'comprise shall 10 and/or search results weighting derived from searches,
have an inclusive meaning—i.e. that it will be taken to mean search results, or other network/internet-related activities of
an inclusion of not only the listed components it directly the user contacts.
references, but also other non-specified components or ele This enables a powerful insight into the activities of the
ments. This rationale will also be used when the term user contacts which may be of direct relevance for a variety
comprised or comprising is used in relation to one or 15 of reasons. In the case of close friends (i.e. direct contacts)
more steps in a method or process. the Suggestions are likely to be in areas of similar interest to
It is an object of the present invention to address the the user, or of interest purely due to the existing relationship
foregoing problems or at least to provide the public with a between the entities. Similarly, if the linking interrelation
useful choice. ship context information between the entities and the user is
Further aspects and advantages of the present invention a common entity attribute of membership of a common
will become apparent from the ensuing description which is organisation Such as a large company for example, the
given by way of example only. Suggestions from the other entities may be of relevance for
commercial purposes.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION According to one embodiment, said Suggestions include,
25 but are not restricted to:
According to one aspect, there is provided a search engine recent searches denoting the most recent keywords or
system capable of displaying indicative information to a user search results (such as a list of web pages) associated
from searches performed by one or more entities connected with the keywords used by the user contacts;
directly or indirectly with the user, recent web-sites denoting the most recent web sites
In one embodiment, said entities are user contacts. 30 accessed by the user contacts either directly, or via
According to a further aspect, the present invention recent searches;
includes a system providing the user with a private personal popular web-sites denoting a ranking of web sites most
contacts network of user contacts. regularly visited by, and/or recommended by the user
As used herein, the term entity or entities’ refers to any contacts;
individual, family, personal or organised network, organi 35 popular searches denoting a ranking of the most popular
sation, club, Society, company, partnership, religion, or keywords or search results associated with the key
entity that exists as a particular and discrete unit. words used by the user contacts,
The term search engine is not necessarily restricted to high-flying searches denoting a list of keywords or search
Internet search engines and may also include any other results associated with the keywords ranked according
electronic data search systems for interrogating databases 40 to their rate of increase in the popular searches ranking.
and or networks. Although the present invention is described high-flying web-sites denoting a list of web-sites ranked
herein with respect to an Internet search engine, it should be according to their rate of increase in the popular
understood this is for exemplary purposes only and the web-sites ranking.
invention is not necessarily limited to internet application. popular or recently accessed paid web listings.
Preferably, each user contact includes a connection factor 45 According to a further aspect of the present invention, the
indicative of the degree of separation between the user Suggestions may be based on a selective input from the user
contact and the user. contacts filtered according to at least one filter criteria
Preferably, said private personal contacts network pro including the elapsed period since the Suggestion creation,
vides interrelationship context information between said the interrelationship context information, the connection
entities and/or between a user contact and the user, said 50 factor and/or entity attributes of the contributing user contact
interrelationship context information including said connec The Suggestions may be displayed adjacent the search
tion factor and optionally one or more entity attributes. results or as an optional toolbar or window with correspond
Preferably, said system entity attributes include at least ing labelling or some generic terms such as “What's Hot’ or
one identifying characteristic and optionally, information the like.
regarding personal details, factors or interests; friends; rela 55 In order that very popular Suggestions do not dominate for
tions; school alumni; employment factors; business col prolonged periods, each Suggestion may have an associated
leagues; professional acquaintances; sexual preferences, decay factor. The decay factor may be a number between 0
persuasions, or proclivities; sporting interests; entertain and 1 and be varied according to the nature of the Suggestion
ment, artistic, creative or leisure interests; travel interests, is so that the perceived popularity does not last indefinitely.
commercial, religious, political, theological or ideological 60 An automatic human response to viewing a listing or
belief or opinions; academic, scientific, or engineering dis ranking is to perceive greater importance of the results at the
ciplines; humanitarian, social, security/military or economic top of the list, even if the order of the listing is stated as of
fields and any combination of same. being random or un-prioritised. Thus, to overcome this
Searches include any interrogation of a database via a inherent bias, greater weighting may be applied to listings
network, in particular a search of web-sites via the internet. 65 Such as the search results or the Suggestions according to
Preferably, each search includes user inputted keywords their position down a list, when calculating their perceived
and an output of search results. popularity.
 US 9,489,464 B2
5 6
The present invention may make use of the private of friends of friends and so forth) will be able to access their
personal contacts network system described in the earlier personal details if they choose to make them available.
co-pending PCT application PCT/NZ02/00199, which dis The present invention enables information flow not only
closes means for creating such a network, operating same, between immediate acquaintances, but also with the Subse
and a range of possible applications. Numerous methods of 5 quent tiers of entity acquaintances, e.g. friends of friends,
enhancing the quality of the search results provided by friends of friends of friends, and beyond to include even
search engines according to particular search queries are larger domains entities. The core principles and elements of
known, including those disclosed in the applicant's earlier the invention, namely the ability to transfer search and
patents U.S. Pat. No. 6,421,675, U.S. Ser. No. 10/155,914, web-related information within a network whose members
U.S. Ser. No. 10/213,017 NZ518624 PCT/NZ02/00199 and 10 are directly or indirectly known to the user, giving an
NZ528385, which may be utilised by the present invention interrelationship context to any information transfer, may be
and thus incorporated herein by reference. applied a diverse range of applications without need to adapt
Preferably, in addition to a connection factor indicative of the principles of operation.
the separation between an entity and the user, said interre As referred to herein, if two entities are linked through
lationship context information optionally also includes a 15 any number of intermediate entities they are said to be
connection factor indicative of the separation between user “connected”. Furthermore, if two entities exist indepen
contacts in said private personal contacts network. dently in the database system or a personal contacts network
It will be appreciated that there is a distinct difference in with no intermediate entities connecting them, they are said
the present invention between organised networks and per to be “disconnected'.
Sonal contacts networks. An organised network forms a In one embodiment, the said connection factor incorpo
group/organisation with defined memberships who all have rates a connection path length between two entities, given by
a common aim, or interest such as, commercial organisa the minimum number of connections in a chain of entities
tions, companies, corporations or groupings; political par separating two entities.
ties; academic or engineering institutes; sporting bodies and In a further embodiment, the said connection factor incor
So forth. Thus, all organised network members have at least 25 porates the degree of separation between two entities and is
one common entity attribute, i.e. membership of the organ equal to the shortest connection path length of all the
ised network. available connection paths between the entities, wherein an
In contrast, a personal contacts network is formed from entity that is directly connected to another entity is said to be
contacts with friends and colleagues that are unique to an a direct contact giving a “1” degree contact,” and has a
individual. Thus, an individual user of the present invention 30 connection path length of one; two entities connected via
may be linked to other entity's personal contacts networks one intermediate entity are said to be "2" degree contacts.”
and be linked (or even be a member of) organised networks. and have a connection path length of two, and wherein any
The present invention provides the flexibility to regard two entities whose shortest connection path is via “N-1
organised networks such as a commercial company or an intermediate entities (if any), with a path length of “N” are
institute of engineers as a single user contact with various 35 an “N” degree contact, where “N” is an integer. Entities
entity attributes relating to the whole company/organisation, having a 2" or higher degree contact are said to be indirect
an/or to consider the individual members of the organised contacts, or indirectly connected.
networks as individual user contacts with at least one According to one embodiment, the present invention is
common entity attribute. Which of these options is followed configured to allow a user to apply a selective input to the
may be varied according to the nature of the search being 40 user's Suggestions by using a filter criteria of controlling the
undertaken by the user. value of N' degrees contact of entities to be included, where
Preferably, access to the interrelationship context infor N is a variable determined by the user.
mation between the user and said entities may be restricted. In a further embodiment, the filter criteria for said selec
According to one aspect of the present invention, said tive input may be linked to a predetermined activity. Thus,
restricted access is defined by the user. 45 if the user is interested in a particular event, or activity, they
Preferably, each said identifying characteristic includes may tailor their user contacts to reflect particular aspects of
the entity's name and preferably a means of contacting the the predetermined activity.
entity, including an e-mail address; telephone and/or fac Alternatively, a user engaged in one or more said prede
simile number, postal address and/or any communication termined activities may specify the action to apply to
means capable of individually communicating with the 50 all degrees of contact in the user's personal contacts
entity or any combination of Such means. network, at any connection path length, or
Preferably, said identifying characteristics also optionally the entire system network of all nodes, including those
include at least one of said entity attributes. who are not connected to the user.
Optionally, said identifying characteristics may include Preferably, said applications include (but are not limited
Supplementary attributes of said user or entity. 55 to) consumer decisions, buying, selling, trading loaning;
Preferably, an entity becomes part of the network system finding flatmates/roommates, tenants; organising activities
by independent registration or by accepting an invitation and events, recommendations/opinions including those
from a registered entity, i.e. a user contact. related to films, plays, books, employment, services, trades
Entities agreeing to inclusion in a user's personal contacts men, accommodation, restaurants and the like, comparison
network are said to be direct user contacts. According to one 60 and explorations of common interests, e.g. horse riding,
embodiment, entities included in the database system which Snowboarding, etc.; sharing peer-to-peer personal or business
are indirectly or unconnected to a user may become directly creative work or content, e.g. photos, art-work, literature,
connected by mutual agreement, preferably by one entity music; managing a club or Society; locating/supplying/
sending an invitation and the other accepting. Potential users “blacklisting providers of goods or services; business or
of such a system can be reassured that they will be included 65 technological advice unsuitable for publication; recruitment,
in a private network whereby only others with a common job-seeking; estate agents; Venture capital; collaborative
connection factor (e.g. friends, friends of friends, or friends ventures; referrals; police/security information gathering/
 US 9,489,464 B2
7 8
informants; event manager; address book manager; head search results. This weighting may be provided in addition
hunting; book mark service; spam filtering; car sharing; to, or instead of the existing mechanisms, namely:
sales leads; market entry advice; real-estate; sharing per Keyword frequency and meta tags;
Sonal or business files; company knowledge management; Professional editors manually evaluating sites:
medical advice; travel organiser, lending/borrowing; house How much advertisers or web-sites are prepared to pay,
sitting; baby-sitting; classified advertisements; finding musi and
cians. Measuring which web-sites webmasters think are impor
In addition, the present invention permits said selective tant. This is done by link analysis, which gives more
input to be received from networks outside the system weighting to sites dependant on what other sites are
network. 10 linked to them. The overall popularity, the popularity of
It will be appreciated that there are numerous potential a Sub set of users (e.g. NZ people, engineers) or the
reasons for limiting the degrees of separation of entities used user's own previous searches (as disclosed in U.S. Pat.
by the user for any selective input, said reasons including, No. 6,421,675)
The present invention determines the relevance of the
but not limited to, social, economic, or political contexts 15 search results according to the preferences of the user's
Such as trust, discretion, interest, association, preference, unique private personal contacts network of contacts as
shared experience, ethnicity, religion, language, location, discussed above. In a similar manner to the means of
allegiance, alliance, treaty, politics, or governance. generating the Suggestions, the search results associated
It will be appreciated there are numerous methods of with a keyword may be weighted according to a selective
customising the selective input to the user's Suggestions. In input from the user contacts, including filter criteria related
one embodiment, the Suggestions are a weighted average of to the interrelationship context information, the connection
direct contacts and indirect contacts. In alternative embodi factor and/or entity attributes associated with the contribut
ments, the selective input may be defined by the user. ing user contact.
The user contacts associated with the Suggestions most Thus for example, the user may give a stronger weighting
frequently chosen by the user may be designated preferred 25 for 1 degree contacts compared to 2" degree contacts.
user contacts. The designation of preferred user contact may Using the example of a search under the keyword terms
be performed directly by the user, or calculated by the “holiday destinations', the user could learn their network of
system by determining the user contact associated with the contacts shows a preference for skiing in the France during
most popular suggestions previously selected by the user. the winter and for the Greek islands during summer. How
In yet further embodiments, the selective input may be at 30 ever, a different user may have seen different results even if
least partially weighted to Suggestions from the preferred they live in the same location, and even had the same
user contactS. occupations, as their personal contacts network of contacts
The search engine system effectively learns which user would inevitably be different, with consequently different
contact suggestions the user prefers. These may not neces holiday preferences.
sarily be direct contacts of the user and may indirectly 35 The search results may be further refined by specifying
indicate a potential similarity in interests or tastes with that the selective input filter criteria to include various entity
entity. The present invention thus provides a means (de attributes relevant to the search Such as a particular occu
scribed more fully later) for contacting the entity to further pation, sporting interest or the like. Conversely, if a particu
pursue the potential common ground. lar set of filter criteria closely match an entity disconnected
Alternatively, the selective input may be varied according 40 from the user, the system may prompt the user to prompt the
to other known factors regarding the user contact including entity to be connected to the user
the interrelationship context information, the connection Equally, the system may prompt the user for communi
factor and/or entity attributes associated with the contribut cation (e.g. e-mail. Instant messenger, phone etc) with a user
ing user contact. contact who last performed the search, or recommended a
The user may for example balance the number (and 45 particular web-site/search result. This communication may
degree of contact) of user contacts to provide the selective be via a link (e-mail or we link) adjacent to the keyword
input for the Suggestions against the variety and Volume of search terms and/or web-sites and could be configured to be
the Suggestions generated. either anonymous communication or not.
This present invention may readily be configured to In one configuration for example, the user contact is not
specific items or issues people search for Such as news, 50 initially identified to the user, though the user is identified in
pictures, books, auctions, products, chat rooms, games, the e-mail via some form of interrelationship context infor
e-cards, investments, Song downloads, etc. mation Such as the connection factor/entity attribute e.g.
People naturally tend to share an interest in the same news your direct contact Rick knows Sue (your 2" degree contact
items as people in their social network (either personal who knows the sender directly. The user contact may
contacts networks or organisations). The present invention 55 respond anonymously (via a web-site) or reply to the e-mail
provides a powerful means to sort news items according to including their direct e-mail address.
the interests of the direct user contacts for example, (or to Self-evidently, most web-sites seek to maximise the num
optionally extend that to 2nd degree, 3rd degree, or further ber of users visiting their site. The present invention pro
contacts or organised networks) thus providing an effective vides a means for web-sites to receive more web-traffic by
filter for the thousands of available stories on any given day. 60 promoting the search engine to their customers.
It will be appreciated that during the initial use of the According to one embodiment, a participating partner
search engine, there will not be any existing Suggestions web-site (e.g. a commercial retail web-site) is given a unique
from user contacts. Instead, the same searches may be link (a URL, a clickable graphic or search box) to the
populated by results from searches from all the users of the search engine, configured Such that users clicking on the
Search engine. 65 search engine link are linked to a search page with the
As previously discussed, in addition to providing Sugges participating web-site listed as the top of the popular
tions to the user, the present invention provides weighted searches and/or recent web-sites Suggestions listing.
 US 9,489,464 B2
10
Any user accessing the search engine via this route who tisers and Suggestions but would simply make their user base
then invites their user contacts to also use the search engine available for the seeding of Suggestions and distribution of
service will also see that participating partner web-site listed recommendations.
and may visit the site. Thus, the partner web-site may use the In a third embodiment, the owner of the present invention
present invention as a means of marketing themselves to the could present it to firms currently working as brokers or
connected entities of their existing customers. providing web search advertising directly, in which they sell
It is also a means to increase utilisation of the present sponsored search results to advertisers at fixed-price or
invention by providing web-sites with an incentive to auction, while guaranteeing the advertiser a certain position
include a link to the search engine without any direct in the results presented to a user who performs a search on
drawback. Further web-sites may be enticed to become
10 the keyword purchased by the advertiser. These firms would
partner web-sites and include a link to the search engine if then be able to offer an additional service, in which adver
webmasters of web-sites already using the search engine tisers bid for or buy the right to be included in Suggestions
invite webmasters of other web-sites to use the search to partner site users and individual users or networks of users
who have indicated an interest in or shown a propensity to
service whereby in return both web-sites are listed under the 15 click on similar suggestions or recommendations
appropriate Suggestions. Thus, each participating web-site Instead of using a full Internet web-browser window to
has an incentive to get other web-sites to use the search access the search engine, the user may download a toolbar
service as it will generate more traffic for their own site. that remains resident through all the user's web-browser
According to a further aspect of the present invention, the usage. Such downloadable toolbars are known, however, the
search service may also be configured to conduct searches technology may be enhanced by incorporation of the present
solely of material on the partner web-site instead of, or as invention. Firstly, in known manner, the toolbar permits
well as all internet searches. The partner web-site may also searches to be performed directly from the users web
display a list of Suggestions either based on the generic browser without need to access a separate search engine
search activities of all users, or for users having their own web-site. Secondly, the tool bar could also monitor the
private personal contacts network, customised to reflect the 25 web-sites accessed by the user directly without conducting
Suggestions associated by the activities of their user contacts a keyword search as part of the determination of the Sug
on the participating web-site. On appropriate commercial gestions data and search weightings.
web-sites, a recommendation to related products to the one The tool bar may also display or provide access to the
being searched for which were bought, viewed, subscribed most recent suggestions data from the user contacts.
to and so forth may be made by previous user contacts to the 30 The monitoring ability of the toolbar enables the system
site. (with the user's permission) to track the users web-surfing
The product or other search recommendations may not activities to all web-sites. Consequently, upon accessing a
necessarily be restricted to a single web-site, whereby the particular web-site, the user may be optionally notified by
the toolbar of their user contacts who visited that site, and
user may view relevant searches previously accessed by 35 what a Subsequent sites the user contact accessed.
their user contacts across a number of (partner and non As an example:
partner) sites, thus increasing the web-activity on all the 1) A User is informed by a user contact X of a web-site
web-sites involved. Y related to holiday homes in New Zealand.
For example on the all internet search, recommenda 2) The user accesses site Y and is notified on the toolbar
tions may direct users to do a search on a partner web-site. 40 that (optionally) user contact X accessed this site, or (if the
This will enhance traffic to the partner web-site. Similarly, user contacts identity is withheld) notified that when some
on a partner web-site, recommendations may direct users to of their user contacts from their network accessed site Y.
do a search on the all internet search or to another partner they also visited site Z. User contact X may optionally have
web-site. made a recommendation regarding either site Y or Z, which
A further aspect of the present invention is the method for 45 is also notified to the user via the toolbar.
a partner web-site or broker to act as an intermediary 3) The web-site Y and or Z can pay for the privilege of
between advertisers (or representatives of advertisers) and being at the top of this notification list.
sites which feature the search engine and Suggestions rel According to a further embodiment, the search engine
evant to the advertiser product(s), service(s), website(s), or may also be configured to provide the user with notifications
company(ies). 50 of further specified occurrences, including access of a speci
In one embodiment, a partner web-site would offer a fied (or book-marked) web-site by a user contact and/or an
service directly to advertisers or representatives of adver associated recommendation to same, or further sites
tisers. They could offer the advertiser two variations of accessed after the book-marked site, or of any new material
advertising to the users of the partner web-site. In one at, or links to, the specified site.
variation, the advertiser Suggestion(s) would be made avail 55 It will be appreciated that all the above-described features
able and seeded to all the users of the partner web-site or a associated with the toolbar may also be performed by the full
Subset of them, and word of mouth amongst those users and Search engine.
their contacts would help spread the visibility of the sug As the weighted search results and Suggestions are cor
gestion(s), possibly in the form of recommendations. In related to social networks and to the entity's individual
another variation, the advertiser Suggestion(s) would be 60 identity, an enhancement of the recommendations feature it
seeded to those partner web-site users who had previously is possible to allow individual users to make comments in an
shown interest or propensity to click on similar sugges appraisal regarding web-sites accessed via the search
tion(s). engine.
In another embodiment, the owner of the present inven In a further embodiment, the search engine includes
tion could provide the broker service as an intermediary 65 means for linking an appraisal with a search result and/or
between advertisers and partner web-sites. Then the partner Suggestion. Preferably said appraisal may include a recom
web-sites would not be involved in the selection of adver mendation (optionally graded) and/or user comments.
 US 9,489,464 B2
11 12
In one embodiment, said appraisals are performed via repeatedly Submitting low quality, misleading or otherwise
links associated with individual results on search results dubious recommendations is identifiable to their user con
listing. Alternatively, the appraisals may be performed tactS.
whilst accessing the search result or suggestion web-site via According to a further aspect of the present invention,
a link to the search engine. Thus, users could be invited to users are accorded a predetermined number of recommen
“comment on current site' which may typically involve dations according to a predetermined user recommendation
identifying sites as particularly useful, useless, curious, or to credibility criteria. In one embodiment, said recommenda
be avoided and so forth. tion credibility may be determined by active or automatic
The user comments may be in the form of unrestricted affirmations of said user recommendations by the user
typed comments and/or selected from a predetermined list of 10 contacts. Alternative recommendation credibility criteria
appraisal gradings. Such predetermined gradings may be may include a fixed quota of recommendation over a speci
used to provide further filter criteria for suggestions or fied time period, or linked to particular entity attributes for
weighted search results, e.g. only show Suggestions for recommendations for web-sites associated with said entity
attributes.
web-sites given a good or interesting appraisal grading, or 15 Thus, the recommendation credibility criteria may be
alternatively, ignore "useless' appraisal gradings from user determined according to a number of factors including (but
contact X. not limited to)
The appraisals are only visible to user contacts within the users who prove to their user contacts to Submit germane
personal or organised networks to which the commentator recommendations may earn the ability to make addi
belongs. Optionally, the commentator could include their tional recommendations;
identity or a means to contact them via the search service. A each user may be give a fixed quota over a given time
user inputting user comments on a healthcare site may state, period, e.g. 10 recommendation per month;
“This really worked well for me, but there are some things a user with a entity attribute particularly relevant to a
to watch out for. Get in touch if you’d like to discuss. Click particular search topic, e.g. a consultant paediatrician
to contact.' 25 would be eligible for more recommendations for results
It is noteworthy that by comparison, a comparable system associated with keyword searches such as “childhood
that allows unrestricted public annotations to web-sites and illnesses” and the like.
search results would not be trustworthy or useful because the size and quality of the user's personal Social network,
there is no confidence in the identity or character of the e.g. if they are linked to a lot of users that also have a
annotator. As an example, an annotation that a particular 30 high credibility.
product or service is a “good' or “bad” one would lack A further and potentially very significant advantage is
credibility without any assurance that the annotator does not returning a sense of control over the search results to the
work for the company or for a competitor. users according to their own personal experiences and
The feature of adding recommendations or appraisals may opinions of the web-sites. It is a common complaint of prior
be readily extended to relate to issues not directly related to 35 art search engines that the results for particular keywords
the web-site itself, as these comments will only be accessible appear illogical or distorted and that new or emerging
to the user contacts in the user's personal contacts network. web-sites or those without significant financial/lobbying
An infinite range of comments are possible, e.g. “A great resources fail to achieve worthwhile rankings. The present
book; borrow mine if you like”, “This album rocks. Don't invention replaces the search engine's external control over
listen to it after 10 pm or you’ll be dancing on your bed”. 40 the search results and empowers the users to provide mean
"Nice car but spare parts take months to find in NZ”, “John ingful rankings. For example, a user having a personal
O'Neill can eat all those tickets in a salad for all I care', web-site can maintain the site as the top ranked result for the
“Careful, this is a scam' and so forth. user and the user contacts for certain keywords, e.g. the
The feature of user recommendations may also be used as user's name. The same keyword search by a different entity
a factor in weighting the search results. As previously 45 in a different social network could give a different search
discussed, prior art search engines allow users to Submit result—though this would be more relevant to them.
web-sites they consider should be included in the results for The present invention can also be used to create a list of
a given keywords. However, this system can be open to searches (both within and outside the user's private network
abuse by webmasters trying to obtain higher rankings for of contacts) that have unsatisfactory or no search results.
their web-sites. 50 Some conscientious users may undertake to locate relevant
In contrast, the present invention allows users to make search results to overcome deficiencies for particular key
recommendations (positive or negative) for web-sites that words to help their user contacts and these results can be
would cause their ranking to alter in a list of sites for stored and reused. Consequently, the search results continu
particular keyword searches or Suggestions for their network ously improve over time. Users who provide such submis
of contacts. The search engine system incorporates feedback 55 sions could increase their recommendation credibility to
on the efficacy of the recommendations by the reaction of the increase how many recommendations they are permitted and
user contacts. If the user's contacts concurred with the optionally how far the sites are propagated. The recommen
recommendations by active or automatically calculated dation credibility for a user could also be linked to their
affirmations (either by active Voting or passively by clicking number of user contacts, and/or the number of times people
on the recommended web-site), the recommendation could 60 have clicked on Suggestion Submissions etc.
be propagated through the entities in the Social network. A further search engine service of the present invention
A key advantage of the present invention over prior art provides an e-mail to users when another user contact has
systems of Submissions to a search engine Webmaster is the found some pertinent results for a previous search term used
discouragement for low quality Submissions. Firstly they by the user.
would have little effect other than degrading the search for 65 Often, individuals within a company or an organised
the user's own personal contacts network of user contacts. network (e.g. professional association, or club) will perform
Secondly, there is little incentive if the user responsible for similar searches. This searching work is likely to be useful
 US 9,489,464 B2
13 14
to others in the same organised network. For example In a commercial organisation or organised network, the
someone in an engineering company searching for data on a search engine may be configured to disable any editing of
particular material may find a particularly relevant research the user's history log and or preventing any search or
report. The search engine can store these search terms and web-activity from being included in the indicative informa
results and accord them a higher ranking for other users from tion complied by the search invention and discernable to the
the company or organised network performing the same user contacts. This peer-awareness of the web-activities of
search. This type of in-house search activity may be used the organisation’s members may be used to ensure any
to create a corresponding list of Suggestions specific to the inappropriate or unauthorised misuse of internet access may
members of the organised network/company. be effectively policed through social feedback, irrespective
As per the private network Searches, the search engine 10 of any overt disciplinary measures available.
system can be configured to include a contact link adjacent Prior art search engines prompt users of additional
the search results and search terms to permit contact with searches that were also performed by previous searchers
others in the company to discuss search results of relevance. performing the same keyword search, in an analogous
The contact may again be anonymous or not. manner, the present invention may provide the similar
In comparison to a conscientious user in a private network 15 prompts though with the additional feature than the user may
addressing deficiencies in a result for a particular search, a be notified of the previous user contacts that also performed
commercial company or organisation may task an individual the same keyword search.
with Such a task to ensure homogeneity and reliability for In a further embodiment, users can Submit recommenda
in-house data resources. tions for sites limited to specific keywords. A user may for
A peripheral benefit for companies/organised in sharing example be recommending a specific site, though only when
results via the present invention is that it doesn’t add an their company name is one of the keywords used. If the
additional burden on the amount of work already being Subsequent evaluation of the site by the user contacts is
undertaken by the network members and in many instances positive, with possible positive appraisal/recommendations,
will reduce unnecessary duplication of effort. The search the web site may enhance its ranking in networks outside the
engine may also be integrated into any existing Intranet 25 user's personal contacts network.
search within the organised network. Although a user may have a number of directly connected
Numerous refinements may also be incorporated in to the user contacts for example, each may have particular
present invention according to the particular requirements of strengths or weaknesses with regard to different searches the
the users. user may wish to undertake. Thus, the weighting of indi
A fundamental requirement for ensuring the search engine 30 vidual user contacts may be passively/automatically or
users engage in meaningful information sharing via the actively adjusted based on various criteria Such as usefulness
suggestions and search results weighting is to provide the of their browsing, reliability of results, their personal tastes,
users with the power to discriminate what web-activities any entity attribute known to the system.
contribute, or are discernable to user contacts in their private As examples, it may be know that user contact A has a
network. A user searching for new employment or con 35 passionate aversion to a particular software multinational
cerned about a potential serious illness affecting their spouse and thus their recommended or accessed web-sites related to
for example may not want any of the details to be visible to software may reflect this bias, and thus the user de-weights
their user contacts. any input from user contact A for Software searches. User
Thus, according to a further aspect of the present inven contact B may produce excellent recommendations or
tion, the user may optionally select web or search activity for 40 searches during working hours but only accesses gaming
exclusion from contributing to said indicative information. web-sites out of work hours. The indicative information
There are many possible configurations by which this input from user contact B may thus be de-weighted outside
feature may be implemented, e.g. having two search buttons a certain time period.
labelled “private network search” and “Don’t share this In a further embodiment, a user may make use of a more
search' or “private search'. This enables users to still 45 active approach to alerting their user contacts to discovering
conduct searches without being recorded for their user particularly notable web-sites, rather than the more passive
contacts to share. Alternatively, a simple “private search” inclusion of the site on the search engine Suggestions entries
check box may be used. in the conventional manner. This may be achieved in a
In a further embodiment, partner web-sites may use their variety of ways, such as altering the appearance of the site
own branded versions of the search engine. Thus, instead of 50 in the Suggestions listing e.g. being bolded, different
just having their URL link at the top of the popular/recent coloured, appearing in a separate list and/or being e-mailed
web-sites Suggestions list, the link could be customised to directly to the user contact. The Suggestions listings them
show the search engine with the partner web-site's brand/ selves may also be distributed to other user contacts and
banner/logo at the top of the page together with use of their even to unconnected entities via e-mail or phone message
colours/fonts, layout etc. 55 teXtS.
According to a yet further aspect, the present invention The present invention could also be used as a replacement
provides the ability for a user to delete searches or web mechanism for the widespread e-mailing of jokes and the
activity from incorporation in said indicative information. like between friends and workmates. Essentially, web-sites
This may be used to remove information inadvertently accessed by the user and rated accordingly are replaced by
included, or to information which appears to the user with 60 e-mails (optionally with attachments) containing the mate
hindsight to be unhelpful, misleading or similar. In a further rial to be distributed to all the user contacts. Optionally,
embodiment, each user is provided with an editable history distribution may be filtered according to its rating by the user
log of every search they have performed and each web-site and Subsequently by the user contacts, the various entity
visited. The user may edit their history log and remove any attributes of the user contacts or the degree of contact with
search they did from the list of searches that are shared with 65 the entity. Using the present invention in this manner ensures
their contacts, though deletion of searches initiated by the no one is e-mailed the same material twice and potentially
user contacts may not be edited. offensive material is not sent to the wrong user contact. It
 US 9,489,464 B2
15 16
will be appreciated that the material need not be jokes, but as described above, said method including the steps per
may instead be any form of information, including text, formed by a processor of a data processing and storage
images, and audio recordings. The system may be config system, of
ured such that Such e-mails may be forwarded to a specific receiving input from the said user including at least one
link associated with the search engine and the Subsequent 5 identifying characteristic of the user and at least one
distribution is handled automatically. chosen entity known to said user and hereinafter
In a further embodiment, the present invention incorpo referred to as a user contact;
rates a book-marking system, whereby a user accessing a recording said identifying characteristic of each user
notable web-site may use a book-marking feature on the contact including the user to form at least one corre
10 sponding user contact data record in said database;
search engine web-site or toolbar to add the bookmarked
web-site to a compilation list of other bookmarked sites notifying the or each user contact of their recordal on said
deemed to be of sufficient interest to the user that they are system and requesting input of at least one identifying
permanently retained on the list So as to be continually characteristic of at least one further entity known to the
accessible and available. user contact;
The present invention may also be used to aid blogging
15 recording the identifying characteristic of each further
communities to create trusted search tools for blog content. entity inputted by the or each user contact to form
According to a further aspect of the present invention further corresponding user contact data records;
there is provided a search engine system capable of display repeating the above steps of Successive notification of
further entities and recordal of the identifying charac
ing indicative information to a user from searches performed teristic of each further entity chosen as further user
by entities (or as user contacts) connected directly or contact data records;
indirectly with the user, wherein said system includes: providing searchable access to at least part of the user
at least one host computer processor connectable to one or contact data records Stored in said database.
more network(s). It can thus be seen that the present invention provides a
a database accessible over said network(s). 25 means of combining and enhancing the attributes of the
a plurality of data input devices connectable to said earlier search engine and private network systems disclosed
network(s), in U.S. Pat. No. 6,421,675 and PCT application PCT/NZ02/
a search engine accessible over said network(s). 00199 together with the addition of a powerful set of new
wherein said system is capable of forming said private inventive features to provide a customisable search engine,
personal contacts network for each of one or more users 30 with social feedback.
by receiving input from the said user including at least
one identifying characteristic of the user and of one or BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
more chosen entities known to said user,
recording said identifying characteristic of each entity Further aspects of the present invention will become
including the user to form one or more corresponding 35 apparent from the following description which is given by
entity data records in said database, way of example only and with reference to the accompany
notifying the or each chosen entity of their recordal on ing drawings in which:
said system and requesting input of at least one iden FIG. 1. shows a preferred embodiment of the present
tifying characteristic of one or more further entities invention in the form of a home web-page of an internet
known to the or each said chosen entity, 40 Search engine;
recording the identifying characteristic of each further FIG. 2. shows an extension of the Suggestion fields shown
entity inputted by the or each said chosen entity to form in FIG. 1;
further corresponding entity data records, FIG. 3. shows a web-page listing of search results
repeating the above steps of Successive notification of obtained using the present invention of a search engine;
further entities and recordal of the identifying charac 45 FIG. 4. shows a login screen of the present invention;
teristic of each further entity chosen as further entity FIG. 5. shows a membership invitation form for the
data records, present invention, and
providing searchable access to at least part of the entity FIG. 6. is a schematic representation of a preferred
data records stored in said database and to the internet. embodiment of the present invention.
Searchable access to an entity data record may be 50
restricted by the entity to said user contacts. BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE
Preferably, said data input devices are computer termi INVENTION
nals, PDAs, telephones, mobile phones, laptops, notebooks,
any other portable personal computing device connectable to The present invention relates generally to a means of
said network, preferably but not limited to the internet. 55 harnessing the discriminatory powers of the knowledge,
Said data input devices may provide webpage, e-mail, text opinions and recommendations of an entity's extended net
message, DTMF tone, voice or video access to the said host work of contacts in an efficient and systematic manner to
computer or between entities and/or web-browsing access to provide an effective means of searching the internet (or other
said host computer via a dedicated web-site interface. databases) with social feedback from the user's personal
The additional data obtained from the entity's identifying 60 contacts network. There are numerous potential applications
characteristics may be used to provide users with the means for the present invention of which the examples described in
of obtaining information related to specific search applica more detail below are by way of illustration only.
tions from within their own unique extended private per FIGS. 1-5 show a preferred embodiment of the present
Sonal contacts network of contacts. invention in the form of an Internet search engine (1)
According to a further aspect of the present invention 65 capable of conventional “all internet searches or optionally,
there is provided a method of creating a private personal being customised to display indicative information from
contacts network for interaction with a search engine system entities connected directly or indirectly with the user (2).
 US 9,489,464 B2
17 18
Any such entity connected to the user (2) in this manner is searches (4) window, giving a real-time indication to the
referred to as a user contact. In the embodiment shown, all user (2) of the rate of new searches appearing in the recent
the entities comprising the user contacts are individuals, searches (4) window. An expanded listing (including previ
though it will be appreciated that an entity may also be any ous entries) of Suggestions (3) may be accessed by a link (9)
individual, family, personal or organised network, organi 5 which leads to the search engine (1) web-page shown in
sation, club, Society, company, partnership, religion, or FIG 2.
entity that exists as a particular and discreet unit. The The popular searches (6) show a ranking of the most
operation of the search engine (1) in the performance of popular keywords (8) used by the user contacts, whilst the
standard, uncustomised “all internet searches is well known popular web-sites (7) show a ranked list of web-sites (10)
to those in the art and is not discussed further herein. 10
In a departure from prior art search engines, the present most regularly visited and/or recommended by the user
invention search engine (1) includes a plurality of Sugges contacts. The home web-page of the search engine (1) as
tions (3). FIG. 1 shows an embodiment with four types of shown in FIG. 1, also includes the keyword entry field (11)
Suggestions (3), consisting of recent searches (4), recent and 2 alternative settings to record each search as either "a
sites (5), popular searches (6) and popular sites (7). Each of 15 shared search (12), or “a private search (13). Clicking on
these Suggestions (3) displays indicative information from the “shared search link” (12) configures the search engine to
the user contacts. It will be appreciated that numerous record the keywords (8) inputted by the user (2) for inclusion
alternative Suggestions may be used without departing from in the recent searches (4) and also the listing of web-sites
the scope of the invention. resulting from the search, and any sites accessed thereafter
While the present invention (1) may use any user (2) to by the user (2) for inclusion in the recent sites (5) listing.
Supply the indicative information for the Suggestions (3), in FIG. 3 shows the resulting search results (14) for the
the preferred embodiment shown, this information is derived keyword (8) “skateboard'. It can also be seen that in the
from the user contacts with whom the user (2) has some recent searches (4) field the term "skateboard is the most
existing relationship, and are members of a private network recent keyword (8). In contrast, the popular searches (6)
(not shown), associated with the user (2). The private 25 shows the “skateboard' as the second most popular search
network (as more fully described in the co-pending appli keyword (8), indicating that despite its recent use, the term
cation by the same applicant, PCT/NZ02/00199) enables the “flowboard' has been used more frequently as a keyword
user (2) to characterise the relationship between themselves (8). If the user (2) clicks the private search link (13), none
and their personal user contacts and to filter/manage inter of the users (2) activities would be recorded by the system
action with the user contacts according to the interrelation 30 (1).
ship context information defining the relationship. In a The initial search engine (1) web-page shown in FIG. 1
preferred embodiment, the interrelationship context infor also includes links (9) to invite entities to join the user's (2)
mation includes a connection factor and one or more entity network and links (9) to configure?see the users (2) network
attributes. The connection factor provides a measure of the (15, 16 respectively). A further link (17) provides the
degree of separation between the user (2) and the user 35 login/logout feature of incorporating the users (2) personal
contact, i.e. user contacts known directly to the user (2) may contacts network to interact with the search engine (1).
be termed “direct contacts' whilst user contacts known to It can also be seen in FIG. 3 that the search for a keyword
the user (2) via one or more intermediary user contacts are (8) skateboard has also yielded a listing of “related web
known as “indirect contacts'. Any 2 entities having no searches found” (18). These related web searches (18) show
intermediate contacts said to be "disconnected’. Therefore, 40 searches also performed by the user contacts in conjunction
it can be seen that direct contacts can be termed a 1 order with searches for the keyword (8) skateboard.
contact whilst their own direct contacts will become 2" In contrast to prior art search engines, the Suggestions (3)
order contacts to the user (2) (unless they are also direct have far greater significance to the user (2) as the opinions
contacts of the user (2) as well) and so forth. of the user contacts are far more likely to be of greater
The suggestions (3) showed in FIG. 1 represent the 45 significance and given more credibility by the user (2) than
web-related activities of the user contacts. The particular Suggestions (3) emanating from data collected from any
user contacts providing data for the Suggestions (3) may be ordinary user of the search engine (1). As previously referred
filtered or weighted according to the individual connection to, the user contacts contributing to the Suggestions (3) may
factor with the user (2). The system also records at least one be unrestricted, i.e. all contacts contribute equally, or con
entity attribute (not shown) for each of the user contacts as 50 figurable by the user (2) to give a preference or weighting to
part of the interrelationship context information, and this specific user contacts. This may be based on a variety of
may include a variety of personal details, information factors including the connection factor, (e.g. choosing direct
regarding personal details, factors or interests; friends; rela contacts to provide twice the number of Suggestions (3) than
tions; school alumni; employment factors; business col 2" degree contacts), and/or relating to an entity attribute,
leagues; professional acquaintances; sexual preferences, 55 e.g. the search for the keyword (8) skateboard may be
persuasions, or proclivities; sporting interests; entertain Supplemented by filtering the user contacts for the Sugges
ment, artistic, creative or leisure interests; travel interests, tions (3) according to an entity attribute of “an interest in
commercial, religious, political, theological or ideological skateboarding.
belief or opinions; academic, scientific, or engineering dis A user (2) may find particular user contacts provide
ciplines; humanitarian, social, security/military or economic 60 interesting selections and/or relevant web-sites and conse
fields and any combination of same. quently may be given a higher weighting by placing their
The entity attributes may also form part of the eligibility Suggestions (3) higher up the listings and/or providing a
criteria for the user contact to contribute to the Suggestions greater number of inputs. In a further aspect of the preferred
(3). Regarding the individual suggestions (3), the recent embodiment, the user contacts and the user (2) are provided
searches (4) denote the most recent keywords (8) used by the 65 with a number of recommendations (not shown). These may
user contacts. The search engine (1) may be configured so be used to increase the ranking of particular web-sites for
that the searches by the user (2) are also shown in the recent keyword (8) Searches (optionally, recommendations may be
 US 9,489,464 B2
19 20
tied to particular keywords (8)) and/or may be used to list of Suggestions (3), may thus be created relating to the
promote sites in the popular sites (7) field. activity of the user's (2) user contacts who have visited the
The number of recommendations given to each user web-site. The Suggestions (3) may be expanded to include
contact may be fixed or varied according to several eligi lists of products either accessed and/or recommended by the
bility criteria. These may include positive feedback from user COntactS.
other user contacts (either by active recommendations or by The present invention may also be used with organised
automatic/passive affirmations resulting from user contacts networks such as companies, institutes, or any other network
accessing the recommended web-sites Submitted). Alterna whereby all the members have at least one common entity
tively, they may be re-issued after a given time period. User attribute and connection factor, i.e. they are all members of
contacts with particular entity attributes associated with 10
an organisation and are direct contacts respectively. The
specific keywords (8), may also be given additional recom present invention provides the capability of treating Such
mendations, e.g. a computer Software reviewer may be given organised networks as either a single entity, with its own
Supplementary recommendations to appear in the related
web search field (18) and/or associated with particular collective entity attributes, or as a collection of individual
searches and specific software-related keywords (8). 15 user contacts, each having the organised network as a
The present invention also provides a means of contacting common entity attribute. Numerous refinements are possible
the user contacts responsible for particular keywords (8) or with the present invention such as the ability for the users (2)
Suggestions (3) and/or those having accessed a particular to actively mark web-sites of particular merit by ensuring
web-site irrespective of whether it appears in the Suggestions their appearance in the Suggestions (3) is suitably distinct
(3) field. This contact may be anonymously or, via an (e.g. in a different font, or bold, or the like) and/or by
intermediary web-site or anonymous e-mail or alternatively, sending an e-mail to chosen user contacts alerting to the
the users (2) may agree to their identity being shown by the web-site. It will be seen that before the user (2) has any user
system (1). contacts registered for use with the system and able to
The ability of the present invention to apply selective impact on the web activities and searches of the user (2), it
input and filtering from the activities of the user contacts is 25 will be necessary to populate the Suggestions (3) fields from
also of interest for further web searching and/or information non user contact entities. Even when Sufficient user contacts
gathering by the user (2) and also reduces potential time are available. Such disconnected entities may still be used to
wasted on unproductive searches and helps to more rapidly contribute to the suggestions (3) if so desired by the user (2).
find relevant results. Nevertheless, the paramount aspects of the benefits of the
The indicative information provided by the user contacts 30 present invention relate to the incorporation of the personal
will also be used to weight search results (14) associated private network for the user (2). In order to access this
with a particular keyword (8). The search weighting may be feature of the search engine (1), the user (2) uses the
performed by active recommendations from individual user login/logout link (17) which leads to the web-page (21)
contacts, thereby promoting particular web-sites or by pas shown in FIG. 4. Existing users (2) enter their e-mail and
sive/automatic feedback, as described in the earlier U.S. Pat. 35 password (19) whilst new users deciding to sign up to the
No. 6,421,675 (and associated applications). U.S. Pat. No. network submit their first and last name, preferred e-mail
6.421,675 discloses a powerful means of weighting search address, location and new password via corresponding input
results according to the behaviour of the user's accessing fields (20). Upon joining the search engine (1) registered
results listing. According to those criteria, a site may be members, the user (2) may then invite his or her acquain
deemed more useful if a user accesses the link and either 40 tances to become members, i.e. their user contacts. Alter
remains on the site for a predetermined time and/or performs natively, the user (2) who themselves have been invited to
other actions indicating the site has relevance, i.e. down join the system by an existing member. FIG. 5 shows a
loading material, following related links, reading additional web-page form (22) for inviting entities currently uncon
pages or Subscribing to material at the site. Conversely, if a nected to the users (2) network to join.
web-site is accessed and immediately exited, this implies the 45 It will be appreciated that the present invention may be
site was of little relevance for the search keyword. These implemented in numerous physical configurations. Although
techniques may also be incorporated in the present invention the present invention may be implemented in any Suitable
in addition to the refinement of giving increased weighting environment with a searchable database on a network, the
according to which entities performed the search, i.e. the preferred embodiment as shown in FIG. 6 is described with
user contacts. Thus, the selections and associated searches 50 respect to use on the internet (23) in which a plurality of
performed by a direct contact may be considered of greater users (not shown) may access the search engine (1) through
significance than an indirect contact and/or the behaviour of the internet (23) via a plurality of user sites (24) such as
an unconnected entity and used to weight the results accord personal computers, laptops, mobile phones, PDAS or the
ingly. like.
In a further embodiment, the features of the search engine 55 It will be appreciated that FIG. 1 is symbolic only and that
(1), and in particular the Suggestions (3) may be combined the internet (2) is actually composed of a multitude of user
into a minimised toolbar which forms part of a stay-resident sites (24) and that searchable data may be obtained from a
program running in conjunction with the users (2) web plurality of data sources (25). It will be appreciated that the
browser (not shown). The toolbar may also monitor the data sources (25) may represent numerous data sources
web-sites visited by the user (2) and in turn Suggest addi 60 including one or more personal contact networks (26) indi
tional web-sites that have previously been accessed by other vidually associated with one or more users. Moreover,
user contacts who have also visited the same site and/or although the search engine (1) is depicted as a single device,
performed the same searches leading to that site. it may be distributed across a network environment includ
In a further embodiment (not shown), the search engine ing one or more data storage means (not shown), databases,
(1) may be customised to be the search engine for a 65 server computers, processors and although these are not
particular web-site and have the option of restricting the explicitly shown, they are generically represented and
search to the material on the host web-site. A corresponding encompassed by representation of the search engine (1).
 US 9,489,464 B2
21 22
Aspects of the present invention have been described by 10. A method as claimed in claim 1, including notifying
way of example only and it should be appreciated that the user entity which Subsequent webpages are accessed by
modifications and additions may be made thereto without said contact when the user entity accesses a first webpage
departing from the scope thereof. previously accessed by said contact.
What is claimed: 11. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said indica
1. A method of providing search Suggestions to a user tive information includes search Suggestions weighting.
entity, said method performed by a search engine system 12. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the user
accessible over a network, said network having a plurality of entity is provided with an interface between the search
data input devices connected thereto, said search engine engine system and the personal contacts network unique to
system including at least one computer and a database of 10
the user entity.
entity data records, each data record relating to a corre 13. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein access to the
sponding entity and containing one or more entity attributes interrelationship context information between the user entity
including at least one identifying characteristic of said
corresponding entity, and their contacts is restricted, the user entity defining the
said method including: 15
restricted access.
receiving and recording at least one search from at least 14. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the search
one contact in a user entity's personal contact net engine system weights the search Suggestions associated
work, said at least one contacts search including at with the contacts providing the search suggestions most
least one keyword, said personal contacts network frequently chosen by the user entity.
formed from contacts connected directly or indi 15. A method as claimed in claim 1, including providing
rectly to the user entity, said connections recorded in search Suggestions to a user entity, said method performed
entity data records in said database; by a search engine system accessible over a network, said
providing indicative information to said user entity, network having a plurality of data input devices connected
said indicative information including search sugges thereto, said search engine system including:
tions derived from said at least one contacts search, 25 at least one computer and a database of entity data
wherein said search Suggestions including at least records, each data record relating to a corresponding
one said keyword derived independently of said user entity and containing one or more entity attributes
entity inputting any search keyword; including at least one identifying characteristic of said
receiving a selection of a said search Suggestion by the corresponding entity,
user entity; 30 said method including:
performing a search using said selected search sugges receiving and recording at least one search from at least
tion, and one contact in the user entity’s personal contact net
wherein said search Suggestions are derived solely from work, said contacts search including at least one
said at least one contacts search. keyword;
2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said searches 35 providing indicative information to said user entity, said
include an interrogation of a database via a network. indicative information including search Suggestions
3. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said data input derived from said contacts search, wherein said search
devices include mobile phones and said searches include a Suggestions include at least one said keyword,
search of web-sites via the Internet. wherein said personal contacts network is formed by:
4. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said search 40 receiving input from said user entity including at least one
Suggestions include recent searches, including keywords identifying characteristic of the user entity,
used in said contacts searches within a predetermined recording said identifying characteristic of said user entity
period of time. in said corresponding entity data record in said data
5. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said search base,
Suggestions include popular searches, comprising keywords 45 receiving input from said user entity including at least one
ranked as the most popular keywords used in said searches. identifying characteristic of other user entities for
6. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said search inclusion as a said contact in said user entity's personal
Suggestions include keywords from searches by multiple contact network,
COntactS. recording said identifying characteristic of said contact in
7. A method as claimed in claim 1, including the further 50 said user entity's data record in said database,
step of providing interrelationship context information to providing searchable access to said user entity of at least
said user entity from said user entity's personal contact part of the entity data records stored in said database.
network, the interrelationship context information including 16. A method as claimed in claim 15, further including:
a connection factor between said user entity and said con notifying each contact of their recordal on said system and
tact, the connection factor indicative of the degree of sepa 55 requesting input of at least one identifying character
ration between said contact and said user entity. istic of one or more further entities known to said
8. A method as claimed in claim 1, including the further COntact,
step of providing interrelationship context information to recording the identifying characteristic of each further
said user entity, the interrelationship context information entity inputted by said contact in the contacts corre
including one or more entity attributes of said contact. 60 sponding entity data record,
9. A method as claimed in claim 1, including receiving a repeating the above steps of Successive notification of
selective input from the user entity to filter said search further entities and recordal of the identifying charac
Suggestions, said selective input being a selection of con teristic of each further entity in their corresponding
tacts filtered according to at least one filter criteria including: entity data record.
an elapsed period since the Suggestion creation, a predeter 65 17. A method as claimed in claim 15, including:
mined activity, interrelationship context information, a con inviting said other user entities to join said user entity's
nection factor or entity attribute. personal contact network,
 US 9,489,464 B2
23 24
recording in the user entity’s entity data record the other wherein said search suggestions are derived solely from said
user entities joining said user entity’s personal contact at least one contact’s search.
network as contacts of the user entity. 19. A method of providing search suggestions to a user
18. A search engine system providing search suggestions entity, said method performed by a search engine system
to a user entity, said search engine system accessible over a 5 accessible over a network, said network having a plurality of
network, said network having a plurality of data input data input devices connected thereto, said search engine
devices connected thereto, said search engine system includ System including at least one computer and a database of
ing entity data records, each data record relating to a corre
at least one computer and a database of entity data sponding entity and containing one or more entity attributes
records, each data record relating to a corresponding " including at least one identifying characteristic of said
s

entity and containing one or more entity attributes corresponsistsd the st f

including at least one identifying characteristic of said said method including the steps of:
corresponding entity receiving and recording at least one search from at least
said computer progr ed to: one contact in the user entity’s personal contact
receive and record at least one search from at least one network, said at least one contact’s search including
contact in the user entity’s personal contact network, at least one keyword, said personal contacts network
said contact's search including at least one keyword, formed from contacts connected directly Or indi
said personal contacts network formed from contacts rectly to the user entity, said connections recorded in
connected directly or indirectly to the user entity, said entity data records in said database;
connections recorded in entity data records in said " preceding a search being made by said user entity with
database: s
the provision of indicative information including s

provide indicative information to said user entity, said

indicative information including search suggestions
C.s , W St. d list from tion st
t Sa1 are Suggest 1ons 1nclude a
derived from said at least one contact’s search, wherein east one said keyword; -
said search suggestions include at least one said key- receiving a selection of a said search suggestion by the
word derived independently of said user entity input- user entity;
ting any search keyword; performing a search using said selected search sugges
receiving a selection of a said search suggestion by the tion, and
user entity: wherein said search suggestions are derived solely from
performing a ssearch using said selected search suggestion, 30 said at least one contacts search.
and