Patent ID: 7836050
Filing Date: 2010-11-16
Classification: G06F,H04N

Abstract:
1. A computing system for ranking items of results, the items being images stored at a plurality of image forums that allow users to upload images and to provide ratings of the images, comprising: a result store providing an indication of the items of a result of a query of words, the items of the result having been identified as matching the query after the query was received; a relevance store providing a relevance for each item of the result, the relevance being based on comparison of the words of the query to words associated with the items, the relevance of the items indicating a ranking of the items; a quality store providing a quality for each item of the result, the quality being independent of the query, being determined before the query was received, and being based on a rating of the items provided by users of the image forums who reviewed the items, the quality being derived from a normalization of the ratings of images of the image forums to account for differences in rating scales and rating criteria of the image forums; and a generate score component that generates a score for each item based on a combination of the relevance and the quality for the item, the generated scores indicating a re-ranking of the items to factor in the quality of the items as derived from the image forums.