Patent ID: 8166061
Filing Date: 2012-04-24
Classification: G06F,G06Q,H04L

Abstract:
1. A method for searching recent content publication activity, the method comprising: using at least one computer to execute instructions, the execution of the instructions resulting in the at least one computer: maintaining a co-user list on behalf of an online identity, the co-user list including co-user online identifiers corresponding to co-user online identities for whom online availability is monitored for relaying to the online identity; maintaining individual user profiles for each of the online identity and other online identities including the co-user online identities for whom corresponding co-user online identifiers are included within the co-user list maintained on behalf of the online identity; receiving a query submitted by the online identity and an identifier associated with the online identity; accessing the co-user list maintained on behalf of the online identity; as a result of accessing the co-user list maintained on behalf of the online identity, selecting, from the accessed co-user list, at least a subset of the co-user online identifiers included within the co-user list; as a consequence of having selected the subset of co-user online identifiers from the accessed co-user list maintained on behalf of the online identity, accessing information revealing content publication activity that includes information descriptive of a user posting to a weblog service performed by the co-user online identities corresponding to each of the co-user online identifiers within the selected subset of co-user online identifiers from the co-user list maintained on behalf of the online identity and involving content that is different than the user profiles maintained for the co-user online identities; based on the accessed information, identifying one or more content publication activities that relate to the query, that were performed by one or more of the co-user online identities that correspond to the co-user online identifiers within the selected subset of co-user online identifiers, and that involve content that is different than the user profiles maintained for the co-user online identities; and enabling the online identity to perceive indications of the identified content publication activities and indications of the co-user online identifiers that correspond to the co-user online identities that performed the identified content publication activities for presentation as search results for the query; storing the query; at a later moment in time, again accessing the information revealing content publication activity performed by the co-user online identities corresponding to each of the co-user online identifiers within the selected subset of co-user online identifiers from the co-user list, the accessed information now revealing new content publication activity involving content that is different than the user profiles maintained for the co-user online identities and that had not been published at a time when the information previously was accessed; based on the accessed information, newly identifying content publication activities that relate to the query, that were performed by one or more of the co-user online identities that correspond to the co-user online identifiers within the selected subset of co-user online identifiers, and that involve content that had not been published at the time when the information previously was accessed and that is different than the user profiles maintained for the co-user online identities; and enabling the online identity to perceive the indications of the newly identified content publication activities and indications of the co-user online identifiers that correspond to the co-user online identities that performed the newly identified content publication activities.