Patent ID: 7831684
Filing Date: 2010-11-09
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A method for a computer system comprises: receiving a search request from a first user; determining a user identifier associated with the first user; determining a plurality of user identifiers associated with the user identifier, wherein a social map is associated with the first user and the social map includes a plurality of different social distances between a plurality of users in a computer network; determining a first plurality of search request results of a plurality of users associated with the plurality of user identifiers, wherein the first plurality of search request results comprise search results selected by users from the plurality of users; determining a list of results to the search request in response to the search request and to the first plurality of search request results, wherein a first profile is provided for the first user and includes a first social distance between the first user and a second user, and wherein a second profile is provided for the first user and includes a second social distance between the first user and the second user, the first social distance and the second social distance being different, wherein the first social distance is reduced between the first and second users as a result of a weighting factor determined by a frequency of communications between the first and second users, a responsiveness by the first user in answering communications from the second user, a user satisfaction characteristic, and by a manual adjustment made directly to the weighting factor by the first user; providing the list of results to the first user as a response to the search request; and prioritizing a second search result ahead of a selected one of the first plurality of search results in response to the first social distance and the second social distance.