Patent ID: 8380709
Filing Date: 2013-02-19
Classification: G06F,G06Q

Abstract:
1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform a method of searching for a service provider to provide a service in response to a search text string comprising one or more skills, the method comprising: a. searching a plurality of fields of each service provider profile in a database of service provider profiles for each of the one or more skills; b. matching the one or more skills with text within the plurality of fields of each service provider profile to produce a search score for a service provider matching at least one skill; c. calculating a reputation score for each service provider, wherein the reputation score is dependent on final contribution values computed based on reputation data within a service provider profile belonging to a service provider, wherein each reputation datum is associated with a category having a category weight and with a component weight, wherein each final contribution value is dependent on the component weight, the category weight, and a relative position value of the service provider for the reputation datum, wherein each final contribution value represents a percentage of the reputation score contributed by the service provider and is derived by multiplying a relative position of the service provider to a maximum percentage, wherein the maximum percentage is derived by multiplying a category weight to a component weight; and d. generating a list of service providers ordered based on a total score, the total score is determined by combining the search score and the reputation score.