Patent Publication Number: US-2006015480-A1

Title: Dynamic knowledge-based networking system and method

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/589,355, filed Jul. 19, 2004, entitled DYNAMIC KNOWLEDGE-BASED NETWORKING SYSTEM AND METHOD, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND  
      Mobile communication devices, commonly called “mobile devices,” “cellular phone,” “handsets” or “personal digital assistants,” increasingly offer a wider array of network communication capabilities. For instance, many mobile devices can connect to the Internet to access Web content. A user can even search for desired Web content using a modified browser interface tailored for mobile applications. However, mobile devices have a number of characteristics that make search tools, particularly Internet search tools, ineffective.  
      Characteristics of mobile devices that make searches ineffective include size and form factor limitations, particularly in the user interface (UI) of the mobile device. The shortage of space available for display and presentation makes returning a large list of results or options a difficult and unpleasant user experience. Further, the data found on a website does not lend itself well to satisfactory presentation on a mobile device UI, and pulling up webpages based on the list of results or options is usually difficult.  
      Another issue for search on a mobile device is relevance. A keyword search performed on a search site such as Google, for example, will provide all of the available results found around the entered keywords. These results do not take into account mobile context, such as a time-sensitivity of a request, a user&#39;s location, or more importantly, the subjective information or knowledge about a searched place or object that may be possessed by other persons familiar with the time or location context of the mobile device user.  
      Existing search and directory systems employ a number of different, generally web-based methods for acquiring information. One popular method for acquiring information is submitting a keyword query for comparison with a database of information to find matches, such as can be found in search engines like Yahoo or Google, although their techniques vary considerably. A related method can be used with a natural language search engine, such as Ask Jeeves, in which a user submits to the engine a natural language question, which is then parsed into a number of textual elements to identify a sequence or combination of words that can be matched against a database to answer the question.  
      Contextual search is another method used to find information. An example of contextual search is the result obtained from a commerce site such as Amazon in response to a user query (i.e., a title of a book that the user is looking to purchase). The commerce site can provide information about a number of other items that are somehow contextually related to the item being sought or purchased (i.e., titles of other books bought by users that also purchased the sought-after book). In this way, a user gets their asked-for search results, much like a keyword search, but also receives derivative information, such as other person&#39;s purchases or interests.  
      Another search method, particularly appropriate for mobile devices, is a location based search. In this method, a user provides their location to their mobile device or to a website via the mobile device, or their location is determined by a device similar to a Global Positioning System (GPS) device. Once the location is determined, the user can query the system to determine keywords of interest based on objects that have a relationship to that location. Examples of this method include Citysearch on the web and WaveMarket on a mobile device.  
      By way of an example, a user who is presently visiting Austin Tex. may be interested in listening to a live performance of “emo” music, a certain style of music that is loosely associated with and sometimes classified as “rock” music, but which has only a small group of ardent fans with knowledge about the emo scene in Austin. The user may be seeking a live emo music venue. Conventional search methods for live music venues may yield a result of a very large number of live rock music venues in Austin or beyond. Further, this result can be arranged in a number of ways that are more distracting than helpful. Thus, conventional search methods typically do not consider timeliness (i.e., the user is seeking information that relates to the present), the location of the user (i.e., some results may not even apply to Austin, Tex.), nor the knowledge that others possess, such as the small yet passionate fan base.  
      The collective knowledge of a group of people that are related in some, and often many, ways is known as “tribal knowledge,” and can often be the most reliable information about a subject. For example, the group of people may be users of a particular communications network that can be accessed via a mobile device. Further, subgroups of these users may be related by various interests, opinions, or knowledge about one or more subjects. Unfortunately, conventional search tools for mobile devices have no way of searching and identifying any of these user&#39;s in an efficient or reliable manner.  
     SUMMARY  
      A system and method is presented for creating a dynamic network of knowledge links for mobile devices for communicating with network members to obtain derivative or subjective information. One method includes creating an index in the same way that people use phone numbers for phones, web addresses for PCs, etc., whereby an index is generated to include a list of people with specific knowledge about specific things.  
      As opposed to conventional mobile search methods, in which a directory search is initiated by a user for the purpose of obtaining information such as a collection of relevant links, from a database of information or in the case of Google, relevant direct hits of a collection or links, the subject matter described herein utilizes other users to provide such information. While the methods used to get to the information are different, all of them involve utilizing some algorithm for finding the information and then presenting the direct result to the user. In addition, the subject matter described herein, in some variations, assumes that the most relevant and up to date information is contained within the knowledge of users and in some variations, and enables users to connect with each other to obtain that information. Because the subject matter described herein, in some variations, relies on users to provide the search results, the user seeking information may not use keywords that describe the question they are seeking to answer or the information they are trying to find, rather they would be using keywords to describe people or concepts they think would possess the information they are seeking.  
      According to one aspect, a networking system for mobile device users includes a database that is accessible via a communications network. The database stores information related to one or more users of the communications network. The networking system further includes an information engine configured to receive a query from a mobile device via the communications network. The information engine is further configured to determine a context of the query, compare the query and/or context with the information in the database to generate a contextual result, identify one or more users associated with the contextual result, and generate a directory of identifiers representing the identified one or more users.  
      According to another aspect, a method that connects various users of a communications network is provided. The method may be in the form of application software running on a computer such as a server, and executing a number of modules configured for particular functions to manipulate information stored in a database. Alternatively, the method can be implemented on a mobile device, in software, in hardware such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), in firmware, or a combination thereof.  
      In some embodiments, a method includes the functional steps of receiving a query from a mobile device via a communications network, and determining a context of the query. The method can further include comparing the query and/or context with information in a database that is accessible via the communications network to generate a contextual result, where the database stores information related to one or more users of the communications network. The method further includes identifying one or more users associated with the contextual result, and generating a directory of identifiers representing the identified one or more users.  
      In a particular aspect, the systems and methods described herein are configured to generate a directory of one or more users of a communications network that may have knowledge about the subject of a query, rather than simply a directory limited only to the subject itself. Accordingly, in other embodiments a method can include receiving, from a mobile device via the communications network, a query of a database about one or more things within a context. The method can further include generating, based at least in part on the context, a directory of users of the communications network who have provided information to the database that represents a knowledge about the one or more things.  
      Articles of manufacture, tangibly embodied on a machine-readable medium, are also described. Such articles of manufacture may include executable instructions that cause a machine to conduct one or more of the method acts described herein.  
      Similarly, systems are also described that may include a processor and a memory coupled to the processor. The memory may encode one or more programs that cause the processor to perform one or more of the method acts described herein.  
      The details of one or more variations are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features and advantages of the subject matter described herein will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      These and other aspects will now be described in detail with reference to the following drawings.  
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a dynamic group-based knowledge and information system.  
       FIG. 2  is a functional block diagram of a mobile information application.  
       FIG. 3  is a functional flow diagram of a dynamic knowledge-based method for search and directory using a mobile device.  
      FIGS.  4 A-C show various elements of a functional application layer of the mobile information application. 
    
    
      Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.  
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
      The following describes systems, apparatuses, articles of manufacture, and methods for group-based knowledge and information search and retrieval via mobile devices. The mobile devices are network-connected and “always-on,” in that they can be accessed by a user at any time and at any place. In some embodiments, systems and methods leverage one or more interrelationships of a group of users based on predetermined criteria to provide information that may not be known to other users. Accordingly, a directory of people can be created for the purpose of gaining derivative and subjective information more effectively than traditional data directory-based search techniques.  
       FIG. 1  includes a block diagram of a networking system  140  for networking a group of mobile device users based on dynamic group-based knowledge. In some variations, the networking system  140  includes a database  180  that is accessible via a communications network  170 . The database  180  stores information related to one or more users  160  of the communications network  170 , a contextually-related group of which is called a “tribe.” The information can include text inputs, graphics, images, weblogs, or other information obtained through interactive screens or webpages.  FIG. 4A  illustrates a logic flow of an information gathering module. The information can be provided by the users via mobile device, over wireless data or voice channels, or via other network-enabled device such as a computer, PDA, etc.  
      The system  140  further includes an information engine  185  configured to receive a query from a mobile device  150  via the communications network  170  and determine a context of the query. The information engine  185  compares the query and/or context with the information in the database  180  to generate a contextual result, and to identify one or more users associated with the contextual result. The information engine  185  can generate a directory of identifiers representing the identified one or more users  160 . Accordingly, based on a relevancy between the information related to the one or more users  160  and the query, a user using a mobile device  150  may contact the identified one or more users.  
      The system  140  enables a user using a mobile device  150  to access knowledge and information contained in one or more groups of users, called “tribes”  160 . A user is associated with a tribe based on some knowledge that corresponds to a contextual relation with other users. For instance, one tribe  160  may be formed of users who have a common interest in emo music, but more specifically a live venue for emo music, and even more specifically a live venue for emo music in Austin, Tex. The user  150  may or may not initially be a member of a tribe  160 .  
      The mobile device  150  is any device capable of communicating with the communications network  170  which can include, without limitation, networks such as a wireless data and/or voice network, the Internet or world wide web, or other network. The mobile device  150  may also be capable of multiple integrated communication with technologies such as short message service (SMS) messaging, electronic mail, mobile web connectivity, and one or more various voice communication technologies such as code division multiple access (CDMA) or its variants, or the global system for mobile (GSM) communications standard.  
      The mobile device  150  is used to generate and send information requests, in the form of keyword search queries or other types of requests, to the database  180  via the communications network  170 . The requests are evaluated against the database  180  of information about one or more groups of users  160  or tribes. The tribes can be composed of overlapping groups of users  160 . A result, which may be in the form of a directory, that represents one or more target users from at least one tribe is generated and returned to the mobile device  150  in response to the query. A user of the mobile device  150  can then use one of various forms of communication to contact one or more of the target users from the result for obtaining further specific information regarding the query.  
      In some variations the system  140  includes an application that connects an associated network of users by matching the query with key words and metadata in user profiles and other information repositories (including blogs and media collections) stored in the database  180  for the purpose of finding information directly from another user in the network. In the example cited above, a search for bands in Austin would result in a list of other users who have provided information in their profile or other repository to the database  180  that represents their specific knowledge of music or band names related to the search. The user querying the system  140  can then look at a brief summary of the user&#39;s profiles, as shown in  FIG. 4B , to identify those users who may possess the specific knowledge sought. Once the user identifies a target user they would like to query, they can send a message via a messaging infrastructure or through email or SMS to the respective target users. The target users would receive the message and respond if they have information regarding the query.  
      The networking system  140  can include a server running an application. The application can be distributed in part to the mobile device  150 , either by downloading the application from a website, downloading the application directly from the carrier network through an application deck provided by the carrier, or by accessing the application via a web-like gateway using XHTML. The application can either run in an operating environment such as Java or Brew, or executed via a browser client on the mobile device  150  using XHTML or the like. The networking system  140  leverages the feature that users always or nearly always carry their mobile devices. Rather than create a directory of information about things, the system  140  generates a directory of people with knowledge about things.  
       FIG. 2  is a functional block diagram of an application  100  running in the information engine  185  or distributed across devices communicating via the communication network  170 . The application  100  includes a main profile  102  having various descriptive elements that describe a user, including location, age, preferences, etc. Other examples of descriptive elements are shown in  FIG. 4A . The application  100  uses information of the main profile  102  to populate/personalize contextual elements  104  that link the information together based on one or more contextual arrangements for a more complete description of the user. For example, the contextual elements  104  can include a weblog  105 , a “my favorites” element  107 , a “my network” element  109  that lists people considered to be related in some way, and an events/bulletin element  111 . These contextual elements  140  are merely exemplary, and are not to be construed as limiting the scope or number of possible contextual elements  104 . Other contextual elements and element types are possible within the scope of this description.  
      The application  100  also includes management of and connectivity to one or more user communications  106 , such as text messaging, photo messaging, video messaging, alerts, anonymous voice chat, or other communications. The application  100  also incorporates a location-based service  108 , in which contextual elements are processed and updated according to a location of a mobile device being used by a user, for more temporally and contextually relevant information.  
       FIG. 3  is a functional flow diagram of a method  200  for dynamic, knowledge-based search and directory generation using a mobile device. At block  202 , a mobile subscriber is provided a main screen, including objects such as a profile summary, a photo, and keywords, etc., for search and filtering. The main screen also includes links to various selectable web-based entities, such as weblogs (“blogs”), favorite links, links associated with a predefined network of users, and links to “tribal knowledge” web content.  
      A tribal knowledge selection, at block  204 , is a link to data representing knowledge of a specifically-defined group of users with common interests or who have represented having particular predefined knowledge. Accordingly, the group of users constitutes an entity akin to a “tribe” and collectively provides the most relevant, directed results to search queries from any other user. Block  204  can be referred to generally as “Hook Me Up.” 
      A user who selects the tribal knowledge selection is presented with a user interface at block  206 , such as a GUI display, that prompts the user to enter keywords. The keywords may comprise text, although may also be in the form of images, graphics, etc. In some variations, a script instructs users to enter keywords that would be descriptive of users in the “tribe,” or their own experiences, to “Hook Up” the user with an information source that, based on information provided by other users, is likely to have relevant information. The user then enters the keywords and the mobile information application, at blocks  208  or  210  or both, queries a database for relevant matches and returns a list of targeted users and their associated profiles (as shown in  FIG. 4B ) at block  212 . The requesting user can browse the profiles to find one or more target users that are most likely to have the sought-after information.  
      Once the relevant target users are selected at block  214 , the requesting user at block  216  can communicate to them (i.e. send a question or comment) using one of several forms of communication integrated into the system, such as SMS, email or other form communication mechanism. The requesting user then waits for the target(s) to respond to his or her request for information, at block  218 . If no target user responds, the method  200  ends or begins again at block  214  or  216 . If at least one target user responds with information, at block  220  the requesting user receives the information. The requesting user can end the method  200  or again execute the mobile information application for more information, at block  210 . In some variations, the application can apply a natural language understanding program to categorize and index the query, as well as the returned answers, in a context or to generate a contextual result. The context can be related to subject matter, location relevance, age relevance, etc. The contextual result helps classify all of the information to better filter relevant information for the requesting user.  
      Example applications of the method  200  include generating referrals and generating a database of opinions/reviews. In an application for generating referrals, for example, a user may looking for a particular kind of club, for a particular type of band, for a live music venue, for a rave, for a party, for a service provider, for a restaurant, for a movie theater, for a store, or for a place to go, etc. The user is looking for a referral directory of only those users who are relevant to the same context-based subculture, as based on the query or request.  
      An application for generating opinions or reviews can be implemented as follows: A user asks the tribe, or subset thereof, (i.e. target users) “What do you think of a specific restaurant?” or “What did you think of this movie?” The target users can reply to the requesting user with an opinion or a review, which is then accumulated in the database to form information for later queries, as well as real-time information relevant to the requesting user.  
       FIGS. 4A-4C  show various elements of a functional application layer of the mobile information application. The application layer is represented by various frames that depict user interface fields for receiving or displaying information to a user. It should be understood that a mobile information application is not necessarily limited to the exact number and types of frames depicted in  FIGS. 4A-4C .  
      Various implementations of the subject matter described herein may be realized in digital electronic circuitry, integrated circuitry, specially designed ASICs (application specific integrated circuits), computer hardware, firmware, software, and/or combinations thereof. These various implementations may include implementation in one or more computer programs that are executable and/or interpretable on a programmable system including at least one programmable processor, which may be special or general purpose, coupled to receive data and instructions from, and to transmit data and instructions to, a storage system, at least one input device, and at least one output device.  
      These computer programs (also known as programs, software, software applications or code) include machine instructions for a programmable processor, and may be implemented in a high-level procedural and/or object-oriented programming language, and/or in assembly/machine language. As used herein, the term “machine-readable medium” refers to any computer program product, apparatus and/or device (e.g., magnetic discs, optical disks, memory, Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs)) used to provide machine instructions and/or data to a programmable processor, including a machine-readable medium that receives machine instructions as a machine-readable signal. The term “machine-readable signal” refers to any signal used to provide machine instructions and/or data to a programmable processor.  
      To provide for interaction with a user, the subject matter described herein may be implemented on a computer having a display device (e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor) for displaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointing device (e.g., a mouse or a trackball) by which the user may provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices may be used to provide for interaction with a user as well; for example, feedback provided to the user may be any form of sensory feedback (e.g., visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback); and input from the user may be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input.  
      The subject matter described herein may be implemented in a computing system that includes a back-end component (e.g., as a data server), or that includes a middleware component (e.g., an application server), or that includes a front-end component (e.g., a client computer having a graphical user interface or a Web browser through which a user may interact with an implementation of the subject matter described herein), or any combination of such back-end, middleware, or front-end components. The components of the system may be interconnected by any form or medium of digital data communication (e.g., a communication network). Examples of communication networks include a local area network (“LAN”), a wide area network (“WAN”), and the Internet.  
      The computing system may include clients and servers. A client and server are generally remote from each other and typically interact through a communication network. The relationship of client and server arises by virtue of computer programs running on the respective computers and having a client-server relationship to each other.  
      Although a few variations have been described in detail above, other modifications are possible. For example, the logic flow depicted in the accompanying figures and described herein do not require the particular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirable results. Other embodiments may be within the scope of the following claims.