Patent ID: 8024328

Claim:
A method of presenting search results embodied in instructions in a storage medium and executed at least in part utilizing a micro-processor, comprising: receiving a query from a user; attaching metadata to the query based at least in part on a level of participation in a chat room of at least one of the user or one or more entities with which the user has a relationship, a degree of separation between the user and at least one entity with which the user has a relationship, where an increased number of nodes and edges between two nodes is indicative of a greater degree of separation, and a geography of at least one geographically oriented entity with which the user has a relationship; and ranking one or more results of the query based at least in part on the metadata comprising at least one of placing a first result higher than a second result, the first result corresponding to a first chat room and the second result corresponding to a second chat room, the user having a first level of participation with the first chat room and a second level of participation with the second chat room, the first level of participation higher than the second level of participation, placing a third result higher than a fourth result, the third result corresponding to a first degree of separation between the user and a first entity and the fourth result corresponding to a second degree of separation between the user and a second entity, the first degree of separation being a lesser degree of separation than the second degree of separation, or placing a fifth result higher than a sixth result, the fifth result corresponding to a first geographically oriented entity with which the user has a relationship and the sixth result corresponding to a second geographically oriented entity with which the user has a relationship, the user being geographically closer to the first geographically oriented entity than to the second geographically oriented entity.