Patent ID: 8725768

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for performing an information search, comprising: associating human searchers with a keyword; designating less than all the human searchers associated with the keyword as an affiliate group; selecting a human searcher; selecting the human searcher from the affiliate group when a request is authorized; selecting the human searcher from the human searchers associated with the keyword excluding the affiliate group when the request is not authorized; providing a search result of the human searcher; providing the search result using a search resource of the affiliate group when the request is authorized; obtaining the search result using a resource selected by the human searcher when the request is not authorized; obtaining an identifier of the human searcher; determining access rights of the human searcher based on the identifier; providing access to the search resource of the affiliate group when the access rights do not include the search resource of the affiliate group and the request is authorized; and providing access to public search resources selected by the keyword when the access rights include the search resource of the affiliate group and the request is not authorized; aggregating ratings of members of the affiliate group as a rating of the affiliate group; determining indicators of affiliate groups associated with the keyword in an order based on respective aggregate ratings of the members of the respective affiliate groups; and selecting the human searcher based on the rating.