Patent ID: 8661028

Claim:
A computing device comprising: a communication interface; memory; and processing circuitry coupled to the communication interface and to the memory, the processing circuitry, memory, and communication interface operable to: receive a search request from a user device, the search request including a search string; determine first search results using the search request, the search results selected from a maxima category wherein the maxima category groups searchable data based on content similarity and relative popularity wherein the maxima category contains hierarchically ordered sub-maxima categories that further organize the searchable data within the maxima category based on content similarity; deliver the first search results to the user device; receive user interaction data from the user device indicating user interaction with a search result included in first search results and a hierarchically ordered sub-maxima category included in the first search results; process the user interaction data to identify second search results by favoring search results within interesting maxima categories that are identified as interesting; deliver the second search results to the user device; and iteratively repeating processing the user interaction data and selecting other sets of search results from interesting maxima and eliminating search results from uninteresting maxima so increasingly more meaningful search results are returned over time.