Patent ID: 8521591

Claim:
A computer-implemented method comprising: identifying, with one or more processors, a first connection between a first user and a second user in a social network and a second connection between the first user and a third user in the social network, each of the first and second connections including an association type and a degree of separation that identifies a fewest number of common characteristic associations separating the users; applying, with the one or more processors, a first association weight to the first connection that is higher than a second association weight applied to the second connection based on at least one of the association type and the degree of separation; identifying, with the one or more processors, the first user as a first administrator of a first article, the first article comprising a first link to a second article; identifying, with the one or more processors, that the second user and the third user access the first article; identifying, with the one or more processors, that the second user is a second administrator of the second article; and determining, with the one or more processors, a first importance score for the first link based on the first association weight, wherein the higher association weight indicates that the first connection is more biased.