Patent ID: 8775418

Claim:
A computer-implemented method performed by one or more computing devices and comprising: (A) obtaining a social graph associated with a particular user, the social graph comprising a plurality of nodes each representing a different user and being associated with voting values associated with a plurality of items of interest, a particular one of the plurality of nodes representing the particular user, ones of the plurality of nodes connected directly to the particular node without any intervening nodes being connected therebetween having first degree connections to the particular node; (B) obtaining, from the particular user, an importance rating for each of the plurality of nodes other than the particular node, a first importance rating being obtained for a first node having a first degree connection to the particular node, a second importance rating being obtained for a second node having a first degree connection to the particular node, the first importance rating being different from the second importance rating; (C) receiving search criteria from the particular user; (D) conducting a search using the search criteria to obtain search results; (E) identifying at least one of the plurality of items of interest in the search results; (F) determining a sort value for each of the search results in which at least one of the plurality of items of interest was identified, the sort value being determined for each of the search results in which at least one of the plurality of items of interest was identified by: (i) identifying one or more nodes of the social graph associated with a voting value associated with any of the plurality of items of interest identified in the search result; (ii) determining a node value for each node identified based at least in part on the importance rating obtained for the node and the voting value associated with both the node and any of the plurality of items of interest identified in the search result; and (iii) determining the sort value for the search result based at least in part on the node value determined for each node identified; (G) ordering the search results based at least in part on the sort value determined for each of the search results in which at least one of the plurality of items of interest was identified; and (H) generating a user interface including the ordered search results that is displayable to the particular user via a display device.