(a) Field
The subject matter disclosed generally relates to web search and presentation tools. More particularly, the disclosure relates to searching users' social networks.
(b) Related Prior Art
Tremendous changes have been occurring in the World Wide Web (the “Web”) that influence our everyday lives. For example, online social networks have become the new meeting grounds. The development of such online social networks touch countless aspects of our everyday lives, providing instant access to people of similar mindsets, and enabling us to form partnerships with more people in more ways than ever before.
One of the more useful features of the Web and associated forms of communication such as e-mail, instant messaging, chat rooms, social networks and forums is the access to information that is useful in everyday work and social lives. There exists a substantial amount of information accessible on the Web. However, the information obtained by searching the Web is often generic and does not account for the searcher's level of education, location, socioeconomic status or the like. The response to a search of the Web is typically presented to the user by relevancy to the search request and/or other similar criteria which are based the wording of the search request. More often than not, the user is required to review a large amount of information that is not in fact relevant to the user's request. For instance, the user's background or knowledge in the subject matter may not match that of many of the search request results. Some information may be too detailed or technical while other information may be too generic. Likewise, if a user submits a query to a message board, blog, forum or similar on-line interactive site, many of the responses to the user's request will be from people who come from different backgrounds with different tastes and varying levels of knowledge in particular areas. This is particularly true for queries that are social in nature, wherein the responses to the request are more opinion than fact. Although some responses could be highly relevant, a large number of the responses can have low usefulness or relevance to the user's request. A user could also submit inquiries to their friends and family through e-mail, instant messaging or similar methods of communication. However, the responses may be sporadic, have no organization and may be repetitive of other requests made within the social network. Therefore, it is with respect to these considerations and others that the embodiments described herein were made.
There is therefore a need to change how people collect, find and share content on the Web.