Search Result Augmentation via Social Data Aggregation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Users face difficulty in discovering relevant information about venue entities, such as locations or businesses, due to the vast amount of data available across various content sources, leading to missed opportunities for discovering user-generated tips and opinions.

Innovation Solution

A system that identifies venue entities within search results and generates user-defined suggestions by aggregating and evaluating user-generated data from social networks, blogs, and microblogs, creating descriptive summaries or multimedia content to enhance search results with practical advice and opinions.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Quantity of substance

If users search through vast amounts of information from various content sources, then the quantity of available information increases, but the difficulty of discovering relevant information increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvequantity of informationVSAvoiddifficulty of discovering relevant information

Core Design Contradiction:

Quantity of substanceVSDifficulty of detecting and measuring

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces an intermediary system that acts as a mediator between users and the vast amount of information from multiple content sources. This system automatically aggregates, filters, and presents relevant information, eliminating the need for users to manually sift through vast amounts of data while still providing comprehensive relevant information.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces the manual mechanical process of users searching and filtering information with an automated computational system. The system automatically crawls, aggregates, and processes information from multiple content sources, substituting human effort with automated information processing mechanisms.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Loss of information

If users manually search through content sources to find relevant information, then the completeness of information discovery may improve, but the time required increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecompleteness of information discoveryVSAvoidtime required for information discovery

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary actions by automatically aggregating and organizing information from multiple content sources before users need it. The system proactively crawls and stores relevant information, so when users search, the information is already prepared and readily available, eliminating the time users would spend manually collecting information while ensuring completeness.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements continuous information gathering and processing, maintaining an up-to-date repository of relevant information from multiple sources. This continuous action ensures that information is always available and current without requiring users to repeatedly search, thus maintaining completeness while reducing time investment.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #20Continuity of useful action

3Measurement precision

If search results include only traditional content sources, then the accuracy of factual information is maintained, but the relevance to user interests decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccuracy of factual informationVSAvoidrelevance to user interests

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges traditional factual content sources with user-generated content from social networks, blogs, and microblogs. By combining these diverse sources, the system maintains the accuracy of established information while incorporating relevant user opinions, tips, and perspectives that enhance relevance to user interests.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies local quality by treating different content sources differently based on their characteristics. Factual information from traditional sources maintains high accuracy standards, while user-generated content provides localized relevance and personal perspectives, allowing the system to optimize for both accuracy and relevance in different contexts.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS9355181B2Search result augmenting

Publication Date: 2016.05.31 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC

AI summary

One or more techniques and/or systems are provided for augmenting search results with a user defined suggestion and/or for providing a user defined suggestion. For example, a venue entity may be associated with search results and/or user information (e.g., a set of search results may correspond to the Eiffel Tower). User defined data associated with the venue entity may be evaluated to generate a user defined suggestion associated with the venue entity. For example, user generated content about the Eiffel Tower, such as tips, advice, opinions, and/or other information specified by social network users, may be evaluated to determine a user defined suggestion “get tower tickets early, they sell out fast”. The user defined suggestion may be provided to a user (e.g., visiting the venue entity) and/or used to augment the set of search results. In this way, practical information, derived from opinions shared by other users, may be provided.