Social Search Breadcrumbs for Intent Resolution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current search engines struggle to accurately infer user intent from limited search terms, leading to relevance challenges in search results.
Innovation Solution
The method involves assembling a set of documents in response to a user's search query, identifying a respective person associated with each document, and displaying a search results page with a sequence of breadcrumbs representing the social network links between the user and the document owner.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If basic algorithmic search is used, then search speed and coverage are improved, but relevance and user intent accuracy deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces social network connections as an intermediary layer between the user and search results. By displaying breadcrumb trails showing the social path (e.g., user → friend → friend's connection to document), the system mediates the relationship between user intent and document relevance, allowing users to assess relevance through social trust signals rather than relying solely on algorithmic matching
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a social dimension to traditional search by incorporating social network graph data into the search results presentation. Instead of only showing document metadata and algorithmic rankings, the system displays social connection paths as an additional dimension of information, enabling users to evaluate relevance through social proximity to the document owner
2Reliability
If social network connections are integrated into search results, then relevance and user confidence are improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential social connection information needed for relevance assessment and presents it in a simplified breadcrumb format. Rather than displaying the entire social network graph or complex relationship data, the system extracts and displays only the sequential path of connections (user → friend → document owner), reducing complexity while maintaining reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the social network path into discrete breadcrumb components, each representing a single connection step. This segmentation allows the complex social relationship data to be broken down into manageable, easily interpretable units that can be displayed and processed without overwhelming system or user complexity
Data Source
AI summary
A method for data presentation includes assembling a set of documents in response to a search query by a user having a social network. A respective person is identified with each of a group of documents in the set. For at least one document in the group, a chain of one or more links is found in the social network between the respective person and the user. A search results page is displayed, including an identification of the at least one document together with a sequence of breadcrumbs corresponding to the one or more links in the chain.