Method and apparatus for creating and curating user collections for network search

Abstract

A media system that is accessible over a network, which includes a user interface module implemented by a server computer and accessible by a plurality of user computers operated by a plurality of users over the network and is operative to respond to user requests for web pages or other selections of content, where user inputs of one or more collections can be obtained.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A computer system comprising:
 one or more server computers; and   computer readable storage media in communication with the one or more server computers, the computer readable storage media storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more server computers, cause the computer system to:
 receive information defining one or more collections, wherein each of the collections comprise a group of user created content from multiple input sources; 
 receive indications of associations of the user created content within each of the collections; 
 assign one or more keywords to each of the collections based on the indications of associations, wherein each of the collections is identified by at least one of the keywords; 
 receive a request for additional content to be added to at least one of the collections; 
 performing a matching of the additional content to be added with one or more of the collections, wherein the matching comprises:
 assigning a weight for the user created content based on its origin; 
 assigning a weight for each of the collections based on the assigned one or more keywords; and 
 matching the additional content with one or more of the collections based on the assigned weights, the indication of the associations for the user created content, and the assigned one or more keywords; and 
 
 adding the additional content one or more of the collections based on the matching. 
   
     
     
         2 . The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the instructions that, when executed by the one or more server computers, cause the computer system to:
 receive, from users of a media system accessible over a network, requests for the user created content;   perform a matching algorithm configured to select for delivery of an appropriate collection to a user requesting content, the matching algorithm including a matching to a target audience; and   display responsive content to the user requests by selecting individual pieces of content intended for the target audience including the user requesting the content.   
     
     
         3 . The computer system of  claim 2 , wherein the requests for the user created content includes advertisements that upon display as being the responsive content provide monetization for an owner of the collection with that user created content. 
     
     
         4 . The computer system of  claim 2 , wherein the matching algorithm includes user feedback or known characteristics of a user requesting content, wherein the known characteristics comprise:
 the user's demographics;   the user's age;   the user's gender;   the user's search history; or   the user's profile.   
     
     
         5 . The computer system of  claim 4 , wherein the matching is configured to match the target audience with the known characteristics of the user. 
     
     
         6 . The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the indications of associations among the user created content comprises similarities in the user created content. 
     
     
         7 . The computer system of  claim 6 , wherein similarities in the user created content are reflected in the assigned one or more keywords. 
     
     
         8 . The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the instructions that, when executed by the one or more server computers, cause the computer system to:
 associate a portion of the user created content within a single one of the collections with a different one of the collections based on the indications of associations or based on the assigned keywords.   
     
     
         9 . The computer system of  claim 8 , wherein the instructions that, when executed by the one or more server computers, cause the computer system to:
 change the association of the portion of the user created content to be with the different one of the collections rather than the single one of the collections.   
     
     
         10 . The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the additional content that is requested is a subset of user created content from one or more of the collections to be moved or added to another one of the collections. 
     
     
         11 . The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the user created content comprises different media types from different input sources. 
     
     
         12 . A computer system comprising:
 one or more server computers; and   computer readable storage media in communication with the one or more server computers, the computer readable storage media storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more server computers, cause the computer system to:
 receive data defining respective collections, the data including for a respective collection one or more keywords for the respective collection, data defining elements of the respective collection and data defining an intended audience interest for the respective collection as intended by the respective collector; 
 receiving a search including one or more search keywords and data forming an indication of context of interest for the search query; 
 assigning weights to the one or more keywords, the data defining elements, and the intended audience of the respective collection; 
 matching the one or more search keywords of the search query with the one or more keywords for a respective collection; 
 updating an association for the respective collection based on the matching, wherein the association comprises additional collections or keywords that are associated with the respective collection; 
 selecting, based on the association, an advertisement relevant to the respective collection; and 
 providing, in response to the search query, the data defining the elements of the respective collection and the selected advertisement. 
   
     
     
         13 . The computer system of  claim 12 , wherein the instructions that, when executed by the one or more server computers, cause the computer system to:
 including the selected advertisement with the respective collection.   
     
     
         14 . The computer system of  claim 12 , wherein the instructions that, when executed by the one or more server computers, cause the computer system to:
 associate a portion of the data within a single one of the respective collections with a different one of the collections based on the data defining elements.   
     
     
         15 . The computer system of  claim 14 , wherein the instructions that, when executed by the one or more server computers, cause the computer system to:
 change the association of the portion of the data to be with the different one of the collections rather than the respective collection.   
     
     
         16 . The computer system of  claim 12 , wherein the instructions that, when executed by the one or more server computers, cause the computer system to:
 associate a portion of the data within a single one of the respective collections with a different one of the collections based on the matching.   
     
     
         17 . The computer system of  claim 12 , wherein the instructions that, when executed by the one or more server computers, cause the computer system to:
 selecting, based on the association, a second advertisement relevant to the respective collection;   updating the association for the respective collection to include the second advertisement; and   providing the second advertisement.   
     
     
         18 . The computer system of  claim 12 , wherein data defining respective collections comprises receiving one or more of:
 text links to third party content;   audio data or audio links;   image data or links to image files;   video data or links to video files; or   free text.   
     
     
         19 . A method comprising:
 receiving a query from a user;   selecting a collection from a plurality of collections to be provided to the user, wherein the collections each comprise a group of content items grouped together and ranked in order of preference and associated with a tag by a content owner, the tag usable to indicate an audience for the collection intended by the content owner, the intended audience including the user, wherein the selecting is from matching based on the content items and the ranking;   selecting an advertisement relevant to the collection that is based on the matching and the associated tag by the content owner that indicates the audience for the selected collection; and   providing, in response to the query, the content items of the selected collection and the selected advertisement.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19  further comprising:
 tracking performance of interaction by the user with each of the content items and tracking performance of interaction by the user with the selected advertisement; 
 recording the performance of the interactions with the content items and the selected advertisement; 
 collecting a fee from an advertiser associated with the selected advertisement.