Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for providing advertisements. In one aspect, a method includes receiving a request for an advertisement from a user device associated with a first user, and identifying advertisements responsive to the request. A determination is made that one of the advertisements describes a good or service that is associated with an endorsement provided by an endorser, and the endorser is recommended by a second user that belongs to a same social network as the first user. The advertisements are ranked based on one or more signals associated with each advertisement, wherein one of the signals for the one advertisement is the endorsement and is used in the ranking in response to the determination. The ranked advertisements are provided in response to the request.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for providing advertisements. In one aspect, a method includes receiving a request for an advertisement from a user device associated with a first user, and identifying advertisements responsive to the request. A determination is made that one of the advertisements describes a good or service that is associated with an endorsement provided by an endorser, and the endorser is recommended by a second user that belongs to a same social network as the first user. The advertisements are ranked based on one or more signals associated with each advertisement, wherein one of the signals for the one advertisement is the endorsement and is used in the ranking in response to the determination. The ranked advertisements are provided in response to the request.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for providing compensation. In one aspect, a method includes receiving a request for an advertisement, and identifying an advertisement responsive to the request, wherein a good or service associated with the advertisement is associated with an endorsement provided by an endorser. The advertisement is provided in response to the request. An indication of a selection of the advertisement is received, and compensation is provided to the endorser upon receiving the indication of the selection of the advertisement.

Abstract: A method and system of comparing a query and a subject database using a distributed computing platform is disclosed. The databases are divided into data elements having a size within a specified range. All data elements and task definitions are sent to a master CPU of a master-slave distributed computing platform, wherein task definitions comprise at least one comparison parameter, at least one executable comparison element, and a query and a subject data element ID/descriptor. Data elements are sent alternately from query and subject data elements. A task definition is sent for each task from the master CPU to one of a plurality of slave CPUs when all parts of a task definition and data elements referenced by the task definition are available at the master CPU. Data elements are then sent to the slave CPUs for performance of the tasks. Task results for each task are returned to a CPU.

Abstract: A method and system of comparing a query and a subject database using a distributed computing platform is disclosed. The databases are divided into data elements having a size within a specified range. All data elements and task definitions are sent to a master CPU of a master-slave distributed computing platform, wherein task definitions comprise at least one comparison parameter, at least one executable comparison element, and a query and a subject data element ID/descriptor. Data elements are sent alternately from query and subject data elements. A task definition is sent for each task from the master CPU to one of a plurality of slave CPUs when all parts of a task definition and data elements referenced by the task definition are available at the master CPU. Data elements are then sent to the slave CPUs for performance of the tasks. Task results for each task are returned to a CPU.