Abstract: A system that employs an explicitly and/or implicitly trained model in order to return entity-specific computer-based search results is provided. The innovation can provide for a customized search model that focuses search in connection with achieving information that is meaningful with respect to goals of an entity. The model can be used to modify a search query in accordance with a goal of the entity or to generate the search query thereby returning meaningful and/or targeted results to the user. The system can automatically gather entity-related data thereafter determining or inferring a goal as well as training the model. Moreover, the system can selectively configure (e.g., order, rank, filter) and render results to a user based upon the model.

Abstract: The claimed subject matter provides systems and/or methods that facilitate diversifying search results to improve searching and/or personalized searching. An interface component can receive a query. Additionally, a result diversification component can modify diversity of a set of search results obtained by a search engine in response to a query based at least in part upon one or more dimensions of diversity. The dimensions of diversity can include document topic, document type, document genre, domain of document, document age, location associated with the document, commercial characteristics of the document, user intent, and the like.

Abstract: The claimed subject matter relates to an architecture that can facilitate, enrich, or nurture relationships in a business enterprise environment. In particular, the architecture can construct a set of profiles associated with entities of the enterprise (e.g., employees, teams, departments, or the enterprise) based upon a wide range of transactions (e.g., behavior, activity, productivity, relationships, explicit or implicit feedback from collaborators . . . ) relating to the entity. Based upon these profiles, the architecture can determine a set of tasks and also identify advantageous relationships, wherein the tasks and relationships are deemed to facilitate accomplishing an objective to benefit the enterprise or entity. In addition, the architecture can nurture or cultivate the advantageous relationships by suggesting suitable behavior or performing opportunistic actions.

Abstract: The claimed subject matter relates to an architecture that can scale a content feed in terms of the amount of content delivered in order to facilitate satisfactory experiences in connection with a social network. In particular, the architecture can utilize a content feed to disseminate content between members of a network community, generally relative to a particular social circle of a given user. The architecture can maintain a personal space for the user and display to the personal space content provided by a content feed. Content provided to the personal space (as well as that retrieved from the personal space) can be scaled based upon a variety of commitment characteristics associated with the social circle. In addition, the architecture can employ smart dispersal of content and can intelligently acquire additional content from the user or import suitable settings from disparate users.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a system and methodology to facilitate extraction of information from a large unstructured corpora such as from the World Wide Web and/or other unstructured sources. Information in the form of answers to questions can be automatically composed from such sources via probabilistic models and cost-benefit analyses to guide resource-intensive information-extraction procedures employed by a knowledge-based question answering system. The analyses can leverage predictions of the ultimate quality of answers generated by the system provided by Bayesian or other statistical models. Such predictions, when coupled with a utility model can provide the system with the ability to make decisions about the number of queries issued to a search engine (or engines), given the cost of queries and the expected value of query results in refining an ultimate answer. Given a preference model, information extraction actions can be taken with the highest expected utility.

Abstract: Providing for summarization and analysis of audio content is described herein. By way of example, an oral conversation can be analyzed, such that points of interest within the oral conversation can be identified and file locations related to such points of interest can be marked. Points of interest can be inferred based on a level of energy, e.g., excitement, pitch, tone, pace, or the like, associated with one or more speakers. Alternatively, or in addition, speaker and/or reviewer activity can form the basis for identifying points of interest within the conversation. Moreover, a compilation of the identified points of interest and portions of the original oral conversation related thereto can be assembled. As described herein, audio content can be succinctly summarized with respect to inferred and/or indicated points of interest, to facilitate an efficient and pertinent review of such content.

Abstract: A search engine user interface that reduces the need for explicit search rules; dynamically responds as user input is entered to give immediate feedback to a user; is not limited to searching data residing in a single store; and may be used with a plurality of search engines, is provided. The search engine user interface provides search functions for a plurality of types of file metadata and types of file content. The search engine user interface provides an active query box, query editing, word-wheeling, and query narrowing and broadening. The user interface provides accordion behavior for visual elements of the user interface, integrated custom tagging, multiple independent search parameters, and filtering and integrated custom tagging in a common file dialog box.

Abstract: The claimed subject matter relates to an architecture that can facilitate creation and management of an event-oriented transient network and can further manage decommission of the transient network. In particular, the architecture can construct temporary communities based upon a particular event, project, or activity; manage (e.g., filter, prioritize, or control) communications and content associated with the community; and disband the community by deconstructing the transient network according to an aging function that controls how the network decays. In addition, the architecture can leverage existing information (e.g. profile data) and content feeds associated with disparate social networking services or communities for the benefit of the temporary community.

Abstract: A user's domain expertise may be estimated through several factors by monitoring different aspects of a user's interaction with a web browser. Based on the user's domain expertise, search results may be presented to the user that is commensurate with their expertise, resulting in a more efficient and productive on line session. A user's expertise in a knowledge domain may be determined from the user's behavior, including analyzing search queries, monitoring how the user navigates between and through websites, and analyzing the specific cites visited. As a user interacts with a browser, the user's estimated domain expertise may be updated and used to provide appropriate and useful search results. In many embodiments, a user may have different expertise levels for different technical domains.

Abstract: Various components and processes are provided to enable data processing on multiple data types where aspects of the history of user activity, attention, interest, location, or other interaction with data is determined and employed to enhance information storage and access. In one particular aspect, a data manipulation system is provided. The system includes one or more data items that are associated with one or more tags and indicate at least one user's interaction or activity with the data items. A manipulation tool that processes the data items to determine a subset of data items based at least in part on the user's interaction with the data items. Methods are described for using the manipulation tool to weight terms in an index, to compress indexes, to influence the rank of items returned in a search, to generate additional queries for data items either automatically or with user direction, or for improved presentation of data items.

Abstract: Web page change may be related to revisitation patterns to support web interaction. In an example embodiment, a method involves analyzing change and revisitation data for a web page, determining a relationship between the data, inferring consumption intent by a user for the web page, and utilizing the inferred consumption intent. More specifically, change data is analyzed to produce a change characterization, with the change data reflecting differences between content of a web page at different times. Revisitation data is analyzed to produce a revisitation characterization, with the revisitation data including visit times to the web page by a user. A relationship is determined between the change and the revisitation data based on the change and the revisitation characterizations. Consumption intent of the user for the content of the web page is inferred responsive to the relationship. The inferred consumption intent is utilized to support interaction with the web page.

Abstract: Supporting web interaction using web revisitation patterns is enabled by described methods and devices. In an example embodiment, a method involves collecting, analyzing, and utilizing. Revisitation data is collected. The revisitation data includes two or more visit times for visits to a web page by one or more users. The revisitation data is analyzed to produce at least one revisitation characterization that reflects a revisitation pattern for the web page. The at least one revisitation characterization is utilized to support web interaction.

Abstract: Searches can be enhanced by custom-tailoring results based on a consideration of the variability of the goals of a search given a query. In an example embodiment, a system to enhance searching includes a search interface, a search-goal variability determiner, and a search experience enhancer. The search interface accepts a query from a user as input for a search. The variability determiner determines the variability in user interest (e.g., goals) for the query. The measure of variability in user interest may reflect the degree of variation in the goals of different users or groups of users for the query. The search experience enhancer enhances a search experience for the user responsive to the variability in user interest (e.g., in terms of search goals).

Abstract: The claimed subject matter provides a system that trains or evaluates ranking techniques by employing or obtaining relative preference judgments. The system can include mechanisms that retrieve a set of documents from a storage device, combine the set of documents with a query orjudgment task received via an interface to form a comparative selection panel, and present the comparative selection panel for evaluation by an assessor. The system further requests the assessor to make a selection as to which document included in the set of documents and presented in the comparative selection panel most satisfies the query or judgment task, and thereafter produces a comparative assessment of the set of documents based on the selections elicited from the assessor and associated with the set of documents.

Abstract: Providing for generation of a task oriented data structure that can correlate natural language descriptions of computer related tasks to application level commands and functions is described herein. By way of example, a system can include an activity translation component that can receive a natural language description of an application level task. Furthermore, the system can include a language modeling component that can generate the data structure based on an association between the description of the task and at least one application level command utilized in executing the computer related task. Once generated, the data structure can be utilized to automate computer related tasks by input of a human centric description of those tasks. According to further embodiments, machine learning can be employed to train classifiers and heuristic models to optimize task/description relationships and/or tailor such relationships to the needs of particular users.

Abstract: Multiple pieces of information can be arranged into a single construct that allows the employee to ascertain information quickly while at her workstation. Selection of information for placement into the construct can employ various statistical models and the like. Selective pieces of information can be masked for a user's construct based upon access rights of the user. Constructs can be configured by a user based on personal preferences as well as by an administrator. Population of metadata upon the construct can be performed automatically through an instruction of the administrator or be overridden by a user request. In addition, various types of synchronization can be implemented between constructs, such that identical or near-identical information is populated upon multiple constructs.

Abstract: Context-based user behavior data is collected from a search mechanism. This data includes, for a given query, user feedback (implicit and explicit) on the query and context information on the query. This information can be used, for example, to evaluate a search mechanism or to check a relevance model. This context-based user behavior data may include user information. In one embodiment, explicit feedback is requested from the user except when the user requests a pause in explicit feedback requests, or only periodically, in order to reach a target value for requests for explicit feedback. The explicit feedback may include feedback concerning results not visited, and concerning non-standard results. Implicit feedback will include particular data items such as requeries by a user.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a system and methodology to facilitate extraction of information from a large unstructured corpora such as from the World Wide Web and/or other unstructured sources. Information in the form of answers to questions can be automatically composed from such sources via probabilistic models and cost-benefit analyses to guide resource-intensive information-extraction procedures employed by a knowledge-based question answering system. The analyses can leverage predictions of the ultimate quality of answers generated by the system provided by Bayesian or other statistical models. Such predictions, when coupled with a utility model can provide the system with the ability to make decisions about the number of queries issued to a search engine (or engines), given the cost of queries and the expected value of query results in refining an ultimate answer. Given a preference model, information extraction actions can be taken with the highest expected utility.

Abstract: Architecture is provided that facilitates user-controlled access to user profile information. A user is allowed to selectively expose (or mask) portions of his/her profile to third parties. Additionally, advertisers and/or content providers can offer incentives or enticement in response to the acceptance of which a user exposes larger portions of their profile. The architecture comprises a system that facilitates profile management utilizing a profile component that facilitates creation and storage of an electronic profile of a user, and a control component under control of the user for controlling access to the profile. Machine learning and reasoning is provided to make inferences and automate aspects thereof.

Abstract: Providing for generating an executive report of business or personal activity is described herein. By way of example, such executive report can identify a change and related cause with respect to a prior report. As a particular example, an inference engine can receive an activity report and reference prior reports to identify the change and related cause. A set of results containing such information can be provided to a synthesis component that can include and highlight such information in the executive report. In addition, additional sources of data can be referenced in order to include and/or customize the report to a particular individual, organization, culture, or the like. As described, aspects of the subject innovation can provide an executive report highlighting important aspects of data and tailoring those aspects to interests of one or more users.