Abstract: Embodiments of methods, apparatuses, devices and systems associated with categorizing or selecting potential search engine results are disclosed.

Abstract: A variety of techniques are described by which keyword sets and target audience profiles may be generalized in a systematic and effective way with reference to relationships between keywords, profiles, and the data of an underlying user population.

Abstract: A signal-bearing medium is disclosed that includes operations including establishing a link threshold, wherein a web page will be assessed as lacking currency if a percentage of hyperlinks contained in the web page that link to an active page is less than the link threshold, accessing a web page containing hyperlinks, and testing the hyperlinks. Testing includes: selecting a hyperlink; and monitoring a number of redirects encountered by following the selected hyperlink until a final web page is reached or a failure occurs, and assessing the selected hyperlink as linking to a dead web page if a redirect limit is exceeded, the redirect limit greater than one, wherein exceeding the redirect limit causes occurrence of a failure. The operations also include calculating a percentage of hyperlinks that return active web pages, and comparing the percentage of hyperlinks that return active web pages with the link threshold.

Abstract: Community-based rating information is generated about a Web site, Web page or other network-accessible content for use in Web filtering operations. The rating information may relate to the appropriateness of the content for a particular audience or audiences, such as for children or for children of different age groups. The rating information is based on feedback provided by users who have accessed the content in question. Where the group of users providing feedback is sufficiently large, the rating assigned to the content will tend to accurately reflect community standards. Also, because the rating information is based on user feedback, the rating information can change over time to reflect changing community attitudes towards content.

Abstract: An improved system and method for selecting and visualizing object metadata evolving over time is provided. An application may generate a visualization depicting the temporal evolution of metadata describing objects in an object store over a plurality of time intervals. The application may switch between a visualization of object metadata flowing like a river or cascading like a waterfall over time. A ranked list of metadata items may be determined for some pre-selected intervals during a pre-processing step. Then at runtime when a request may be received for providing a ranked list of metadata items for a query interval, a combination of time intervals from the pre-selected time intervals may be determined that cover the query time interval, and the ranked lists of metadata items for each time interval in the combination of time intervals that cover the query time interval may be aggregated and output for visualization.

Abstract: An improved system and method for evolutionary clustering of sequential data sets is provided. A snapshot cost may be determined for representing the data set for a particular clustering method used and may determine the cost of clustering the data set independently of a series of clusterings of the data sets in the sequence. A history cost may also be determined for measuring the distance between corresponding clusters of the data set and the previous data set in the sequence of data sets to determine a cost of clustering the data set as part of a series of clusterings of the data sets in the sequence. An overall cost may be determined for clustering the data set by minimizing the combination of the snapshot cost and the history cost. Any clustering method may be used, including flat clustering and hierarchical clustering.

Abstract: Techniques are described for generating an authority value of a first one of a plurality of documents. A first component of the authority value is generated with reference to outbound links associated with the first document. The outbound links enable access to a first subset of the plurality of documents. A second component of the authority value is generated with reference to a second subset of the plurality of documents. Each of the second subset of documents represents a potential starting point for a user session. A third component of the authority value is generated representing a likelihood that a user session initiated by any of a population of users will end with the first document. The first, second, and third components of the authority value are combined to generate the authority value. At least one of the first, second, and third components of the authority value is computed with reference to user data relating to at least some of the outbound links and the second subset of documents.

Abstract: A first component of an authority value is generated with reference to outbound links associated with a document and corresponding to a first subset of a plurality of documents. A second component of the authority value is generated with reference to a second subset of the plurality of documents that represent potential starting points for user sessions. A third component of the authority value is generated representing a likelihood that a user session initiated by any of a population of users will end with the document. At least one of the first, second, and third components of the authority value is computed with reference to user data relating to at least some of the outbound links and the second subset of documents.

Abstract: An improved system and method for selecting and visualizing object metadata evolving over time is provided. An application may generate a visualization depicting the temporal evolution of metadata describing objects in an object store over a plurality of time intervals. The application may switch between a visualization of object metadata flowing like a river or cascading like a waterfall over time. A ranked list of metadata items may be determined for some pre-selected intervals during a pre-processing step. Then at runtime when a request may be received for providing a ranked list of metadata items for a query interval, a combination of time intervals from the pre-selected time intervals may be determined that cover the query time interval, and the ranked lists of metadata items for each time interval in the combination of time intervals that cover the query time interval may be aggregated and output for visualization.

Abstract: A web crawler loads a policy from a customizable stored module that is separate and distinct from the web crawler's source code. The web crawler follows these policies in determining the order in which the web crawler will visit and index web pages in an index used by an Internet search engine. As a result, the web crawler's behavior can be modified more easily. The web crawler's behavior can be finely tuned to be more efficient and/or to accommodate the particular needs of the search engine. Multiple different policies may be maintained concurrently in separate stored modules, and the web crawler can be instructed to use different modules' policies at different specified times or under different specified circumstances.

Abstract: The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a process for receiving, evaluating and selecting of content modules such as content summary boxes and landing pages for display on network-accessible search engine results page. In one particular example, potential content providers may be provided with incentives and guidelines for the preparation of content summary boxes and landing pages over an electronic communications network, and the resulting submissions can be ranked and published in conjunction with the display of a search engine results page over the network.

Abstract: Systems and methods are described for testing a software module. The method comprises receiving a modified software module for use as part of a software application which includes a plurality of constituent software modules, replacing at least one of the constituent software modules with the modified software module to generate a modified software application, generating output data as a function of execution of the modified software application, and storing the output data.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for detecting and explaining bursty stream events in targeted groups. In one example, the method includes receiving validated bursty events, finding explanatory data sources having relevant bursty events that are relevant to the validated bursty events, wherein the explanatory sources explain the presence of the validated bursty events, correlating the validated bursty events to the relevant bursty events of the explanatory data sources to obtain burst results, and sending the burst results to a burst database that is accessible to an end user.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses are provided for use with electronic mail messages. In one exemplary method, electronic mail messages may be presented in an order based, at least in part, on a presentation scores associated with each message. The presentation score may be based, at least in part, on presentation knowledge information associated with an attribute profile. The attribute profile may, for example, be established and maintained based, at least in part, on non-selective user engagement parameters that may be determined based on a presentation of the electronic mail messages and/or identifiers associated therewith.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses are provided for accessing taxonomic data associated with an item as classified into a taxonomy having a hierarchical structure, establishing dependency data associated with a distribution represented in the taxonomic data, and determining entropic data for the item based, at least in part, on the distribution and established dependency.

Abstract: A method and system are provided for a web browser toolbar signature. In one example, the method includes receiving a submission of user content from a source webpage, receiving a producer identity of a producer who submitted the user content, receiving identifying information about the destination webpage, coding signed content using the user content and the producer identity, wherein the signed content includes a signature, and submitting the signed content to a server hosting the destination webpage.

Abstract: Community-based rating information is generated about a Web site, Web page or other network-accessible content for use in Web filtering operations. The rating information may relate to the appropriateness of the content for a particular audience or audiences, such as for children or for children of different age groups. The rating information is based on feedback provided by users who have accessed the content in question. Where the group of users providing feedback is sufficiently large, the rating assigned to the content will tend to accurately reflect community standards. Also, because the rating information is based on user feedback, the rating information can change over time to reflect changing community attitudes towards content.

Abstract: A method for creating informational guides includes receiving a guide specification and a guide content for a plurality of guides; publishing the plurality of guides to a Web-based network for access to users of the network; serving advertising to the plurality of published guides; and rewarding owners of the plurality of published guides by providing compensation thereto based on revenue from the served advertising.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus are described which enable the customization of search results. Various embodiments of the invention relate to machine-readable representations of configurations of one or more components of a search results page. The machine-readable representations are operable in conjunction with a search engine to present, in response to a search query, one or more search results in an interface in accordance with the corresponding configuration.

Abstract: A system for generating an ordered list. The system may include a query engine and an advertisement engine. The query engine receives a query from the user and determines parameters to match with the advertisement. The advertisement engine receives the parameters and generates a list of items based on the parameters. The system may function in a precompute mode to calculate intervals for each available item to minimize the variable processing costs for each item. Further, the number of intervals a crossed item may be selected in a manner to satisfy a given space constraint. By characterizing each item by a minimum price within each interval, the system can quickly query the interval matching the desired quantity for each item and determined if the minimum price for that interval is less than the top-k prices already included in the list.