Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a non-transitory computer storage medium, for enhancing asker and answerer interaction within a social search service environment. In one aspect, a system includes a computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon which, when executed, cause one or more computers to perform operations comprising receiving an answer from a first user in response to a question from a second user in a social search service environment, identifying a set of suggested hyperlinks associated with the received answer, providing the set of suggested hyperlinks to the first user, and receiving a selection of at least one of the set of suggested hyperlinks from the first user. The operations may further comprise providing a combined response to the second user, the combined response including the answer and the at least one selected suggested hyperlink.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for a social search engine. In one aspect, a method includes receiving a question from an asker in which the question is associated with one or more topics; selecting candidate answerers based at least partly on each answerer's respective relationship to the asker; sending the question successively to groups of one or more candidate answerers according to the ranking until an answer is received from a particular one of the candidate answerers; and sending to the asker the received answer and information that identifies the particular answerer.

Abstract: Techniques for customizing search may include the following operations: outputting, to a computing device of a user, a Web page that enables selection of signals that are usable to generate search results; during a search session, receiving, through the Web page, a query and a selection corresponding to one or more of the signals, where the selection differs from a default set of search signals used by the search system for searching; obtaining, for output to the computing device, search results that are based on the query and the selection; and following the search session, configuring the search system to use the default set of search signals for searching.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs, for a social search engine. In one aspect, a method includes receiving an answer to a question from an answerer; identifying an entity in the answer, in which the entity refers to a product, a service, a company, or a merchant; obtaining permission from the answerer to provide an interactive link for the entity in the answer to a resource from which the entity can be obtained; receiving a user submitted query and determining that the query is related to the entity; and responsive to determining, providing the answer, including the link to the resource, as part of search results that are responsive to the query.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs, for a social search engine. In one aspect, a method includes receiving an answer to a question from an answerer; identifying an entity in the answer, in which the entity refers to a product, a service, a company, or a merchant; obtaining permission from the answerer to provide an interactive link for the entity in the answer to a resource from which the entity can be obtained; receiving a user submitted query and determining that the query is related to the entity; and responsive to determining, providing the answer, including the link to the resource, as part of search results that are responsive to the query.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for a social search engine. In one aspect, a method includes receiving an answer to a question from an answerer; identifying an entity in the answer, in which the entity refers to a product, a service, a company, or a merchant; obtaining permission from the answerer to provide an interactive link for the entity in the answer to a resource from which the entity can be obtained; receiving a user submitted query and determining that the query is related to the entity; and responsive to determining, providing the answer, including the link to the resource, as part of search results that are responsive to the query.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for a social search engine. In one aspect, a method includes receiving a question from an asker in which the question is associated with one or more topics; selecting candidate answerers based at least partly on each answerer's respective relationship to the asker; sending the question successively to groups of one or more candidate answerers according to the ranking until an answer is received from a particular one of the candidate answerers; and sending to the asker the received answer and information that identifies the particular answerer.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for a social search engine. In one aspect, a method includes receiving a question from an asker in which the question is associated with one or more topics; selecting candidate answerers based at least partly on each answerer's respective relationship to the asker; sending the question successively to groups of one or more candidate answerers according to the ranking until an answer is received from a particular one of the candidate answerers; and sending to the asker the received answer and information that identifies the particular answerer.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for a social search engine. In one aspect, a method includes receiving an answer to a question from an answerer; identifying an entity in the answer, in which the entity refers to a product, a service, a company, or a merchant; obtaining permission from the answerer to provide an interactive link for the entity in the answer to a resource from which the entity can be obtained; receiving a user submitted query and determining that the query is related to the entity; and responsive to determining, providing the answer, including the link to the resource, as part of search results that are responsive to the query.

Abstract: A status messaging service is used as an online channel for indirect messaging in a word-of-mouth marketing campaign. A user of a web service is prompted to endorse the web service to the user's friends or other connections by submitting a status message to one or more status messaging services to which the user belongs. The status message contains an endorsement of the web service and may further contain a link to a personal invitation page for the web service. By submitting the status message to a status messaging service, the endorsement contained therein is then communicated to the user's connections in the status messaging service.