Abstract: A method and system for enabling a user to selectively make one or more highlights on one or more objects in a currently displayed internet document in a web browser are disclosed. The highlighting functionality is enabled for the user without requiring the user to download and/or install custom software. Furthermore, it is not necessary for the user to register with the highlighting service providing the functionality. The user-generated highlights are persistent in the sense that they remain associated with, and are displayed on, the internet document during subsequent browsing sessions by the user or other users.

Abstract: A method and system for enabling, via conventional web browser controls, a user to generate and send an internet document including user-generated highlights are disclosed. The user-generated highlights included in the internet document embedded in the email are highlights that were previously made via a highlighting service. Accordingly, the recipient of the internet document receives a copy of an internet document including highlights, and need not install any special software to view the highlighted portions of the internet document.

Abstract: A method for determining the significance of a web page, or a portion thereof, is disclosed. Accordingly, a search engine or some other application analyzes user-generated highlights (as well as user-provided comments associated with the highlights) of a document to determine a document relevance score (e.g., Highlight Rank) for the document containing the user-generated highlights. The particular algorithm for determining the document relevance score will vary depending upon the particular implementation, but may generally be based upon an analysis of the number and quality of user-generated highlights and associated comments within a document. Based on this analysis, the search engine assigns the document a document relevance score, which is used for processing the document in accordance with instructions associated with a search query. For example, the document relevance score may be used in selecting and ordering documents returned in search results for a particular search query.

Abstract: A method and system for enabling the display of portions of internet documents that have been highlighted by users of a highlighting service are disclosed. Accordingly, a highlighting service includes a web portal with a web page providing users with a snippet of code, which, when inserted into an internet document, causes the internet document to display highlights from the highlighting service. The snippet of code can be configured to query the highlighting service for highlights that were made by certain users, or, highlights made on documents from certain domains, and so forth. The code associated with the user interface object displaying the highlights can e configured to periodically query the highlighting service to retrieve up-to-date highlights, thereby dynamically changing the highlights appearing on a web page or internet document.

Abstract: A method and user interface object for invoking a highlighting service to operate with a web page are disclosed. Consistent with one embodiment of the invention, a highlighting web portal associated with a highlighting service provides a web page for selecting one or more user interface objects to be added to a content provider's web page. Each user interface object is displayed with its associated snippet of code, making it simple for a web author to copy and paste the code into his or her own web page. Once embedded in a web page, the code snippet displays a user interface object (e.g., button) on the web page, and when pressed or selected, invokes a highlighting service. Alternatively, the highlighting service may be automatically invoked without requiring the selection of a button.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for enhancing a home page (also called a “start page”) by modifying the URL or address associated with the home page are disclosed. Specifically, the URL or address associated with a user's home page is modified in such manner as to cause the web browser application to direct a request to a computing device that is enabling a service to enhance the functionality on the original home page. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a user interface object (e.g., a hyperlink, or graphical button) is provided. The user interface object is associated with a set of instructions such that, upon detecting a specific action on the user interface object by the user, a client computer executes the instructions, thereby causing the client computer to modify the URL for the home page of a web browser application. In another embodiment, the user is simply provided instructions on how to modify the address associated with his or her home page.

Abstract: The popularity of web pages is monitored and used to rank the web pages retrieved in response to an Internet search. The popularity of a web page is proportionate to the number of visits to that web page. Web pages with greater popularity are ranked higher in priority. Furthermore, the score of a first web page is propagated to a plurality of second web pages to which the first web page is linked substantially in relative proportion to the popularity of the links from the first web page to each of the second web pages. Monitoring devices monitor TCP packets traversing the Internet and extract information from the TCP packets, such as the requested URI or URL, the client IP address, a server IP address and a server host name, and a referrer URI, if any. The extracted information is forwarded to a processing module that keeps track of the popularity of the web pages.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for implementing a personalized uniform Resource Locator (URL) for a network user is disclosed. The personalized URL apparatus and method comprises the steps of: 1) assigning a unique user identifier associated with the user information, and 2) creating a personalized URL using at least a portion of the unique user identifier prepended to a domain name.