Abstract: A system and process for augmenting automated agents to search network based data stores generate a set of rules that describes the contents contained within structured data stores. This set of rules allows an automated agent to perform a focused search of a structured data store, thus eliminating searching for unnecessary content. The structure of the data store is defined and entities are categorized. Additionally, templates are created defining data, such as metadata fields, related to the entities. These definitions, categorizations, and templates are incorporated into the set of rules, which is utilized by the agent to search a data store on a network, such as a web site.

Abstract: A method and system for utilizing metadata to search for media, such as multimedia and streaming media, includes searching for the media, receiving results, extracting metadata associated with the media, enhancing the extracted metadata, and grouping the search results in accordance with attributes of the enhanced metadata. Enhancing and grouping include adding related metadata to the database of metadata, iteratively using metadata to search for more media related data, removing duplicate URLs, collapsing URLs that are variants of each other, and masking out superfluous terms from URLs. The resultant metadata and media files are available to users and search engines.

Abstract: A method and system for enhancing metadata associated with media, including multimedia and streaming media, include parsing the metadata into several categories of metadata. The categories of metadata are compared to corresponding categories of metadata obtained from a valid metadata database. The valid metadata database may be obtained from third party databases, referring web pages, and the multimedia/streaming media file itself. The metadata is modified if the comparison indicates that a category of metadata does not match a corresponding category of valid metadata. Modification includes replacing metadata with a corresponding valid metadata, and/or adding metadata to the original metadata.

Abstract: A method and system for utilizing metadata to search for media, such as multimedia and streaming media, includes searching for the media, receiving results, extracting metadata associated with the media, enhancing the extracted metadata, and grouping the search results in accordance with attributes of the enhanced metadata. Enhancing and grouping include adding related metadata to the database of metadata, iteratively using metadata to search for more media related data, removing duplicate URLs, collapsing URLs that are variants of each other, and masking out superfluous terms from URLs. The resultant metadata and media files are available to users and search engines.

Abstract: A method and system for improving the quality of original metadata associated with media on a computer network, such as multimedia and streaming media, includes analyzing each field of the URL of the multimedia and streaming media. Each field is analyzed to identify new metadata associated with that field. Identified new metadata is added to the original metadata. In another embodiment, the fields in the URL are reorganized in reverse order and metadata associated with a prefix of fields of the reorganized URL is added to the original metadata. In yet another embodiment, the contents of the field next to the prefix of fields is used to improve the quality of the original metadata.