Abstract: In one embodiment, the invention includes a method of predicting affinity between a first entity and a second entity including associating a first plurality of characteristic tags with the first entity. The first plurality of characteristic tags are preferably associated with a first reference entity, generating a comparison matrix, and calculating a similarity score between the first entity and the second entity using the comparison matrix, wherein the second entity is associated with a second plurality of characteristic tags. In another embodiment, the invention includes a method of relating characteristic tags, including selecting a first characteristic tag from a first plurality of characteristic tags, selecting a second characteristic tag from a second plurality of characteristic tags, and relating the first characteristic tag and the second characteristic tag.