FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to online search engines, and more specifically to personalization of Internet-based information, employment, social, and other compatibility searching, matching and ranking.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The current state of the art in online information, employment, social, and other compatibility searching, matching and ranking is highly limited. While online search engines (generally using word-based or phrase-based searching) are reasonably advanced in their ability to retrieve documents (e.g., web pages, images, files, etc.), that are responsive to the terms of a query, typically searched and retrieved using keywords contained in the query, these keyword search methods do not provide high quality results for employment opportunities or other information, employment, social, and other compatibility search, matching and ranking. While such search engines typically return results that accurately correspond to the search terms (keywords) of the query, the search results may not reflect the user's underlying interests and goals, both of which are highly significant for finding suitable, highly compatible employment opportunities or social engagements, for example.

Additionally, using such keyword searching, too many search results and an insufficient quality of the search results from may be returned by the search engine, creating several problems. First, so many results are returned that the user cannot review all of the results in a reasonable period of time, or within the time allocated for review by the user. Second, because of the large number of results, search providers typically return results which have been ranked according to some criteria applied by the search provider, such as by the Google page ranking system based upon the number of links to a selected web page (or website) provided by third parties as an indicator of the importance of the selected web page (or website).

In many cases, the ranked search results are distorted, both by being over-inclusive in the results returned, and by distortion of the rankings of the results. For example, keyword searching can be “gamed”, with websites or documents including various keywords simply to be included in ranked results, resulting in over-inclusion of these otherwise irrelevant websites or documents in the search results. Also for example, keywords can be purchased from a search provider, often through a daily bidding process, resulting in distorted search result rankings, with the highest rankings in the search results going to the highest bidder.

Not only does this result in overall inaccuracy of the results returned, but also it increases the amount of data which must be transmitted to the user, much of which is irrelevant and which serves to obscure or bury the relevant data sought by the user of the search engine, essentially hiding the relevant “needle” in the irrelevant “haystack”. The increased amount of transmitted data also tends to require larger databases for data storage, larger system server and memory requirements, and further serves to overload various network and Internet systems and effectively increase the overall search time.

In addition, this type of Internet searching may also be under-inclusive, missing the most relevant information which may not utilize the particular keyword and failing to return relevant results.

These problems of over-inclusiveness, under-inclusiveness and distorted rankings creates additional problems in many industries, particularly employment, and are further compounded by aggregator websites. For example, many employment search or job posting websites simply aggregate job postings and job advertisements from many other sites and locations, and do not provide any mechanism to find or locate the most relevant employment opportunities or candidates. For example, in employment searching, resumes are often created using typical search keywords, so that an applicant's name and resume will be in the search results returned in a keyword search by a potential employer. The end results are that an individual's resume is submitted to hundreds of companies, with the corollary result that a company may receive thousands to hundreds of thousands of resumes for job postings which cannot be effectively winnowed or reduced through additional keyword searching, and again means that the recruiter (such as a potential employer) cannot review all of the resume results in a reasonable period of time, or within the time allocated for review by the employer (e.g., the time interval between receipt of the search results and when the applicant would be expected to interview and start employment). For example, so many resumes may be received which would require hundreds of person-hours to review, while only several (e.g., 2-3) person-hours may be allocated to review the submitted resumes, making a thorough review effectively impossible.

As a further result, search results returned in these over-inclusive situations do not provide fully actionable information. For example, when faced with a thousand resumes for a job posting, a potential employer may simply pick several which are literally at the top of the stack, such as a stack of resumes ordered based on the time each was received (if at all), or may pick a candidate based on an uneducated referral (such as from a relative, friend, or coworker), potentially overlooking many more qualified candidates. In addition, the end result for a job applicant may be multiple and undesired inquiries from potential employers offering jobs for which the applicant has no interest. These poor search results have associated costs, both in the time and effort spent searching, and in employee turnover.

A need remains, therefore, for a system and method for personalization of Internet-based employment search results and employment search result ranking, such as for online employment compatibility search, matching and ranking, using a search engine. A need also remains for a system and method for customizable filtering of Internet-based search results and search result ranking in a search engine. Such a search engine system and method should provide an alternative to keyword searching, and should produce actionable results, such as returning a reasonable number of employment search results of high quality, that are directly relevant to the personalized search and without being under-inclusive, and further which can be reviewed by the user within the user's time allocation. Such a search engine should also result in a decrease in the amount of data required to be stored and decrease the corresponding size of the resulting databases, further serving to decrease the amount of data required to be transmitted and reduce the system load. In addition, such a search engine system and method should incorporate time sensitivity in the personalized search results and provide corresponding user notifications.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The representative or exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide numerous advantages. Representative embodiments provide for a technical, artificial intelligence solution to an Internet-centric problem of over-inclusiveness of search results, under-inclusiveness of relevant information, and distorted rankings of search results using the prior art keyword searching. The representative embodiments automate the Internet-based searching and selection processes using highly relevant, user-determined characteristics and user-customizable parameters, resulting in personalization of search results and search result ranking. The representative embodiments further automate the Internet-based searching and selection processes using highly relevant, user-determined and centrally-located filters, also resulting in personalization of search results and search result ranking. The representative embodiments employ artificial intelligence to “match” information to a user (as a respondent or co-respondent) and provide exactly the information the user wants or needs (if available) at the point in time wanted or needed, without inundating the user with thousands of responses or documents which the user cannot possibly review in a reasonable or allocated time, and without being under-inclusive of highly relevant search results.

As a result, the representative embodiments improve the functioning of Internet-based searches, providing highly personalized search results and search result rankings, thereby dramatically decreasing the amount of search time required for a user to discover relevant and actionable information.

As a further result, the representative embodiments improve the functioning of Internet-based searches, decreasing the amount of data which must be transmitted to provide the highly personalized search results and search result rankings, decreasing the size of the databases required for data storage, decreasing the system server and memory requirements, and further serving to decrease the load of the various system components, such as the Internet-based servers and routers.

A representative embodiment provides computer server system coupleable to a network for personalization of network search results and search result rankings. A representative server system comprises: a network input and output interface for network data transmission and reception, the network input and output interface adapted to receive at least one query from a respondent or co-respondent via the network; to transmit a plurality of return queries to the respondent or co-respondent via the network; to receive a plurality of responses to the return queries from the respondent or co-respondent via the network; and to transmit personalized network search results and search result rankings to the respondent or co-respondent via the network; at least one data storage device storing a plurality of return queries; and one or more processors coupled to the at least one data storage device and network input and output interface, the one or more processors adapted to access the at least one data storage device and using the at least one query, to select the plurality of return queries for transmission; to search the at least one data storage device for corresponding pluralities of responses to the return queries from one or more co-respondents or respondents, respectively; to comparatively pair-wise score the plurality of responses to the return queries against the corresponding pluralities of responses to the return queries and generate a plurality of pair-wise alignment scores for a plurality of respondent and co-respondent combinations; to sort and rank the plurality of respondent and co-respondent combinations according to the plurality of pair-wise alignment scores; and to output a listing of the sorted and ranked respondents or co-respondents to form the personalized network search results and search result rankings.

In a representative embodiment, the one or more processors are further adapted to select one or more co-respondents or respondents from the sorted and ranked plurality of respondent and co-respondent combinations for inclusion of a predetermined number of sorted and ranked respondents or co-respondents to form the personalized network search results and search result rankings.

In a representative embodiment, the one or more processors may be further adapted, for each response of the plurality of responses to the return queries, to determine an unmodified distance between responses of a respondent and a co-respondent; and to combine a plurality of unmodified distance determinations for the plurality of responses to the return queries to form an unmodified alignment score. In such a representative embodiment, the one or more processors may be further adapted, for each response of the plurality of responses to the return queries, to determine a normalized distance between responses of a respondent and a co-respondent; and to combine a plurality of normalized distance determinations for the plurality of responses to the return queries to form a normalized alignment score. Also in such a representative embodiment, the one or more processors may be further adapted to differentially weight the unmodified alignment score and normalized alignment score; and to combine the differentially weighted unmodified alignment score and normalized alignment score to form the pair-wise alignment score.

In a representative embodiment, the one or more processors may be further adapted to generate a digital filter from each plurality of responses to the return queries to form a plurality of digital filters. For example, each digital filter of the plurality of digital filters may comprise a matrix or vector having the pluralities of responses to the return queries for a selected respondent or co-respondent.

In a representative embodiment, the one or more processors may be further adapted to compare a selected combination of respondent and co-respondent digital filters, of the plurality of digital filters, to generate the pair-wise alignment score for the selected respondent and co-respondent combination. For example, the comparison may be a variance determination or a difference determination.

In a representative embodiment, the one or more processors may be further adapted to use the received query as an index into the at least one data storage device.

In another representative embodiment, the one or more processors may be further adapted to store the plurality of pair-wise alignment scores for the plurality of respondent and co-respondent combinations in the at least one data storage device. In a representative embodiment, the one or more processors are further adapted to store the listing of the sorted and ranked respondents or co-respondents in the at least one data storage device.

In another representative embodiment, the one or more processors may be further adapted to generate a push notification of the personalized network search results and search result rankings for transmission by the network input and output interface to the respondent or co-respondent.

In a representative embodiment, the one or more processors may be further adapted to additionally filter the listing of the sorted and ranked respondents or co-respondents using a user-selectable parameter of a plurality of user-selectable parameters. For example, the plurality of user-selectable parameters may comprise at least one parameter selected from the group consisting of: previous employer, current employer, previous employee, current employee, citizenship, disability status, visa status, and military service.

In a representative embodiment, the respondent may be an employment candidate and the co-respondent may be a potential employer, and wherein the listing of the sorted and ranked respondents or co-respondents comprises a listing of sorted and ranked employment candidates provided to the potential employer or comprises a listing of sorted and ranked potential employers provided to the employment candidate.

In a representative embodiment, each return query a first plurality of return queries to the respondent is a corollary to each return query of a second plurality of return queries to the co-respondent. In another representative embodiment, each return query of the plurality of return queries may pertain to a characteristic of the at least one query. For example, each return query of the plurality of return queries to a respondent may pertain to a preference or interest level of one or more characteristics of the at least one query. Also for example, each return query of the plurality of return queries to a co-respondent may pertain to an expected amount of time for engaging in one or more activities related to the at least one query.

In another representative embodiment, the computer server system may further comprise: a client device coupled to the network for selection of the at least one query from a drop down menu provided on a graphical user interface.

In a representative embodiment, the at least one query may be an employment position. In another representative embodiment, the at least one query may be a social matching request.

A computer server-implemented method for personalization of network search results and search result rankings is also disclosed. A representative method may comprise: using the computer server, receiving at least one query from a respondent or co-respondent via the network; in response to the at least one query, using the computer server, accessing at least one data storage device and selecting a plurality of return queries; using the computer server, transmitting the plurality of return queries to the respondent or co-respondent via the network; using the computer server, receiving a plurality of responses to the return queries from the respondent or co-respondent via the network; using the computer server, searching the at least one data storage device for corresponding pluralities of responses to the return queries from one or more co-respondents or respondents, respectively; using the computer server, comparatively pair-wise scoring the plurality of responses to the return queries against the corresponding pluralities of responses to the return queries and generating a plurality of pair-wise alignment scores for a plurality of respondent and co-respondent combinations; using the computer server, sorting and ranking the plurality of respondent and co-respondent combinations according to the plurality of pair-wise alignment scores; and using the computer server, outputting a listing of the sorted and ranked respondents or co-respondents to form the personalized network search results and search result rankings.

In a representative embodiment, the computer server-implemented method may further comprise: using the computer server, selecting one or more co-respondents or respondents from the sorted and ranked plurality of respondent and co-respondent combinations for inclusion of a predetermined number of sorted and ranked respondents or co-respondents to form the personalized network search results and search result rankings.

In a representative embodiment, the pair-wise scoring may further comprise: for each response of the plurality of responses to the return queries, using the computer server, determining an unmodified distance between responses of a respondent and a co-respondent; and using the computer server, combining a plurality of unmodified distance determinations for the plurality of responses to the return queries to form an unmodified alignment score. In such a representative embodiment, the pair-wise scoring may further comprise: for each response of the plurality of responses to the return queries, using the computer server, determining a normalized distance between responses of a respondent and a co-respondent; and using the computer server, combining a plurality of normalized distance determinations for the plurality of responses to the return queries to form a normalized alignment score. Also in such a representative embodiment, the pair-wise scoring may further comprise: using the computer server, differentially weighting the unmodified alignment score and normalized alignment score; and using the computer server, combining the differentially weighted unmodified alignment score and normalized alignment score to form the pair-wise alignment score.

In a representative embodiment, the computer server-implemented method may further comprise: using the computer server, generating a digital filter from each plurality of responses to the return queries to form a plurality of digital filters. For example, each digital filter of the plurality of digital filters may comprise a matrix or vector having the pluralities of responses to the return queries for a selected respondent or co-respondent.

In a representative embodiment, the computer server-implemented method may further comprise: using the computer server, comparing a selected combination of respondent and co-respondent digital filters, of the plurality of digital filters, to generate the pair-wise alignment score for the selected respondent and co-respondent combination. For example, in a representative embodiment, the comparison may be a variance determination or a difference determination.

In a representative embodiment, the one or more processors may be further adapted to use the plurality of digital filters to provide a two-stage filtering of potential search results through both a respondent digital filter of a selected respondent and a co-respondent digital filter of a selected co-respondent, of the plurality of digital filters, to generate the personalized network search results and search result rankings for the selected respondent or the selected co-respondent.

In a representative embodiment, the selection of the plurality of return queries may further comprise: using the computer server, using the received query as an index into the at least one data storage device.

In a representative embodiment, the computer server-implemented method may further comprise: using the computer server, storing the plurality of pair-wise alignment scores for the plurality of respondent and co-respondent combinations in the at least one data storage device. In a representative embodiment, the computer server-implemented method may further comprise: using the computer server, storing the listing of the sorted and ranked respondents or co-respondents in the at least one data storage device.

In another representative embodiment, the computer server-implemented method may further comprise: using the computer server, generating and transmitting a push notification of the personalized network search results and search result rankings to the respondent or co-respondent.

In yet another representative embodiment, the computer server-implemented method may further comprise: using the computer server, filtering the listing of the sorted and ranked respondents or co-respondents using a user-selectable parameter of a plurality of user-selectable parameters. For example, the plurality of user-selectable parameters comprises at least one parameter selected from the group consisting of: previous employer, current employer, previous employee, current employee, citizenship, disability status, visa status, and military service.

In a representative embodiment, the computer server-implemented method may further comprise: selecting the at least one query from a drop down menu provided on a graphical user interface.

A representative embodiment provides computer server system coupleable to a network for personalization of network search results and search result rankings. A representative server system comprises: a network input and output interface for network data transmission and reception, the network input and output interface adapted to receive at least one query from a respondent or co-respondent via the network; to transmit a plurality of return queries to the respondent or co-respondent via the network; to receive a plurality of responses to the return queries from the respondent or co-respondent via the network; to transmit personalized network search results and search result rankings to the respondent or co-respondent via the network; and to transmit a push notification of the personalized network search results and search result rankings to the respondent or co-respondent via the network; at least one data storage device storing a plurality of return queries; and one or more processors coupled to the at least one data storage device and network input and output interface, the one or more processors adapted to access the at least one data storage device and using the at least one query, to select the plurality of return queries for transmission; to search the at least one data storage device for corresponding pluralities of responses to the return queries from one or more co-respondents or respondents, respectively; to comparatively pair-wise score the plurality of responses to the return queries against the corresponding pluralities of responses to the return queries using differentially weighted unmodified alignment scores and normalized alignment scores and generate a plurality of pair-wise alignment scores for a plurality of respondent and co-respondent combinations; to sort and rank the plurality of respondent and co-respondent combinations according to the plurality of pair-wise alignment scores; to output a listing of the sorted and ranked respondents or co-respondents to form the personalized network search results and search result rankings; and to generate the push notification of the personalized network search results and search result rankings to the respondent or co-respondent.

Another representative embodiment provides computer server system coupleable to a network for personalization of network search results and search result rankings. A representative server system comprises: a network input and output interface for network data transmission and reception, the network input and output interface adapted to receive at least one query from an employment candidate as a respondent or a potential employer as a co-respondent via the network, the at least one query pertaining to an employment position; to transmit a plurality of return queries to the respondent or co-respondent via the network; to receive a plurality of responses to the return queries from the respondent or co-respondent via the network; and to transmit personalized network employment search results and search result rankings to the respondent or co-respondent via the network; at least one data storage device storing a plurality of return queries; and one or more processors coupled to the at least one data storage device and network input and output interface, the one or more processors adapted to access the at least one data storage device and using the at least one query, to select the plurality of return queries pertaining to a characteristic of the employment position for transmission; to search the at least one data storage device for corresponding pluralities of responses to the return queries from one or more co-respondents or respondents, respectively; to comparatively pair-wise score the plurality of responses to the return queries against the corresponding pluralities of responses to the return queries and generate a plurality of pair-wise alignment scores for a plurality of respondent and co-respondent combinations; to sort and rank the plurality of respondent and co-respondent combinations according to the plurality of pair-wise alignment scores; and to output a listing of the sorted and ranked respondents or co-respondents to form the personalized network employment search results and search result rankings.

A computer server-implemented method for personalization of Internet-based employment search results and search result rankings is also disclosed. A representative method comprises: using the computer server, receiving at least one query from an employment candidate as respondent or a potential employer as a co-respondent via the network, the at least one query pertaining to an employment position; in response to the at least one query, using the computer server, accessing at least one data storage device and selecting a plurality of return queries pertaining to a characteristic of the employment position; using the computer server, transmitting the plurality of return queries to the respondent or co-respondent via the network; using the computer server, receiving a plurality of responses to the return queries from the respondent or co-respondent via the network; using the computer server, searching the at least one data storage device for corresponding pluralities of responses to the return queries from one or more co-respondents or respondents, respectively; using the computer server, comparatively pair-wise scoring the plurality of responses to the return queries against the corresponding pluralities of responses to the return queries and generating a plurality of pair-wise alignment scores for a plurality of respondent and co-respondent combinations; using the computer server, sorting and ranking the plurality of respondent and co-respondent combinations according to the plurality of pair-wise alignment scores; using the computer server, selecting one or more co-respondents or respondents from the sorted and ranked plurality of respondent and co-respondent combinations; and using the computer server, outputting a listing of the sorted and ranked respondents or co-respondents to form the personalized network employment search results and search result rankings.

In a representative embodiment, the listing of the sorted and ranked respondents or co-respondents may comprise a listing of sorted and ranked employment candidates provided to the potential employer or comprises a listing of sorted and ranked potential employers provided to the employment candidate.

Another representative embodiment provides computer server system coupleable to a network for personalization of network search results and search result rankings. A representative server system comprises: a network input and output interface for network data transmission and reception, the network input and output interface adapted to receive at least one query from an employment candidate as a respondent or a potential employer as a co-respondent via the network, the at least one query pertaining to an employment position; to transmit a plurality of return queries to the respondent or co-respondent via the network; to receive a plurality of responses to the return queries from the respondent or co-respondent via the network; to transmit personalized network employment search results and search result rankings to the respondent or co-respondent via the network; and to transmit a push notification of the personalized network employment search results and search result rankings to the respondent or co-respondent via the network; at least one data storage device storing a plurality of return queries; and one or more processors coupled to the at least one data storage device and network input and output interface, the one or more processors adapted to access the at least one data storage device and using the at least one query, to select the plurality of return queries pertaining to a characteristic of the employment position for transmission; to search the at least one data storage device for corresponding pluralities of responses to the return queries from one or more co-respondents or respondents, respectively; to comparatively pair-wise score the plurality of responses to the return queries against the corresponding pluralities of responses to the return queries using differentially weighted unmodified alignment scores and normalized alignment scores and generate a plurality of pair-wise alignment scores for a plurality of respondent and co-respondent combinations; to sort and rank the plurality of respondent and co-respondent combinations according to the plurality of pair-wise alignment scores; to output a listing of the sorted and ranked respondents or co-respondents to form the personalized network employment search results and search result rankings; and to generate the push notification of the personalized network employment search results and search result rankings to the respondent or co-respondent.

Numerous other advantages and features of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention and the embodiments thereof, from the claims and from the accompanying drawings.

