Enabling searching of user ratings and reviews using user profile location, and social networks

A system that is operative to manage a search query over a network, comprising:

• a data store configured to receive and manage user profiles and user social networking information;
• and
• a universal search and rating manager that is in communication with the data store and is configured and arranged to perform actions, including:
• receiving an identifier of a user;
• employing the identifier to retrieve information about the user from the data store, including a user profile and user social networking information;
• determining a current location of the user;
• receiving from the user a free-form search query;
• modifying the search query based in part on the social networking information, and the current location of the user;
• performing the modified search query;
• and
• providing a search result that includes a weighted aggregated average rating for at least one item in the search result.

A computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions for managing a universal ratings over a network, the computer-executable instructions when installed onto a computing device enable the computing device to perform actions, comprising:

• receiving from a user a user's profile, and user's social networking information;
• determining a current location of the user;
• receiving from the user a free-form comment about at least one item of interest, wherein the comment includes at least one sub-phrase comprising one or more terms;
• performing disambiguation on the comments based in part on the user's current location and user's social networking information;
• receiving a universal rating associated with the comments from the user;
• and
• determining a weighting for each sub-phrase with the comment based on a fraction of terms in each sub phrase over a total number of terms contributing to comment.

A method of performing a search query over a network, comprising:

• determining a current location of the user, if available;
• receiving from the user a free-form search query;
• modifying the search query based, in part, on the available current location of the user;
• performing the modified search query;
• and
• providing a search result that includes a weighted aggregated average rating for at least one item in the search result, wherein the weighted aggregated average rating employs a weighting that is based on a fraction of words in a sub phrase over a total number of words contributing to a review associated with terms in the search query.