Method and apparatus for utilizing the social usage learned from multi-user feedback to improve resource identity signifier mapping

An apparatus configured to perform a method of determining a target resource in response to a user input, the method comprising:

• recognizing the user input as a resource identity signifier;
• accessing database information that includes an index of available resources on a network of interconnected computers, wherein at least some of the plurality of available resources are identified by resource locators containing registered elements;
• learning a social usage of the resource identity signifier from feedback and other inputs gathered from a plurality of users based on previous social usage of the resource identity signifier, wherein the feedback and other inputs includes suggested associations between the resource identity signifier and at least one of the plurality of available resources;
• and
• determining which, if any, of the plurality of available resources is likely to be the target resource based on the social usage of the recognized resource identity signifier irrespective of whether any substring in the resource identity signifier matches any substring in any of the registered elements.

A computer readable storage medium comprising computer executable instructions for performing a method of determining a target resource in response to a user input, the method comprising:

• recognizing the user input as a resource identity signifier;
• accessing database information that includes an index of available resources on a network of interconnected computers, wherein at least some of the plurality of available resources are identified by resource locators containing registered elements;
• learning a social usage of the resource identity signifier from feedback and other inputs gathered from a plurality of users based on previous social usage of the resource identity signifier, wherein the feedback and other inputs includes suggested associations between the resource identity signifier and at least one of the plurality of available resources;
• and
• determining which, if any, of the plurality of available resources is likely to be the target resource based on the social usage of the recognized resource identity signifier irrespective of whether any substring in the resource identity signifier matches any substring in any of the registered elements.

A method of determining a target resource in response to a user input, the method comprising:

• recognizing, from the user input, one or more resource identity signifiers;
• determining associations between the one or more resource identity signifiers and resource locators containing registered elements, said resource locators identifying resources available on a network,
• wherein the determining is based on previous social usage of the one or more resource identity signifiers by a plurality of users, and wherein the previous social usage includes suggested associations between the one or more resource identity signifiers and at least one of the plurality of resources;
• and
• determining the target resource from the resources available on the network based on the user input and the social usage of the resource identity signifiers recognized in the user input, irrespective of whether any substring in the one or more resource identity signifiers match any substring in any of the registered elements.

A method of locating a target resource on the Internet, the method comprising:

• receiving, from a user, a user input including at least one expression;
• determining an association between the at least one expression and one or more URLs associated with candidate resources, the determining being based, at least in part, on a previous social usage of the at least one expression;
• enabling the user to suggest an association between the at least one expression and the one or more of the URLs associated with the candidate resources to be used included in the social usage;
• and
• determining which of the one or more URLs associated with the candidate resources is likely to be the URL associated with the target resource based on the at least one expression and the previous social usage of the at least one expression, without regard to matching any portion of any text in the at least one expression to any portion of any text in the one or more URLs associated with the candidate resources.