System and method for anonymously sharing and scoring information pointers, within a system for harvesting community knowledge

A method for software execution for information discovery, comprising:

• receiving a pointer message at a client computer, containing an information resource pointer that refers to an address of an information resource that is accessible through a link by a receiving client computer over a network;
• comparing, by the client computer, the information source pointed to by the pointer message to a client profile stored on the client computer;
• determining a content score of the pointer message based on the comparison;
• totaling a number of times that the information resource pointer is transmitted by a sending computer over the network, over a predetermined time period to generate a total;
• determining a popularity score of the pointer message based on the total;
• determining an aggregated score based on the content score and the popularity score of the pointer message;
• and
• displaying the pointer message and the aggregated score on the client computer.

A method for software execution for information discovery, comprising:

• receiving a pointer message by a client computer, the pointer message containing an information resource pointer that refers to an address of an information source that is accessible by a receiving client computer over a network;
• comparing the information resource pointed to by the pointer message to a client profile stored on the client computer;
• determining a content score of the pointer message based on the comparison;
• initializing a timeliness score to a maximum value;
• decrementing the timeliness score by a predetermined percentage each time a predetermined time period elapses after a first transmission of the pointer message by a sending computer;
• determining an aggregated score based on the content score and the timeliness score;
• and
• displaying the pointer message and the aggregated score on the client computer.

A method for software execution for information discovery, comprising:

• generating a client profile on a receiving client computer;
• storing the client profile on the receiving client computer;
• receiving, by the receiving client computer, a pointer message containing an information resource pointer that refers to an address of an information source that is accessible by the receiving client computer over a network;
• comparing the information source pointed to by the pointer message to the client profile stored on the client computer;
• determining a content score of the pointer message based on the comparison;
• totaling a number of times that the information resource pointer is received by the receiving client computer, over a predetermined time period, yielding a popularity score;
• initializing a timeliness score to a maximum value;
• decrementing the timeliness score by a predetermined percentage each time a predetermined time period elapses after a first transmission of the pointer message by a sending client computer;
• aggregating the content score, the popularity score, and the timeliness score to generate an aggregated score;
• and
• displaying the pointer message and the aggregated score on the receiving client computer.

A computer system for information discovery comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a memory storing machine readable instructions, which when executed by the processor cause the computer system to:
• generate a client profile on a client computer;
• store the profile on the computer;
• receive a pointer message containing an information resource pointer that refers to an address of an information resource that is accessible by a receiving client computer over a network;
• compare the information source pointed to by the pointer message to the client profile stored on the client computer;
• determine a content score of the pointer message based on an output of the means for comparing;
• determine a total number of times the pointer message is transmitted over the network within a predetermined time period;
• determine a popularity score of the pointer message from the determined total number of times;
• determine an aggregated score based on the content score and the popularity score of the pointer message;
• and
• display the pointer message and the aggregated score on the computer.

A computer system for information discovery, comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a memory storing machine readable instructions, which when executed by the processor cause the computer system to:
• receive a pointer message at a client computer, containing an information resource pointer that refers to an address of an information resource that is accessible through a link by a receiving client computer over a network;
• compare the information source pointed to by the pointer message to a client profile stored on the client computer;
• determine a content score of the pointer message based on an output of the means for comparing;
• total a number of times that the information resource pointer is transmitted by a sending computer over the network, over a predetermined time period, to generate a total;
• determine an aggregated score based on the content score of the pointer message and the total;
• and
• display the pointer message and the aggregated score on the computer.

A computer system for information discovery, comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a memory storing machine readable instructions, which when executed by the processor cause the computer system to:
• receive a pointer message at a client computer, the pointer message containing an information resource pointer that refers to an address of an information pointer that is accessible by a receiving client computer over a network;
• compare the information resource pointed to by the pointer message to a client profile stored on the client computer;
• determine a content score of the pointer message based on the comparison;
• initialize a timeliness score of the pointer message to a maximum value;
• decrement the timeliness score by a predetermined percentage each time a predetermined time period elapses after a first transmission of the pointer message by a sending computer;
• determine an aggregated score based on the content score and the timeliness score of the pointer message;
• and
• display the pointer message and the aggregated score on the client computer.