Wowd Gets Two Patents – Sign of Future Success?
May 22, 2010
New kid on the block gets two patents on its method for ranking search results based on usage data and its variation on peer-to-peer networking. Wowd is a search system that makes it easier to discover what’s popular on the Web. the company says, “A new way to search… when what’s happening now matters.”
Though Wowd is not yet at the scale that necessitates this patented technology, they are hedging their bets and being prepared for when that day comes. Gigaom.com reported in their article, ‘Wowd Doubles Down With Social Search and P2P Patents” that Wowd doesn’t plan to do much with the patents at the moment but it will demonstrate to investors that they are serious.
The first patent is for a method of ranking web pages based on the way people use them. In other words, it gives a search engine the ability to weigh anonymized information about where users click to go next from a web page. The technology was developed for real-time use and especially social search. The second patient is for their variation on peer-to-peer networking and is not search specific. The real time search sector has a number of vendors fighting for traffic. Wowd is a useful service.
Melody K. Smith, May 22, 2010
Note: Post was not sponsored.