Method and system for recommending content

1. A method implemented on a computer device having at least one processor, storage, and a communication platform connected to a network for recommending content, the method comprising:

receiving, by an engine, a request from a user for one or more recommendations from a set of items;

obtaining, by the engine, in response to the request, an interest distribution having a first plurality of values each representing an interest of the user in a respective one of a plurality of topics, wherein the interest distribution is determined by a first initiation model based on activities of the user related to the set of items observed prior to receiving the request;

obtaining, by the engine, in response to the request, for each of the set of items, a classification distribution having a second plurality of values each representing a frequency of the item being classified into a respective one of the plurality of topics, wherein the classification distribution is determined by a second initiation model based on activities performed with respect to the item by one or more other users observed prior to receiving the request;

estimating, by the engine with respect to the set of items, a set of correlation values based on the interest distribution and the classification distribution, wherein the set of correlation values is estimated in real-time to incorporate a perturbation factor observed up to a moment when the request is received, wherein the perturbation factor indicates a variation of a rating of the interest of the user with respect to each item, and wherein each of the set of correlation values indicates a rating of the user to each of the set of items;

retrieving, by the engine, historical data from a database;

comparing, by the engine, the set of correlation values with the retrieved historical data to determine a shift of the user's interest from one of the plurality of topics to another one of the plurality of topics within a predetermined time period;

adjusting, by the engine, the set of correlation values based on the shift of the user's interest;

selecting, by the engine, at least one item from the set of items to be recommended to the user based on the adjusted set of correlation values and information indicating previously provided ratings by the user with respect to at least some items;

providing, by the engine to the user, the one or more recommendations comprising the at least one item selected by the engine;

updating, by the engine, the database based on the adjusted set of correlation values;

receiving information associated with a new user;

obtaining a first reference distribution indicative of an average interest distribution of existing users in the plurality of topics, wherein the existing users comprise the one or more other users;

assigning the first reference distribution to the new user;

updating the existing users to include the new user;

receiving a new rating from the new user; and

updating data associated with the existing users indicative of the average interest distribution of the existing users in the plurality of topics based on the new rating.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the interest distribution is determined in real-time based on the activities of the user related to the set of items observed up to a moment when the request is received.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the classification distribution is determined in real-time based on the activities of the user and the activities performed with respect to each item of the set of items by the one or more other users observed up to a moment when the request is received.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving information associated with a new item;

obtaining a second reference distribution indicative of an average classification distribution of existing items with respect to the plurality of topics;

assigning the second reference distribution to the new item; and

updating the existing items to include the new item.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a new rating of an existing item from an existing user;

updating the interest distribution associated with the existing user based on the new rating;

updating the classification distribution associated with the existing item based on the new rating; and

updating information related to the new rating indicative of the interest of the existing user in the existing item.

6. A system having at least one processor, storage, and a communication platform for recommending content, the system comprising:

a data interface, of an engine, implemented with the at least one processor and configured to receive a request from a user for one or more recommendations from a set of items, wherein the data interface is further configured to receive information associated with a new user;

a user interest distribution retriever, of the engine, implemented with the at least one processor and configured to obtain, in response to the request, an interest distribution having a first plurality of values each representing of an interest of the user in a respective one of a plurality of topics, wherein the interest distribution is determined based on activities of the user related to the set of items observed prior to receiving the request;

an item classification distribution retriever, of the engine, implemented with the at least one processor and configured to obtain, in response to the request, for each of the set of items, a classification distribution having a second plurality of values each representing a frequency of the item being classified into a respective one of the plurality of topics, wherein the classification distribution is determined by a second initiation model based on activities performed with respect to the item by one or more other users observed prior to receiving the request;

a user-item correlation estimating module, of the engine, implemented with the at least one processor and configured to:

estimate, with respect to the set of items, a set of correlation values based on the interest distribution and the classification distribution, wherein the set of correlation values is estimated in real-time to incorporate a perturbation factor observed up to a moment when the request is received, wherein the perturbation factor indicates a variation of a rating of the interest of the user with respect to each item, and wherein each of the set of correlation values indicates a rating of the user to each of the set of items,

retrieve historical data from a database,

compare the set of correlation values with the retrieved historical data to determine a shift of the user's interest from one of the plurality of topics to another one of the plurality of topics within a predetermined time period, and

adjust the set of correlation values based on the shift of the user's interest;

a ranking module, of the engine, implemented with the at least one processor and configured to select at least one item from the set of items to be recommended to the user based on the adjusted set of correlation values and information indicating previously provided ratings by the user with respect to at least some items;

a recommendation module, of the engine, implemented with the at least one processor and configured to provide the one or more recommendations comprising the at least one item selected by the engine;

an updating module, of the engine, implemented with the at least one processor and configured to update the database based on the adjusted set of correlation values;

a user interest reference retriever implemented with the at least one processor and configured to obtain a first reference distribution indicative of an average interest distribution of existing users in the plurality of topics, wherein the existing users comprise the one or more other users;

a user interest initializing module implemented with the at least one processor and configured to assign the first reference distribution to the new user; and

a first updating module implemented with the at least one processor and configured to update the existing users to include the new user, wherein:

a new rating is received from the new user, and

data associated with the existing users indicative of the average interest distribution of the existing users in the plurality of topics is updated based on the new rating.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the interest distribution is determined in real-time based on the activities of the user related to the set of items observed up to a moment when the request is received.

8. The system of claim 6 , wherein the classification distribution is determined in real-time based on the activities of the user and the activities performed with respect to each item of the set of items by the one or more other users observed up to a moment when the request is received.

9. The system of claim 6 , wherein the data interface is further configured to receive information associated with a new item, and the system further comprises:

an item classification reference retriever configured to obtain a second reference distribution indicative of an average classification distribution of existing items with respect to the plurality of topics;

an item classification initializing module implemented with the at least one processor and configured to assign the second reference distribution to the new item; and

a second updating module implemented with the at least one processor and configured to update the existing items to include the new item.

10. The system of claim 6 , wherein the data interface is further configured to receive a new rating of an existing item from an existing user, and the system further comprises:

a first updating module implemented with the at least one processor and configured to update the interest distribution associated with the existing user based on the new rating;

a second updating module implemented with the at least one processor and configured to update the classification distribution associated with the existing item based on the new rating; and

a third updating module implemented with the at least one processor and configured to update information related to the new rating indicative of the interest of the existing user in the existing item based on the new rating.

11. A non-transitory machine-readable medium having information recorded thereon for recommending content, wherein the information, when read by an engine, effectuate operations comprising:

receiving, by the engine, a request from a user requesting one or more recommendations from a set of items;

obtaining, by the engine, in response to the request, an interest distribution having a first plurality of values each representing an interest of the user in a respective one of a plurality of topics, wherein the interest distribution is determined by a first initiation model based on activities of the user related to the set of items observed prior to receiving the request;

obtaining, by the engine, for each of the set of items, a classification distribution having a second plurality of values each representing a frequency of the item being classified into a respective one of the plurality of topics, wherein the classification distribution is determined by a second initiation model based on activities performed with respect to the item by one or more other users observed prior to receiving the request;

estimating, by the engine with respect to the set of items, a set of correlation values based on the interest distribution and the classification distribution, wherein the set of correlation values is estimated in real-time to incorporate a perturbation factor observed up to a moment when the request is received, wherein the perturbation factor indicates a variation of a rating of the interest of the user with respect to each item, and wherein each of the set of correlation values indicates a rating of the user to each of the set of items;

retrieving, by the engine, historical data from a database;

comparing, by the engine, the set of correlation values with the retrieved historical data to determine a shift of the user's interest from one of the plurality of topics to another one of the plurality of topics within a predetermined time period;

adjusting, by the engine, the set of correlation values based on the shift of the user's interest;

selecting, by the engine, at least one item from the set of items to be recommended to the user based on the adjusted set of correlation values and information indicating previously provided ratings by the user with respect to at least some items;

providing, by the engine, the one or more recommendations comprising the at least one item selected by the engine;

updating, by the engine, the database based on the adjusted set of correlation values;

receiving information associated with a new user;

obtaining a first reference distribution indicative of an average interest distribution of existing users in the plurality of topics, wherein the existing users comprise the one or more other users;

assigning the first reference distribution to the new user;

updating the existing users to include the new user;

receiving a new rating from the new user; and

updating data associated with the existing users indicative of the average interest distribution of the existing users in the plurality of topics based on the new rating.

12. The medium of claim 11 , wherein the interest distribution is determined in real-time based on the activities of the user related to the set of items observed up to a moment when the request is received.

13. The medium of claim 11 , wherein the classification distribution is determined in real-time based on the activities of the user and the activities performed with respect to each item of the set of items by the one or more other users observed up to a moment when the request is received.

14. The medium of claim 11 , wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving information associated with a new item;

obtaining a second reference distribution indicative of an average classification distribution of existing items with respect to the plurality of topics;

assigning the second reference distribution to the new item; and

updating the existing items to include the new item.