62. A system comprising: one or more computers and one or more storage devices storing instructions that are operable, when executed by the one or more computers, to cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising: receiving information characterizing explicit relationships between a first member, a second member, and a third member in a member network; receiving a first search query submitted by the first member; responding to the first search query with a) first links to a collection of articles in a result set responsive to the first search query, and b) one or more second links for receiving input characterizing the first member's ratings of local product or service providers identified in the result set responsive to the first search query; receiving the first member's selection of one of the second links; storing first endorsement information characterizing the first member's rating of an article that corresponds with the selected one of the second links; receiving a third search query submitted by the third member; responding to the third search query with a) third links to a collection of articles in a result set responsive to the third search query, and b) one or more fourth links for receiving input characterizing the third member's ratings of local product or service providers identified in the result set responsive to the third search query; receiving the third member's selection of one of the fourth links; storing second endorsement information characterizing the third member's rating of an article that corresponds with the selected one of the fourth links; receiving, from a second member in the member network, a local search query comprising information identifying one or more items to be found and for a particular geographic locale; determining a result set responsive to the local search query; identifying that there is an association between the first member and the second member, and a second association between the second member and the third member, wherein each of the associations comprises (i) an explicit relationship between the respective two members or (ii) a common membership of the respective two members in a community of the member network; ranking items responsive to the local search query using a type of the association between the second member and the first member in the member network and on a type of the association between the second member and the third member in the member network; and responding to the local search query with information describing a result set responsive to the local search query, the response set including the ranked items, the identity of the first member, the availability of the first endorsement information, the identity of the third member, and the availability of the second endorsement information.
62. A system comprising: one or more computers and one or more storage devices storing instructions that are operable, when executed by the one or more computers, to cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising: receiving information characterizing explicit relationships between a first member, a second member, and a third member in a member network; receiving a first search query submitted by the first member; responding to the first search query with a) first links to a collection of articles in a result set responsive to the first search query, and b) one or more second links for receiving input characterizing the first member's ratings of local product or service providers identified in the result set responsive to the first search query; receiving the first member's selection of one of the second links; storing first endorsement information characterizing the first member's rating of an article that corresponds with the selected one of the second links; receiving a third search query submitted by the third member; responding to the third search query with a) third links to a collection of articles in a result set responsive to the third search query, and b) one or more fourth links for receiving input characterizing the third member's ratings of local product or service providers identified in the result set responsive to the third search query; receiving the third member's selection of one of the fourth links; storing second endorsement information characterizing the third member's rating of an article that corresponds with the selected one of the fourth links; receiving, from a second member in the member network, a local search query comprising information identifying one or more items to be found and for a particular geographic locale; determining a result set responsive to the local search query; identifying that there is an association between the first member and the second member, and a second association between the second member and the third member, wherein each of the associations comprises (i) an explicit relationship between the respective two members or (ii) a common membership of the respective two members in a community of the member network; ranking items responsive to the local search query using a type of the association between the second member and the first member in the member network and on a type of the association between the second member and the third member in the member network; and responding to the local search query with information describing a result set responsive to the local search query, the response set including the ranked items, the identity of the first member, the availability of the first endorsement information, the identity of the third member, and the availability of the second endorsement information. 66. The system of claim 62 , wherein the first endorsement information comprises: a category suited for classifying local search queries; an identifier of a first local product or service provider in the category; and a rating of the first local product or service provider.