A method and system for identifying a group of objects or content that have a plurality of group-wise connections, and for revealing the evolution of the state of those connections over time. A network of symbols are generated to create a symbol backbone, and raw object or content descriptions are mapped to the generated symbols. To identify the objects or content most closely and most interconnectedly related to a query object or content, the query object or content is mapped onto the symbol backbone. The raw object or content description expression set of the related symbols are retrieved, forming the group of interconnected objects or content. The retrieved object or content descriptions can be further refined.