Method and system for leveraging the power of one's social network in an online marketplace

• US 10,387,841 B2
• Filed: 12/28/2016
• Issued: 08/20/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Elman, Josh, Blue, Allen J., Work, James Duncan, Ly, Eric
• Primary Examiner(s): Chbouki, Tarek
• Application Number:
  US15/392,349
• Publication Number:
  US 20170109703A1
• Time in Patent Office: 965 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1053 Employment or hiring
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles

Abstract

Methods and systems for leveraging one'"'"'s social network in the context of an opportunities marketplace are described. One aspect of the invention involves integrating social networking features into an online marketplace, or exchange. Accordingly, one aspect of the invention involves facilitating an opportunity search in a manner that provides social networking information with the results of the search.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

one or more computer processors;

one or more computer memories;

one or more instructions incorporated into the one or more computer memories, the one or more instructions configuring the one or more processors to perform operations for providing an opportunity creator with access to a subset of search results corresponding to an opportunity from an activatable link in a user interface that includes a summary of the search results, the operations comprising;

receiving first information, the first information including qualifications of a plurality of opportunity seekers, the first information being provided by the plurality of opportunity seekers;

receiving second information, the second information including requirements of the opportunity, the second information being provided by the opportunity creator;

based on the receiving of the second information, automatically initiating a search of the plurality of opportunity seekers, the search yielding search results that are based on a combination of a comparison of the first information with the second information and an evaluation of candidate closeness scores, the candidate closeness scores calculated with respect to one or more employees of an organization of the opportunity creator; and

communicating the summary of the search results for presentation in the user interface, the summary including the activatable link, the activatable link representing a number of the candidates in the search results having a particular degree of closeness to the one or more employees of the organization, an activation of the activatable link causing an additional user interface to be presented that provides the access to the subset of the search results corresponding to the number of candidates having the particular degree of closeness to the one or more employees of the organization.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the candidate closeness scores are calculated based on a combination of a number of degrees of separation and a minimum strength of connections within a chain of connections.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the summary includes a number of the one or more employees of the organization having another particular degree of closeness to the candidates.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the summary separates the search results into a first summary item that includes information pertaining to matching of the first information and the second information and a second summary item that includes information pertaining to the candidate closeness scores.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising generating a request that one of the one or more employees of the organization invite one of the plurality of opportunity seekers to apply for the opportunity, the generating of the request based on a closeness score between the one of the one or more employees and the one of the plurality of opportunity seekers exceeding the particular degree of closeness.

6. The system of claim 5, further comprising, based on an identifying that the one of the one or more employees has accepted the request and an identifying that the one of the plurality of opportunity seekers applying for the opportunity, generating a notification for communicating to the one of the one or more employees, the notification announcing an incentive award earned by the one of the one or more employees.

7. A method comprising:

receiving first information, the first information including qualifications of a plurality of opportunity seekers, the first information being provided by the plurality of opportunity seekers;

receiving second information, the second information including requirements of an opportunity, the second information being provided by an opportunity creator;

based on the receiving of the second information, automatically initiating a search of the plurality of opportunity seekers, the search yielding search results that are based on a combination of a comparison of the first information with the second information and an evaluation of candidate closeness scores, the candidate closeness scores calculated with respect to one or more employees of an organization of the opportunity creator; and

communicating a summary of the search results for presentation in a user interface, the summary including an activatable link, the activatable link representing a number of the candidates in the search results having a particular degree of closeness to the one or more employees of the organization, an activation of the activatable link causing an additional user interface to be presented that provides access to a subset of the search results corresponding to the number of candidates having the particular degree of closeness to the one or more employees of the organization.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the candidate closeness scores are calculated based on a combination of a number of degrees of separation and a minimum strength of connections within a chain of connections.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising generating a request that one of the one or more employees of the organization invite one of the plurality of opportunity seekers to apply for the opportunity, the generating of the request based on a closeness score between the one of the one or more employees and the one of the plurality of opportunity seekers exceeding the particular degree of closeness.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising, based on an identifying that the one of the one or more employees has accepted the request and an identifying that the one of the plurality of opportunity seekers applying for the opportunity, generating a notification for communicating to the one of the one or more employees, the notification announcing an incentive award earned by the one of the one or more employees.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the summary includes a number of the one or more employees of the organization having another particular degree of closeness to the candidates.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the summary separates the search results into a first summary item that includes information pertaining to matching of the first information and the second information and a second summary item that includes information pertaining to the candidate closeness scores.

13. A non-transitory machine readable storage medium storing a set of instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving first information, the first information including qualifications of a plurality of opportunity seekers, the first information being provided by the plurality of opportunity seekers;

receiving second information, the second information including requirements of an opportunity, the second information being provided by an opportunity creator;

based on the receiving of the second information, automatically initiating a search of the plurality of opportunity seekers, the search yielding search results that are based on a combination of a comparison of the first information with the second information and an evaluation of candidate closeness scores, the candidate closeness scores calculated with respect to one or more employees of an organization of the opportunity creator; and

communicating a summary of the search results for presentation in a user interface, the summary including an activatable link, the activatable link representing a number of the candidates in the search results having a particular degree of closeness to the one or more employees of the organization, an activation of the activatable link causing an additional user interface to be presented that provides access to a subset of the search results corresponding to the number of candidates having the particular degree of closeness to the one or more employees of the organization.

14. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the candidate closeness scores are calculated based on a combination of a number of degrees of separation and a minimum strength of connections within a chain of connections.

15. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 13, further comprising generating a request that one of the one or more employees of the organization invite one of the plurality of opportunity seekers to apply for the opportunity, the generating of the request based on a closeness score between the one of the one or more employees and the one of the plurality of opportunity seekers exceeding the particular degree of closeness.

16. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 15, further comprising, based on an identifying that the one of the one or more employees has accepted the request and an identifying that the one of the plurality of opportunity seekers applying for the opportunity, generating a notification for communicating to the one of the one or more employees, the notification announcing an incentive award earned by the one of the one or more employees.

17. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the summary includes a number of the one or more employees of the organization having another particular degree of closeness to the candidates.