Selecting content for presentation to an online system user based on affinities of the user for additional users inferred from an organizational chart
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- receiving information identifying a plurality of users of an online system, the information including a user profile associated with each user of the plurality of users;
storing the information identifying the plurality of users of the online system;
receiving information describing an organizational chart for an organization, the organizational chart indicating connections among the plurality of users defined by each user'"'"'s role in the organization;
providing a social networking environment to the plurality of users, the social networking environment enabling the plurality of users to establish connections and to communicate with each other;
computing measures of affinity of each user of the plurality of users for additional users of the plurality of users, the computed measures of affinity based at least in part on the received information describing the organizational chart;
establishing one or more inferred connections between pairs of the plurality of users, wherein a bidirectional inferred connection is established between a user of the plurality of users and an additional user of the plurality of users based on a computed measure of affinity of the user for the additional user equaling or exceeding the threshold value and a computed measure of affinity of the additional user for the user equaling or exceeding the threshold value;
receiving, from a client device of a viewing user of the plurality of users, a request to present content items provided by users of the online system to the viewing user;
ranking one or more content items provided by a set of users of the plurality of users for whom an inferred connection was established with the viewing user;
selecting a content item associated with a user for whom an inferred connection was established with the viewing user based at least in part on the ranking and on privacy settings specified by the user for whom an inferred connection was established with the viewing user; and
sending the selected content item for display to the client device of the viewing user.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An online system provides a social networking environment for a set of users, enabling the users to establish connections with and to communicate with each other. Absent explicit connections between a user and an additional user in the set, the online system determines a measure of affinity of the user for the additional user based on an organizational chart for an organization including the set of users that indicates relationships between the users based on their roles in the organization. The measure of affinity may also be based on actions associated with the user and the additional user and characteristics of the user and the additional user. Based on the measure of affinity, the online system determines whether to establish an inferred connection between the user and the additional user. The online system may account for the inferred connection when identifying content for presentation to the user.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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receiving information identifying a plurality of users of an online system, the information including a user profile associated with each user of the plurality of users; storing the information identifying the plurality of users of the online system; receiving information describing an organizational chart for an organization, the organizational chart indicating connections among the plurality of users defined by each user'"'"'s role in the organization; providing a social networking environment to the plurality of users, the social networking environment enabling the plurality of users to establish connections and to communicate with each other; computing measures of affinity of each user of the plurality of users for additional users of the plurality of users, the computed measures of affinity based at least in part on the received information describing the organizational chart; establishing one or more inferred connections between pairs of the plurality of users, wherein a bidirectional inferred connection is established between a user of the plurality of users and an additional user of the plurality of users based on a computed measure of affinity of the user for the additional user equaling or exceeding the threshold value and a computed measure of affinity of the additional user for the user equaling or exceeding the threshold value; receiving, from a client device of a viewing user of the plurality of users, a request to present content items provided by users of the online system to the viewing user; ranking one or more content items provided by a set of users of the plurality of users for whom an inferred connection was established with the viewing user; selecting a content item associated with a user for whom an inferred connection was established with the viewing user based at least in part on the ranking and on privacy settings specified by the user for whom an inferred connection was established with the viewing user; and sending the selected content item for display to the client device of the viewing user. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions encoded thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:
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receive information identifying a plurality of users of an online system, the information including a user profile associated with each user of the plurality of users; store the information identifying the plurality of users of the online system; receive information describing an organizational chart for an organization, the organizational chart indicating connections among the plurality of users defined by each user'"'"'s role in the organization; provide a social networking environment to the plurality of users, the social networking environment enabling the plurality of users to establish connections and to communicate with each other; compute measures of affinity of each user of the plurality of users for additional users of the plurality of users, the computed measures of affinity based at least in part on the received information describing the organizational chart; establish one or more inferred connections between pairs of the plurality of users, wherein a bidirectional inferred connection is established between a user of the plurality of user and an additional user of the plurality of users based on a computed measure of affinity of the user for the additional user equality or exceeding the threshold value and a computed measure of affinity of the additional user for the user equaling or exceeding the threshold value; receive, from a client device of a viewing user of the plurality of users, a request to present content items provided by users of the online system to the viewing user; rank one or more content items provided by a set of users of the plurality of users for whom an inferred connection was established with the viewing user; select a content item associated with a user for whom an inferred connection was established with the viewing user based at least in part on the ranking and on privacy settings specified by the user for whom an inferred connection was established with the viewing user; and send the selected content item for display to the client device of the viewing user. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification