System, method, and service for inducing a pattern of communication among various parties

• US 20050256949A1
• Filed: 05/14/2004
• Published: 11/17/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Schott AG (Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Tomkins, Andrew S., Gruhl, Daniel Frederick, Guha, Ramanathan Valdhyanath
• Granted Patent: US 7,426,557 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A communication pattern inducing system focuses on the propagation of topics amongst a plurality of nodes based on the text of the node rather than hyperlinks of the node. A node could represent a weblog or any other source of information such as person, a conversation, images, etc. The system utilizes a model for information diffusion, wherein the parameters of the model capture how a new topic spreads from node to node. The system further comprises a process to learn the parameters of the model based on real data and to apply the process to real (or synthetic) node data. Consequently, the system is able to identify particular individuals that are highly effective at contributing to the spread of topics.

Claims

1. A method of inducing a pattern of communication among a plurality of parties communicating information, comprising:

receiving the information, wherein the information describes a topic that is discussed by at least some of the parties at a predetermined time;

preparing a transmission graph illustrative of the pattern of communication, wherein the transmission graph illustrates at least some of the parties as nodes and a plurality of edges that interconnect at least some of the nodes; and

outputting the transmission graph.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing an initial guess for the transmission graph by computing a frequency of transmission of the topic and a probability that a node communicates the topic to another node.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising recursively updating the transmission graph until the transmission graph meets a predetermined criterion by recomputing the frequency of transmission and probability for each one of the plurality of edges.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein outputting the transmission graph comprises outputting an updated transmission graph.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the parties include at least one transmitting party that transmits information about the topic, and at least one receiving party that receives the information about the topic from the at least one transmitting party;

and

further comprising, for certain communication paths along the transmission graph, determining a probability that the receiving party writes about the topic.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising determining a frequency of communication from the transmitting party to the receiving party.

7. A method of inducing a pattern of communication among a plurality of parties communicating information, comprising:

receiving the information, wherein the information describes a topic that is discussed by at least some of the parties at a predetermined time;

preparing a transmission graph illustrative of the pattern of communication, wherein the transmission graph illustrates at least some of the parties as nodes and a plurality of edges that interconnect at least some of the nodes;

providing an initial guess for the transmission graph;

recursively updating the transmission graph until the transmission graph meets a predetermined criterion by recomputing a frequency of transmission and probability for each one of the plurality of edges; and

outputting an updated transmission graph.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising providing an initial guess for the transmission graph by computing a frequency of transmission of the topic and a probability that a node communicates the topic to another node.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the parties include at least one transmitting party that transmits information about the topic, and at least one receiving party that receives the information about the topic from the at least one transmitting party;

and

further comprising, for certain communication paths along the transmission graph, determining a probability that the receiving party writes about the topic.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising determining a frequency of communication from the transmitting party to the receiving party.

11. A computer program product having executable instruction codes for inducing a pattern of communication among a plurality of parties communicating information, comprising:

a first set of instruction codes for receiving the information, wherein the information describes a topic that is discussed by at least some of the parties at a predetermined time;

a second set of instruction codes for preparing a transmission graph illustrative of the pattern of communication, wherein the transmission graph illustrates at least some of the parties as nodes and a plurality of edges that interconnect at least some of the nodes; and

a third set of instruction codes for outputting the transmission graph.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, further comprising a fourth set of instruction codes for providing an initial guess for the transmission graph by computing a frequency of transmission of the topic and a probability that a node communicates the topic to another node.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, further comprising a fifth set of instruction codes for recursively updating the transmission graph until the transmission graph meets a predetermined criterion by recomputing the frequency of transmission and probability for each one of the plurality of edges.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the third set of instruction codes outputs an updated transmission graph.

15. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the parties include at least one transmitting party that transmits information about the topic, and at least one receiving party that receives the information about the topic from the at least one transmitting party;

and

further comprising, for certain communication paths along the transmission graph, a sixth set of instruction codes for determining a probability that the receiving party writes about the topic.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, further comprising a seventh set of instruction codes for determining a frequency of communication from the transmitting party to the receiving party.

17. A computer program product having executable instruction codes for inducing a pattern of communication among a plurality of parties communicating information, comprising:

a first set of instruction codes for receiving the information, wherein the information describes a topic that is discussed by at least some of the parties at a predetermined time;

a second set of instruction codes for preparing a transmission graph illustrative of the pattern of communication, wherein the transmission graph illustrates at least some of the parties as nodes and a plurality of edges that interconnect at least some of the nodes;

a third set of instruction codes for providing an initial guess for the transmission graph;

a fourth set of instruction codes for recursively updating the transmission graph until the transmission graph meets a predetermined criterion by recomputing a frequency of transmission and probability for each one of the plurality of edges; and

a fifth set of instruction codes for outputting an updated transmission graph.

18. The computer program product of claim 17, further comprising a sixth set of instruction codes for providing an initial guess for the transmission graph by computing a frequency of transmission of the topic and a probability that a node communicates the topic to another node.

19. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the parties include at least one transmitting party that transmits information about the topic, and at least one receiving party that receives the information about the topic from the at least one transmitting party;

and

further comprising, for certain communication paths along the transmission graph, determining a probability that the receiving party writes about the topic.

20. The computer program product of claim 19, further comprising a seventh set of instruction codes for determining a frequency of communication from the transmitting party to the receiving party.

21. A system of inducing a pattern of communication among a plurality of parties communicating information, comprising:

a soft assignment processor receives the information, wherein the information describes a topic that is discussed by at least some of the parties at a predetermined time;

the soft assignment processor further prepares a transmission graph illustrative of the pattern of communication, wherein the transmission graph illustrates at least some of the parties as nodes and a plurality of edges that interconnect at least some of the nodes; and

the soft assignment processor further outputs the transmission graph.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the soft assignment processor provides an initial guess for the transmission graph by computing a frequency of transmission of the topic and a probability that a node communicates the topic to another node.

23. The system of claim 22, further comprising a parameter-update processor recursively updates the transmission graph until the transmission graph meets a predetermined criterion by recomputing the frequency of transmission and probability for each one of the plurality of edges.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the transmission graph comprises an updated transmission graph.

25. The system of claim 21, wherein the parties include at least one transmitting party that transmits information about the topic, and at least one receiving party that receives the information about the topic from the at least one transmitting party;

and

for certain communication paths along the transmission graph, the parameter-update process determines a probability that the receiving party writes about the topic.

26. A method of inducing a pattern of communication among a plurality of parties involved in communicating information, comprising:

specifying data for which a pattern of communication is induced;

specifying a directional variable for defining a direction of communication of the information;

specifying a criterion by which a representation is judged sufficient;

invoking a communication pattern that induces a utility program, wherein the directional variable and the criterion are made available to the utility program; and

outputting the representation for at least some of the parties from at least some of the data.

27. A service for inducing a pattern of communication among a plurality of parties communicating information, comprising:

a soft assignment processor receives the information, wherein the information describes a topic that is discussed by at least some of the parties at a predetermined time;

the soft assignment processor further prepares a transmission graph illustrative of the pattern of communication, wherein the transmission graph illustrates at least some of the parties as nodes and a plurality of edges that interconnect at least some of the nodes; and

wherein the soft assignment processor outputs the transmission graph.