Feeding updates to landing pages of users of an online social network from external sources

• US 20080065604A1
• Filed: 01/17/2007
• Published: 03/13/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Tiu, William K., MacKinnon, Ross Ainsley, Lindstrom, Kent
• Granted Patent: US 8,037,093 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/258 Data format conversion from or to a database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9566 URL specific, e.g. using aliases, detecting broken or misspelled links
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/972 Access to data in other repository systems, e.g. legacy data or dynamic Web page generation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/134 Hyperlinking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/913 Multimedia

Abstract

Updates to landing pages of users in an online social network are fed from external sources so that content maintained by any one user can be consolidated in a single location regardless of where the changes are made to the content. When an update event occurs, users of the online social network are notified according to various criteria that they have set. With this feature, users can browse through content of other users efficiently.

Claims

1. In a computer network including a server computer that maintains a user database and landing pages of the users, a method for processing user inputs at the server computer, comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving updates to a landing page of a first user from another server computer in the computer network;

(b) notifying a second user of the updates;

(c) receiving a request for the landing page of the first user from the second user;

(d) retrieving content of the first user as maintained by the server computer;

(e) retrieving content of the first user as maintained by said another server computer in the computer network;

(f) generating a landing page of the first user using the content retrieved in step (d) and step (e); and

(g) transmitting the landing page to the second user for display.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein step (e) of retrieving includes the steps of issuing a query to said another server computer and receiving the content of the first user as maintained by said another server in response to the query.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the query includes user ID and password of the first user, and the query is not visible to the second user.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein step (e) of retrieving includes the step of retrieving the content of the first user as maintained by said another server computer from a cache managed by the server computer.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second user is notified of the updates through a web page that identifies the first user and indicates the updates made to the landing page of the first user.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the updates from said another server computer comprise an update to at least one of the first user'"'"'s blog, the first user'"'"'s photo collection, and the first user'"'"'s video collection.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the user database maintains connection data for each of the users, and the connection data for the first user comprises a connection to the second user and the connection data for the second user comprises a connection to the first user.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of receiving and storing inputs from the second user that specify one or more types of content that the second user desires to track.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising the step of receiving and storing inputs from the second user that identify other users, including the first user, that the second user desires to track.

10. A server computer in a network of server computers and client computers, comprising:

a database of users that maintains a landing page for a first user and tracking preferences of a second user; and

a processing unit that is programmed to carry out the steps of (i) receiving and storing updates to the landing page of the first user including updates from a client computer of the first user and updates from another server computer in the network, and (ii) if any of the updates is of a type included in said tracking preferences of the second user, notifying the second user of the updates.

11. The server computer according to claim 10, wherein the tracking preferences of the second user include an indication of:

(i) one or more types of content that are to be tracked, and (ii) those users who are to be tracked.

12. The server computer according to claim 11, wherein those users who are to be tracked include the first user.

13. The server computer according to claim 12, wherein the database maintains connection data for each of the users, and the connection data for the first user comprises a connection to the second user and the connection data for the second user comprises a connection to the first user.

14. The server computer according to claim 10, wherein the processing unit is programmed to carry out the further steps of (iii) receiving a request for the landing page of the first user from the second user, (iv) generating the landing page of the first user, and (v) transmitting the landing page to the second user for display.

15. The server computer according to claim 14, wherein the generated landing page includes content of the first user as maintained by the server computer and content of the first user as maintained by said another server computer.

16. The server computer according to claim 15, further comprising a cache in which the content of the first user as maintained by said another server computer is stored.

17. In a computer network comprising server computers that include a server computer for maintaining a user database and a landing page of a first user, and client computers that include a client computer of a second user, a method for processing user inputs at the client computer of the second user, comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving a web page that indicates updates to the landing page of the first user from the server computer;

(b) issuing a request for the landing page of the first user in response to an input made by the second user on the web page;

(c) receiving the landing page of the first user from the server computer, the landing page of the first user including content of the first user as maintained by the server computer and content of the first user as maintained by another server computer in the computer network; and

(d) displaying the landing page of the first user to the second user.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the web page received in step (a) includes a hyperlink to the landing page of the first user and the input made by the second user comprises a click on the hyperlink.

19. The method according to claim 17, wherein the content of the first user as maintained by said another server computer comprises at least one of the first user'"'"'s blog, the first user'"'"'s photo collection, and the first user'"'"'s video collection.

20. The method according to claim 17, wherein the user database maintains connection data for each of the users, and the connection data for the first user comprises a connection to the second user and the connection data for the second user comprises a connection to the first user.