Method and System for Targeting Online Ads Using Social Neighborhoods of a Social Network

• US 20100070335A1
• Filed: 09/18/2008
• Published: 03/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Excalibur IP, LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Excalibur IP, LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Inventors: Parekh, Rajesh, Bhatt, Rushi P.
• Application Number:
  US12/233,091
• Publication Number:
  US 20100070335A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/10
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0254 based on statistics
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking

Abstract

A method and system are provided for targeting online ads using a social neighborhood of a social network. In one example, the method includes identifying a social neighborhood of the social network, calculating an adoption score for each consumer of the social neighborhood, wherein an adoption score is a ranking of a consumer in the social neighborhood according to a predicted number of consumer friends that will make an adoption at a future time, and then sending at least one ad to at least one consumer having a relatively high adoption score.

Claims

1. A method for targeting online ads using social neighborhoods of a social network, the method comprising:

identifying a social neighborhood of the social network; and

calculating an adoption score for each consumer of the social neighborhood, wherein an adoption score is a ranking of a consumer in the social neighborhood according to a predicted number of consumer friends that will make an adoption at a future time.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending at least one ad to at least one consumer having a relatively high adoption score.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the social neighborhood comprises identifying a group of socially interconnected consumers.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein calculating an adoption score for each consumer comprises considering at least one of:

social data;

behavioral data;

demographic data; and

geographic data.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the social data comprises at least one of:

a number of friends in a friends list of a consumer; and

a number of friends that are linked to a consumer.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the behavioral data comprises at least one of:

a number of logins of a consumer;

a number of messages sent by a consumer;

an average number of messages exchanged in an immediate circle of a consumer;

an average number of logins in the social neighborhood;

a number of web searches of a consumer;

an advertisement click rate of a consumer;

favorite properties of a consumer; and

a behavioral targeting category of a consumer.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the demographic data comprises at least one of:

an age of a consumer;

a gender of a consumer;

an age of a friend of a consumer; and

a gender of a friend of a consumer.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the geographic data comprises at least one of:

an IP address of a consumer computer;

a physical address of a consumer;

a country to which a consumer belongs; and

a country to which a friend of a consumer belongs.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein calculating an adoption score for each consumer comprises determining whether a consumer has at least one of:

adopted a particular product;

adopted a particular service; and

responded favorably to a particular ad campaign.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein calculating an adoption score comprises utilizing a credit-sharing device configured for dividing adoption credit among multiple friends of a particular consumer, where each of the multiple friends previously made an adoption before the particular consumer made an adoption.

11. A system for targeting online ads using social neighborhoods of a social network, wherein the system is configured for:

identifying a social neighborhood of the social network; and

calculating an adoption score for each consumer of the social neighborhood, wherein an adoption score is a ranking of a consumer in the social neighborhood according to a predicted number of consumer friends that will make an adoption at a future time.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the system is further configured for sending at least one ad to at least one consumer having a relatively high adoption score.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein identifying the social neighborhood further configures the system for identifying a group of socially interconnected consumers.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein calculating an adoption score for each consumer further configures the system for considering at least one of:

social data;

behavioral data;

demographic data; and

geographic data.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the social data comprises at least one of:

a number of friends in a friends list of a consumer; and

a number of friends that are linked to a consumer.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the behavioral data comprises at least one of:

a number of logins of a consumer;

a number of messages sent by a consumer;

an average number of messages exchanged in an immediate circle of a consumer;

an average number of logins in the social neighborhood;

a number of web searches of a consumer;

an advertisement click rate of a consumer;

favorite properties of a consumer; and

a behavioral targeting category of a consumer.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the demographic data comprises at least one of:

an age of a consumer;

a gender of a consumer;

an age of a friend of a consumer; and

a gender of a friend of a consumer.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the geographic data comprises at least one of:

an IP address of a consumer computer;

a physical address of a consumer;

a country to which a consumer belongs; and

a country to which a friend of a consumer belongs.

19. The system of claim 11, wherein calculating an adoption score for each consumer further configures the system for determining whether a consumer has at least one of:

adopted a particular product;

adopted a particular service; and

responded favorably to a particular ad campaign.

20. The system of claim 11, wherein calculating an adoption score further configures the system for utilizing a credit-sharing device configured for dividing adoption credit among multiple friends of a particular consumer, where each of the multiple friends previously made an adoption before the particular consumer made an adoption.

21. A computer readable medium carrying one or more instructions for targeting online ads using a social neighborhood of a social network, wherein the one or more instructions, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

identifying a social neighborhood of the social network; and

calculating an adoption score for each consumer of the social neighborhood, wherein an adoption score is a ranking of a consumer in the social neighborhood according to a predicted number of consumer friends that will make an adoption at a future time.