SOCIAL GRAPHING FOR DATA HANDLING AND DELIVERY

• US 20100318613A1
• Filed: 06/12/2009
• Published: 12/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Chung, Charlie R., Sanyal, Shubhankar, Souza, Jeremy de, De Graaf, Wilbert
• Granted Patent: US 8,880,620 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services

Abstract

Architecture that enables data handling according to types of social relationships. A social graph is used to categorize the types of the social relationships of the tagged messaging users. The social graph can include social relationship categories for friends, family, coworkers, and blocked individuals of the recipient, for example. The social graph can also include metadata related to the tagged users. The metadata defines the social relationship of the tagged users to the recipient. Delivery of messages to the recipient from the tagged messaging users is managed based on the social graph. Delivery management can include blocking messages, allowing the messages through, or delivering the messages with high or low priority, for example. Email messages can be delivered to respective email locations based on the social graph. User information can be imported and/or mined from external sources to augment the social graph.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented data delivery system, comprising:

a tagging component for tagging users according to a type of social relationship as defined by a social graph; and

a data component for handling data of the tagged users based on the social graph.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a communications component for transmitting the data, which include messages, to the recipient based on the social graph.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein transmitting the data comprises one of blocking messages, allowing the messages through, or delivering the messages with high or low priority.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the social graph includes social relationship categories for friends, family, coworkers, and blocked individuals of the recipient.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the social graph further comprises metadata related to the tagged users, the metadata defines the social relationship to the recipient.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising an import component for importing tagged user information from external sources to augment the social graph.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising a policy component for applying a generic action to multiple tagged users based on the social graph.

8. A computer-implemented data delivery system, comprising:

a tagging component for tagging messaging users according to types of social relationships;

a graphing component for building a social graph based on categorization of the types of the social relationships of the tagged messaging users; and

a messaging component for managing delivery of messages to a recipient from the tagged messaging users based on the social graph.

9. The system of claim 8, further comprising a delivery component for delivering email messages to respective email locations based on the social graph.

10. The system of claim 8, further comprising a global configuration component for maintaining a list of social relationship category tags for tagging the messaging users.

11. The system of claim 8, further comprising a management component for enabling a third party to manage the social graph.

12. The system of claim 8, further comprising a mining component for automatically mining email contacts to identify metadata to augment the social graph.

13. The system of claim 8, further comprising a perimeter component for accessing the social graph and controlling delivery of email messages at a perimeter of an email deployment.

14. A computer-implemented data delivery method, comprising:

tagging message contacts according to types of social relationships;

categorizing the types of the social relationships into a social graph of social relationship categories; and

managing flow of the messages received from the message contacts based on respective social relationship categories of the social graph.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising managing flow by at least one of blocking the messages, allowing the messages through, or delivering the messages based on priority.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising importing message contact information from external sources to augment the social graph.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising automatically mining the message contacts for metadata to augment the social graph.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising enabling a third party to manage the social graph.

19. The method of claim 14, further comprising organizing email based on the social graph.

20. The method of claim 14, further comprising accessing the social graph to control delivery of the messages prior to entry of the messages into an email deployment.