MANAGING CONNECTIONS BETWEEN REAL WORLD AND VIRTUAL WORLD COMMUNITIES

• US 20110087968A1
• Filed: 10/09/2009
• Published: 04/14/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/09/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Oberhofer, Martin A., LAKSHMANAN, GEETIKA T.
• Granted Patent: US 8,862,482 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/751
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

A method, information processing system, and computer program storage product manage connections between a virtual world and a social network. A set of virtual world information and a set of social network information are analyzed. A graph including a plurality of vertices is generated. Each vertex represents one of virtual world information and social network information. Each vertex is coupled to at least one other vertex by a respective edge. At least one edge of the graph couples a first vertex representing virtual world information and a second vertex representing social network information. At least one vertex is determined to be an articulation point having a respective edge. The removal of the respective edge of the articulation point causes a disconnection of the virtual world information from the social network information within the graph. A user is notified via a graphical user interface that the graph comprises the articulation point.

Claims

1. A method for managing connections between a virtual world and a social network, the method comprising:

executing by a processor residing on an information processing system, the following;

analyzing a set of virtual world information associated with a virtual world and a set of social network information associated with a social network;

generating, based on the analyzing, a graph comprising a plurality of vertices, wherein each vertex represents a respective one of virtual world information in the set of virtual world information and social network information in the set of social network information, and wherein each vertex is coupled to at least one other vertex by a respective edge, at least one edge of the graph coupling a first vertex representing virtual world information and a second vertex representing social network information, thereby connecting the virtual world information to the social network information;

determining, in response to the generating, that at least one vertex in the plurality of vertices is an articulation point having a respective edge, wherein the removal of the respective edge of the articulation point causes disconnection of the virtual world information from the social network information within the graph; and

notifying, via a graphical user interface in response to the determining, a user associated with at least one of the virtual world information and the social network information that the graph comprises the articulation point.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

graphically displaying, via the graphical user interface in response to the generating, the graph to the user; and

visually, in response to the notifying, indicating the articulation point to the user.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying, in response to the determining, a set of vertices that are disconnected from the graph when the articulation point is removed;

identifying, in response to the identifying, a vertex within the set of vertices that is directly coupled to the articulation point; and

determining, in response to identifying the vertex within the set of vertices that is directly coupled to the articulation point, that an edge that directly couples the vertex that has been identified with the articulation point is a critical edge that when removed from the graph disconnects the articulation point from the vertex that has been identified.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

visually, in response to determining that the edge is a critical edge, indicating the critical edge to the user on the graphical user interface.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein graph is generated based on a given interval, wherein the given interval is one of a default interval and an interval set by a user associated with the graph.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

analyzing, in response to the generating, the plurality of vertices; and

identifying, based on analyzing the plurality of vertices, a number of connections, wherein each connection couples together a first vertex comprising virtual world information and a second vertex comprising social network information.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

determining, in response to identifying wherein each connection couples together the first vertex comprising virtual world information and the second vertex comprising social network information, that the number of connections is below a given threshold; and

notifying, in response to determining that the number of connections is below the given threshold, the user that the number of connections is below the given threshold.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

analyzing, in response to the generating, each vertex in the plurality of vertices; and

identifying, based on analyzing each vertex in the plurality of vertices, a given number of vertices in the plurality of vertices comprising a highest number of at least one of inter-community edges and an intra-community edge, wherein an inter-community edge couples a vertex comprising virtual world information to a vertex comprising social network information, and wherein an intra-community edge couples one of a vertex comprising virtual world information to another vertex comprising virtual world information and a vertex comprising social network information to another vertex comprising social network information.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

indicating, in response to identifying the given number of vertices, to the user to add additional at least one of one or more inter-community edges and one or more intra-community edges at one or more of these given number of vertices.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of virtual world information includes at least a set of virtual world identifiers each associated with a user of the at least one virtual world, and wherein the set of social network information includes at least a set of social network identifiers each associated with a user of the at least one social network.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the graph comprises at least one vertex comprising virtual world information coupled to at least one vertex comprising social network information, wherein the virtual world information is a virtual world identifier for identifying the user within the virtual world, and wherein the social network information is a social network identifier identifying the user within the social network.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining further comprises at least:

performing a search on the graph.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein notifying the user that that the graph comprises the articulation point further comprises:

notifying, via the graphical user interface, the user by the displaying a message instructing the user to add at least one additional vertex to the graph comprising an edge that connects virtual world information to social network information.

14. An information processing system for managing connections between a virtual world and a social network, the information processing system comprising:

a memory;

a processor communicatively coupled to the memory; and

a community manager module communicatively coupled to the memory and the processor, wherein the community manager module comprises;

a graphing module adapted for;

analyzing a set of virtual world information associated with a virtual world and a set of social network information associated with a social network;

generating, based on the analyzing, a graph comprising a plurality of vertices, wherein each vertex represents a respective one of virtual world information in the set of virtual world information and social network information in the set of social network information, and wherein each vertex is coupled to at least one other vertex by a respective edge, at least one edge of the graph coupling a first vertex representing virtual world information and a second vertex representing social network information, thereby connecting the virtual world information to the social network information;

an articulation point identifier for;

determining, based on the generating, that at least one vertex in the plurality of vertices is an articulation point having a respective edge, wherein the removal of the respective edge of the articulation point causes disconnection of the virtual world information from the social network information within the graph; and

a notifier for;

notifying, via a graphical user interface in response to the determining, a user associated with at least one of the virtual world information and the social network information that the graph comprises the articulation point.

15. The information processing system of claim 14, wherein the notifier is further for:

graphically displaying, via the graphical user interface in response to the generating, the graph to the user; and

visually, in response to the notifying, indicating the articulation point to the user.

16. The information processing system of claim 14, wherein the articulation point identifier is further for:

identifying, in response to the determining, a set of vertices that are disconnected from the graph when the articulation point is removed;

identifying, in response to the identifying, a vertex within the set of vertices that is directly coupled to the articulation point; and

determining, in response to identifying the vertex within the set of vertices that is directly coupled to the articulation point, that an edge that directly couples the vertex that has been identified with the articulation point is a critical edge that when removed from the graph disconnects the articulation point from the vertex that has been identified.

17. The information processing system of claim 14, wherein the articulation point identifier is further for:

analyzing, in response to the generating, the plurality of vertices; and

identifying, based on analyzing the plurality of vertices, a number of connections, wherein each connection couples together a first vertex comprising virtual world information and a second vertex comprising social network information;

determining, in response to identifying wherein each connection couples together the first vertex comprising virtual world information and the second vertex comprising social network information, that the number of connections is below a given threshold; and

notifying, in response to determining that the number of connections is below the given threshold, the user that the number of connections is below the given threshold.

18. The information processing system of claim 14, wherein the articulation point identifier is further for:

analyzing, in response to the generating, each vertex in the plurality of vertices; and

identifying, based on analyzing each vertex in the plurality of vertices, a given number of vertices in the plurality of vertices comprising a highest number of at least one of inter-community edges and an intra-community edge, wherein an inter-community edge couples a vertex comprising virtual world information to a vertex comprising social network information, and wherein an intra-community edge couples one of a vertex comprising virtual world information to another vertex comprising virtual world information and a vertex comprising social network information to another vertex comprising social network information, and

wherein the notifier is further for;

indicating, in response to identifying the given number of vertices, to the user to add additional at least one of one or more inter-community edges and one or more intra-community edges at one or more of these given number of vertices.

19. A computer program product for managing connections between a virtual world and a social network, the computer program product comprising:

a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code comprising;

computer readable program code configured to analyze a set of virtual world information associated with a virtual world and a set of social network information associated with a social network;

computer readable program code configured to generate, based on the analyzing, a graph comprising a plurality of vertices, wherein each vertex represents a respective one of virtual world information in the set of virtual world information and social network information in the set of social network information, and wherein each vertex is coupled to at least one other vertex by a respective edge, at least one edge of the graph coupling a first vertex representing virtual world information and a second vertex representing social network information, thereby connecting the virtual world information to the social network information;

computer readable program code configured to determine, based on the generating, that at least one vertex in the plurality of vertices is an articulation point having a respective edge, wherein the removal of the respective edge of the articulation point causes disconnection of the virtual world information from the social network information within the graph; and

computer readable program code configured to notify, via a graphical user interface in response to the determining, a user associated with at least one of the virtual world information and the social network information that the graph comprises the articulation point.

20. The computer program product of claim 19, further comprising computer:

computer readable program code configured to analyze, in response to the generating, the plurality of vertices; and

computer readable program code configured to identify, based on the plurality of vertices being analyzed, a number of connections, wherein each connection couples together a first vertex comprising virtual world information and a second vertex comprising social network information;

computer readable program code configured to determine, based on the number of connections that have been identified, that the number of connections is below a given threshold; and

computer readable program code configured to notify, based on the number of connections being below the given threshold, the user that the number of connections is below the given threshold.

21. The computer program product of claim 19, further comprising:

computer readable program code configured to analyze, in response to generating, the graph, each vertex in the plurality of vertices; and

computer readable program code configured to identify, based on each vertex in the plurality of vertices being analyzed, a given number of vertices in the plurality of vertices comprising a highest number of at least one of inter-community edges and an intra-community edge, wherein an inter-community edge couples a vertex comprising virtual world information to a vertex comprising social network information, and wherein an intra-community edge couples one of a vertex comprising virtual world information to another vertex comprising virtual world information and a vertex comprising social network information to another vertex comprising social network information.

22. The computer program product of claim 21, further comprising:

computer readable program code configured to indicate, based on the given number of vertices being analyzed, to the user to add additional at least one of one or more inter-community edges and one or more intra-community edges at one or more of these given number of vertices.