TECHNIQUES FOR IMPROVING RELEVANCE OF SOCIAL UPDATES DISTRIBUTED OFFLINE

• US 20120158843A1
• Filed: 12/20/2010
• Published: 06/21/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: R2 Solutions LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kothari, Pankaj, Angani, Kishore, Teotia, Abhinav Singh
• Granted Patent: US 9,213,981 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking

Abstract

Methods and system for delivering updates to recipients in a social network includes receiving event related data in response to triggering of an event at a client. In response to the triggering of the event at the client, recipient data related to a recipient that is authorized to receive the event related data is retrieved. An agent is provided for the recipient. The agent includes logic for formatting and delivering the event related data to the recipient. The recipient'"'"'s interaction in response to delivery of the event related data is tracked. The logic within the agent is refined based on the interaction of the recipient. The agent with the refined logic is used for subsequent formatting and delivering of event related data to the recipient.

Claims

1. A method for delivering updates to recipients in a social network, comprising:

a. receiving event related data in response to triggering of an event;

b. retrieving recipient data related to a recipient authorized to receive the event related data;

c. providing an agent for the recipient, the agent including logic for formatting and delivering the event related data to the recipient;

d. tracking interaction of the recipient in response to delivery of the event related data;

e. refining the logic of the agent based on the interaction of the recipient; and

f. using the agent with refined logic for delivering subsequent event related data to the recipient, the refined logic selecting and formatting the event related data that is relevant to the recipient.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving further comprises:

generating a feed identifier for the event related data; and

storing event related data in a feed cache along with the feed identifier for subsequent retrieval by the agent for delivery.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein retrieving recipient data further comprises:

identifying creator of the event related data; and

extracting information associated with the recipient authorized to receive the event related data from a Recipient list associated with the identified creator, wherein the information is used for distribution of event related data.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein delivering the event related data further comprises:

computing a quality score for the event related data, the quality score determining relevance of the event related data for the recipient; and

discarding the event related data for the recipient when the quality score for the event related data is below a quality threshold.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein delivering the event related data further comprises:

determining a delivery threshold for the recipient; and

automatically triggering delivery of the event related data when the delivery threshold for the recipient is met.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the delivery threshold is specific to the recipient.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein delivering the event related data further comprises:

incrementing a cumulative delivery score associated with the recipient when the delivery threshold for the recipient is not met; and

storing the cumulative delivery score along with recipient information for the recipient in a database for subsequent delivery.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein formatting further comprises:

retrieving the event related data from the feed cache;

determining a preferred delivery channel for delivering event related data; and

dynamically formatting the event related data to comply with requirements of the preferred delivery channel.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the preferred delivery channel is determined based on any one or combination of updates to the event related data, recipient'"'"'s preference, and interaction of the recipient in response to delivery of a prior event related data.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the formatting includes prioritizing the event related data based on the interaction of the recipient in response to delivery of prior event related data.

11. The method of claim 8 further comprises:

identifying a template for delivering the event related data; and

formatting the event related data using the template for delivery, the template defining layout and presentation of content of the event related data. (grouping relevant events together, compressing info accumulated to a user friendly gist, ordering the class events with the freshest updates).

12. The method of claim 1, wherein tracking interaction further comprises:

weighting each event related data based on recipient'"'"'s interaction in response to the delivery of the event related data, the recipient'"'"'s interaction identifying relevance of the event related data to the recipient, the weighting used in subsequent delivery of the event related data to the recipient.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the formatting further comprises:

enriching content of the event related data with customization data, the customization data providing information related to one or more of creator, source, recipient or content of the event related data. (originator profile image, source property icon, friendly name, avatar, etc.)

14. The method of claim 1, wherein refining the logic of the agent further comprises:

spawning a secondary agent based on the interaction of the recipient, the secondary agent including logic from the agent that is refined to specific to the interaction

15. A method for delivering updates to recipients in a social network, comprising:

receiving event related data in response to triggering of an event, the event related data stored in a feed cache;

retrieving data associated with a plurality of recipients authorized to receive the event related data;

identifying an agent for the plurality of recipients, the agent including logic for formatting and delivering the event related data to the plurality of recipients;

tracking interaction of a recipient from the plurality of recipients in response to delivery of the event related data, the recipient being a highly engaged recipient;

spawning a second agent from the agent in response to the tracking of interaction of the highly engaged recipient, wherein the second agent includes logic that is refined and distinct from the logic in the agent based on the interaction of the highly engaged recipient;

assigning the second agent to the highly engaged recipient, wherein the second agent provides logic for formatting and delivering event related data targeted for the highly engaged recipient; and

using the secondary agent and the agent for delivering subsequent event related data that is relevant to the corresponding recipients.

16. The method of claim 15 further includes,

tracking interactions of the plurality of recipients in response to the delivery of the event related data;

and

refining the logic of the agent and the second agent based on the interactions of the plurality of recipients in response to delivery of the event related data, the refined logic of the agent and the second agent used in delivering subsequent event related data to the respective recipients.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein delivering the event related data further comprises:

determining a delivery threshold for each of the plurality of recipients, wherein the delivery threshold is specific to each of the plurality of recipients; and

automatically triggering delivery of the event related data by the respective agent when the delivery threshold for each of the recipients is met.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein delivering the event related data further comprises:

retrieving a cumulative delivery score and a delivery threshold value for a specific recipient, wherein the cumulative delivery score and the delivery threshold value are distinct for the specific recipient;

incrementing the cumulative delivery score associated with the specific recipient in response to the triggering of the event;

comparing the cumulative delivery score against the delivery threshold value for the specific recipient; and

storing the cumulative delivery score along with recipient information for the specific recipient in a database for subsequent delivery when the delivery threshold value for the specific recipient is not met.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein when the delivery threshold value for the specific recipient is met, formatting further comprises:

retrieving the event related data from the feed cache;

determining a preferred delivery channel for delivering event related data for each of the plurality of recipients; and

dynamically formatting the event related data to comply with requirements of the preferred delivery channel for each of the recipient for delivery by respective agents.

20. A system for delivering updates to recipients in a social network, comprising:

a client for triggering an event, the triggering of the event generating event related data;

a server configured to receive the event related data from the triggered event, the server includes;

an agent having logic that is configured to;

(a) receive event related data from the client;

(b) receive data associated with a recipient authorized to receive the event related data;

(c) determine a preferred delivery channel for delivering event related data;

(d) dynamically format the event related data to comply with requirements of the preferred delivery channel;

(e) track interaction of the recipient in response to delivery of the event related data; and

(f) refine the logic contained therein based on the interaction of the recipient so as to use the refined logic for delivering subsequent event related data to the recipient.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the agent is further configured to communicate with a plurality of databases to store and retrieve information related to the event related data, the plurality of databases includes at least,

a feed cache database to store and retrieve the event related data for subsequent delivery to the recipient;

a stats database to store and retrieve information related to interaction of the recipient in response to the delivery of the event related data and quality of the event related data;

a events collection database to store and retrieve event related data associated with the recipient; and

an agent database to retrieve, update and store agent related information.