TECHNIQUES FOR IDENTIFYING AND PRESENTING CONNECTION PATHS
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- receiving a request for content including member profile information of a first member of a social network service, the request initiated by a second member of the social network service;
responsive to receiving the request, analyzing a social graph to identify one or more connection paths connecting a node representing the first member with a node representing the second member, the social graph represented by a graph data structure having nodes representing various entities and edges representing associations between entities, each edge connecting two nodes included in a connection path assigned an edge score representing an estimated strength of association between two entities represented by the two nodes;
deriving a path score for each of the one or more connection paths connecting the node representing the first member with the node representing the second member by aggregating edge scores of the edges in each individual connection path;
generating a visual representation of at least one of the one or more connection paths connecting the node representing the first member with the node representing the second member; and
presenting the visual representation of the one or more connection paths along with the member profile information of the first member.
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Abstract
Techniques for analyzing a social graph of a social network service to identify and then present connection paths connecting various entities are described. With some embodiments, subsequent to a user selecting or otherwise identifying two entities represented as nodes in a social graph, the social graph is analyzed to identify connection paths connecting the nodes representing the two entities. The social graph is implemented with a graph data structure having nodes and edges representing entities and associations between entities, respectively. With some embodiments, the nodes represent people, companies, educational institutions (e.g., schools, universities, etc.), and groups. After identifying the connection paths, the connection path or paths having the highest path scores, as derived by aggregating edge scores assigned to the edges, may be presented.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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receiving a request for content including member profile information of a first member of a social network service, the request initiated by a second member of the social network service; responsive to receiving the request, analyzing a social graph to identify one or more connection paths connecting a node representing the first member with a node representing the second member, the social graph represented by a graph data structure having nodes representing various entities and edges representing associations between entities, each edge connecting two nodes included in a connection path assigned an edge score representing an estimated strength of association between two entities represented by the two nodes; deriving a path score for each of the one or more connection paths connecting the node representing the first member with the node representing the second member by aggregating edge scores of the edges in each individual connection path; generating a visual representation of at least one of the one or more connection paths connecting the node representing the first member with the node representing the second member; and presenting the visual representation of the one or more connection paths along with the member profile information of the first member. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system comprising:
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at least one processor for executing instructions; a memory device in communication with the at least one processor and storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system to; receive a request for content including member profile information of a first member of a social network service, the request initiated by a second member of the social network service; responsive to receiving the request, analyze a social graph to identify one or more connection paths connecting a node representing the first member with a node representing the second member, the social graph represented by a graph data structure having nodes representing various entities and edges representing associations between entities, each edge connecting two nodes included in a connection path assigned an edge score representing an estimated strength of association between two entities represented by the two nodes; derive a path score for each of the one or more connection paths connecting the node representing the first member with the node representing the second member by aggregating edge scores of the edges in each individual connection path; generate a visual representation of at least one of the one or more connection paths connecting the node representing the first member with the node representing the second member; and present the visual representation of the one or more connection paths along with the member profile information of the first member.
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11. A method comprising:
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receiving with a content request information identifying first and second entities that are represented by nodes in a social graph data structure representing a social graph maintained by a social network service, the social graph data structure consisting of nodes representing various entities and edges representing associations between entities, each edge connecting two nodes assigned an edge score representing an estimated strength of association between two entities represented by the two nodes; and processing the content request by i) analyzing the social graph data structure to identify a set of connection paths connecting nodes representing the first and second entities identified in the content request, ii) deriving a path score for each connection path in the set by aggregating edge scores of the edges forming each individual connection path, and iii) presenting a visual representation of one or more connection paths having the highest path scores. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A system comprising:
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at least one processor for executing instructions; a memory device in communication with the at least one processor and storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor is to; receive with a content request information identifying first and second entities that are represented by nodes in a social graph data structure representing a social graph maintained by a social network service, the social graph data structure consisting of nodes representing various entities and edges representing associations between entities, each edge connecting two nodes assigned an edge score representing an estimated strength of association between two entities represented by the two nodes; process the content request by i) analyzing the social graph data structure to identify a set of connection paths connecting nodes representing the first and second entities identified in the content request, ii) deriving a path score for each connection path in the set by aggregating edge scores of the edges forming each individual connection path, and iii) presenting a visual representation of one or more connection paths having the highest path scores.
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Specification