Recommending Additional Users for an Event Using a Social Networking System

• US 20140012926A1
• Filed: 07/09/2012
• Published: 01/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Narayanan, Srinivas P., Shaffer, Justin Alexander, Hui, Daniel Jeng-Ping, Bayer, Ross David
• Granted Patent: US 9,576,325 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1095 Meeting or appointment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking

Abstract

Social networking system users may create events where a group of other users invited to the event meet at a specified time and location. While an inviting user initially specifies the group of users to invite to the event, the social networking system suggests additional users to invite to the event. The social networking system suggests additional users based on a prediction that the users would attend the event if invited. Various factors may be used to make the prediction, such as an affinity between the inviting user and the other users, the availability of the other users at the time of the event and/or the proximity of the other users to the location of the event. Invitations to the suggested additional users may be automatically sent or sent to a set of the additional users selected by the inviting user.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving information about an event from an inviting user of a social networking system, the information including one or more of a location, a time, and one or more users of the social networking system who are associated with the event;

accessing user profiles of social networking system users connected to the inviting user and not already associated with the event;

selecting a set of candidate users from the social networking system users connected to the inviting user and not already associated with the event;

predicting whether a suggestion to the inviting user to invite each of the candidate users to the event would lead to the candidate user'"'"'s joining the event;

selecting one or more candidate users from the set based on the predicting; and

sending a suggestion to the inviting user to send an invitation for the event to the selected one or more candidate users.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the set of candidate users from the social networking system users connected to the inviting user and not already associated with the event comprises:

selecting users connected to the inviting user and not identified by the information about the event having a location in their user profiles within a specified distance of the location included in the information about the event.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting a set of candidate users from the social networking system users connected to the inviting user and not already associated with the event comprises:

selecting users having a location in their user profiles within a specified distance of the location included in the information about the event and an availability at the time included in the information about the event.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the prediction of whether the suggestion to invite a candidate user would lead to the candidate user'"'"'s joining the event is based on an affinity for the candidate user by the inviting user.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting one or more candidate users from the set based on the prediction of whether the suggestion to invite each of the candidate users would lead to the candidate user'"'"'s joining the event comprises:

determining likelihoods candidate users would join the event based on an affinity for the inviting user by a candidate user and a history of the candidate user attending events that the inviting user attended; and

selecting one or more candidate users having highest likelihoods of joining the event.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting one or more candidate users from the set based on the prediction of whether the suggestion to invite each of the candidate users would lead to the candidate user'"'"'s joining the event comprises:

determining likelihoods that candidate users would join the event based on the affinity for the inviting user by a candidate user and a history of the user from the subset attending events that the inviting user attended; and

selecting one or more candidate users having a likelihood of joining the event equaling or exceeding a threshold likelihood.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting one or more candidate users from the set based on the prediction of whether the suggestion to invite each of the candidate users would lead to the candidate user'"'"'s joining the event comprises:

determining that likelihoods candidate users would join the event based on an affinity for the inviting user by a candidate user, a history of the candidate user attending events that the inviting user attended and the candidate user'"'"'s location at the time included in the information about the event; and

selecting one or more candidate users having a likelihood of joining the event equaling or exceeding a threshold likelihood.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the candidate user'"'"'s location at the time included in the information about the event is determined from one or more responses to additional events associated with the location identified by the invitation received from the candidate user.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting one or more candidate users from the set based on the prediction of whether the suggestion to invite each of the candidate users would lead to the candidate user'"'"'s joining the event comprises:

assigning a social value to each candidate user from the set;

determining a probability that each candidate user from the set will join the event;

determining an expected value for each candidate user from the set, the expected value of a candidate user based on the candidate user'"'"'s social value and a probability that the candidate user will join the event;

selecting one or more candidate users having highest expected values.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a response from the inviting user identifying a candidate user to receive an invitation, sending a notification of the event to an electronic device associated with the identified user.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the suggestion to the inviting user to send the invitation for the event to the selected one or more candidate users comprises:

including a story identifying the selected one or more candidate users in a news feed sent to an electronic device associated with the inviting user.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the suggestion to the inviting user to send the invitation for the event to the selected one or more candidate users comprises:

sending a notification identifying the selected one or more candidate users to an electronic device associated with the inviting user.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more users of the social networking system who are associated with the event comprise one or more users of the social networking system invited to the event.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more users of the social networking system who are associated with the event comprise one or more users of the social networking system attending the event.

15. A method comprising:

receiving information about an event from an inviting user of a social networking system, the information including one or more of a location, a time, and one or more users of the social networking system who are associated with the event;

accessing user profiles of social networking system users connected to the inviting user and not already associated with the event;

selecting a set of candidate users from the social networking system users connected to the inviting user and not already associated with the event;

determining a likelihood that each of the candidate users from the set would join the event if invited, the likelihood of a candidate user joining the event based on an affinity between the candidate user and the inviting user;

selecting one or more candidate users from the set based on a the determined likelihoods; and

sending a suggestion to the inviting user to send an invitation for the event to the selected one or more candidate users.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

sending to the inviting user a confirmation that the invitation for the event was sent to the selected one or more candidate users.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein selecting the set of candidate users from the social networking system users connected to the inviting user and not already associated with the event comprises:

selecting users connected to the inviting user and not identified by the information about the event having a location in their user profiles within a specified distance of the location included in the information about the event.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein selecting a set of candidate users from the social networking system users connected to the inviting user and not already associated with the event comprises:

selecting users having a location in their user profiles within a specified distance of the location included in the information about the event and an availability at the time included in the information about the event.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein selecting one or more candidate users from the set based on the determined likelihoods comprises:

selecting one or more candidate users having highest likelihoods of joining the event.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein selecting one or more candidate users from the set based on the determined likelihoods comprises:

selecting one or more candidate users having a likelihood of joining the event equaling or exceeding a threshold likelihood.

22. The method of claim 15, wherein determining the likelihood that each of the candidate users from the set would join the event if invited, the likelihood of a candidate user joining the event based on an affinity between the candidate user and the inviting user comprises:

assigning a social value to each candidate user from the set;

determining a probability that each candidate user from the set will join the event; and

determining an expected value for each candidate user from the set, the expected value of a candidate user based on the candidate user'"'"'s social value and a probability that the candidate user will join the event.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein selecting one or more candidate users from the set based on the determined likelihoods comprises:

selecting one or more candidate users having highest expected values.

24. The method of claim 15, wherein sending the suggestion to the inviting user to send an invitation for the event to the selected one or more candidate users. comprises:

including a story identifying the selected one or more candidate users in a news feed sent to an electronic device associated with the inviting user.

25. The method of claim 15, wherein the one or more users of the social networking system who are associated with the event comprise one or more users of the social networking system invited to the event.