BLENDING OF CONTENT ITEM TYPES IN A SOCIAL NETWORK

• US 20160224683A1
• Filed: 02/27/2015
• Published: 08/04/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2015
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Hicks, Cory Michael, lyer, Anand R., Langston, Keith O., Ramamurthi, Jayendraraj, Hartman, Joshua Daniel
• Application Number:
  US14/633,799
• Publication Number:
  US 20160224683A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/211 Schema design and management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24575 using context
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24578 using ranking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0243 Comparative campaigns
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services

Abstract

Systems and methods for blending content items in a social network include identifying at least one content item type for each of a plurality of content items stored in an electronic data storage. A utility value is determined individually for each of the content items, based, at least in part, on an engagement value and a monetary value of each of the content items. The content items are ranked according to the utility values and blending concepts to obtain a ranking. The content items are displayed on a user interface according to the ranking.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a network interface configured to communicate with user devices via a network;

an electronic data storage including content items of a social network;

a processor, configured to;

identify at least one content item type for each of the content items;

determine a utility value individually for each of the content items, based, at least in part, on an engagement value and a monetary value of each of the content items;

rank the content items according to the utility values and blending concepts to obtain a ranking; and

cause the content items to be displayed on a user interface according to the ranking.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the blending concepts are ordered hierarchically, wherein each blending concept specifies a different requirement for ordering the content items in the ranking, and wherein an inferior blending concept that would result in the ranking violating a superior blending concept is not implemented by the processor in the ranking.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to rank the content items by generating an initial ranking according to the utility values of the content items and adjusting the ranking according to the blending concepts.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the blending concepts specify different separation requirements between content items of the same content item types on the user interface.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the processor is configured to cause the user interface to display the content items in sequential positions, and wherein the separation requirement for each blending concept specifies a number of content items of the same content item over a predetermined number of consecutive positions.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the processor is further configured to:

display additional content items in a testing mode, wherein, for different instances of displaying the additional content items on user interfaces, at least one of the separation requirements for the blending concepts is varied between instances;

obtain data relating to interactions by users with the additional content items as displayed; and

set the separation requirement on the basis of which the content items are ranked by the processor.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the processor is configured to vary the separation requirement by specifying different positional relationship requirements of the additional content items of the same content item type.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the processor is configured to set the separation requirement based on the data relating to interactions indicating a highest user engagement with the additional content items for a particular separation requirement as varied.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the separation requirements are set to maximize user engagement with the content items among the blending concepts combined.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the blending concepts relate to content item types including at least two of:

a sponsored/organic status of the content item;

a source of the content item;

a topic of the content item; and

an information type of the content item.

11. A method, comprising:

identifying, with a processor, at least one content item type for each of a plurality of content items stored in an electronic data storage;

determining, with the processor, a utility value individually for each of the content items, based, at least in part, on an engagement value and a monetary value of each of the content items;

ranking, with the processor, the content items according to the utility values and blending concepts to obtain a ranking; and

causing, with the processor, via a network interface, the content items to be displayed on a user interface according to the ranking.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the blending concepts are ordered hierarchically, wherein each blending concept specifies a different requirement for ordering the content items in the ranking, and wherein an inferior blending concept that would result in the ranking violating a superior blending concept is not implemented in the ranking.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein ranking the content items further includes generating an initial ranking according to the utility values of the content items and adjusting the ranking according to the blending concepts.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the blending concepts specify different separation requirements between content items of the same content item types on the user interface.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein causing the user interface to display the content items is in sequential positions, and wherein the separation requirement for each blending concept specifies a number of content items of the same content item over a predetermined number of consecutive positions.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

displaying, with the processor, via the user interface, additional content items in a testing mode, wherein, for different instances of displaying the additional content items on user interfaces, at least one of the separation requirements for the blending concepts is varied between instances;

obtaining, with the processor, data relating to interactions by users with the additional content items as displayed; and

setting, with the processor, the separation requirement on the basis of which the content items are ranked by the processor.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein varying the separation requirement is by specifying different positional relationship requirements of the additional content items of the same content item type.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein setting, with the processor, the separation requirement is based on the data relating to interactions indicating a highest user engagement with the additional content items for a particular separation requirement as varied.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein setting the separation requirements includes setting the requirements to maximize user engagement with the content items among the blending concepts combined.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein the blending concepts relate to content item types including at least two of:

a sponsored/organic status of the content item;

a source of the content item;

a topic of the content item; and

an information type of the content item.