System to Customize Recommendations by Soliciting and Analyzing Suggestions and Evaluations Tailored to a Particular Subject

• US 20170255986A1
• Filed: 03/02/2017
• Published: 09/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Social Data Sciences, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Social Data Sciences, Inc.
• Inventors: Herbst, Daniel C., Finegan, Sean P.
• Granted Patent: US 10,664,893 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0282 Rating or review of business operators or products
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0609 Buyer or seller confidence or verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0613 Third-party assisted
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0631 Item recommendations

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for a system that solicits suggestions and evaluations of options (for goods, services, business/personal relationships, decisions, etc.) tailored to a subject. The evaluators, which may include the subject, provide input on the options (a rating, ratings, written evaluation, etc.) with respect to the subject. After receiving one or more such evaluations, the system may formulate a recommendation for the subject. If so, the system may notify the subject, evaluators, and/or other parties. It may also take appropriate actions to facilitate the recommendation (i.e., make a product available for sale, email a coupon, pass along a résumé, exchange contact information, etc.).

Claims

1. A method of generating recommendations, wherein the method involves receiving input from users alone or in combination with automated system processes, wherein the users may serve in one or more roles, the roles comprising:

subject,

suggester, wherein the automated system processes may serve as a suggester, and evaluator,

wherein the method comprises the steps of;

Identifying a user who will serve as the subject or an automated system process acting on behalf of a potential or existing user who will serve as the subject

Establishing a decision for which a recommendation is required based on input received from a subject.

Requesting a plurality of suggested options in response to the decision from at least one suggester, wherein an automated system process may serve as a suggester by associating the decision with a suggested option selected from a database of pre-existing options

Gathering evaluations providing relative weights to the suggested options from at least one evaluator

Using the gathered evaluations to assign relative weights to the suggested options

Generating a recommendation for the subject based on the relative weights of the suggested options.

2. A method of generating recommendations as described in claim 1 further comprising the step of:

Providing the subject with a link allowing the subject to act on the recommendation.

3. A method of generating recommendations as in claim 1, wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

Weighting the evaluations made by users before issuing a recommendation, wherein the weighting is accomplished through the use of one or more of a set of criteria, wherein the criteria comprise;

the historical correlation of the evaluator'"'"'s evaluations with the subject'"'"'s evaluations, in prior decisions, for options that the subject also evaluated; and

the historical correlation of the evaluator'"'"'s evaluations of options with the subject'"'"'s feedback, for recommendations that were issued by the system in response to prior decisions by the same subject.

4. A method of generating recommendations as described in claim 1, wherein the role of suggester is performed by an algorithm which associates an existing option with the decision.

5. A method of generating recommendations as described in claim 1 further comprising the step of:

Gathering feedback on the outcome of the recommendation.

6. The method of generating recommendations of claim 1, wherein the user may identify users as friends, wherein the method further comprises:

displaying to users options accompanied by a subset of any evaluations made by others the user has identified as the user'"'"'s friends.

7. An electronic system for generating recommendations, wherein a plurality of users provide input to the system, wherein the users serve in at least one of a set of roles comprising:

subject,

suggester, and

evaluator,

wherein a user or automated system process identifies a subject and a decision to be made for that subject for which a recommendation is requested, suggesters provide one or more options in response to the decision, and evaluators rate the proposed options based on the subject'"'"'s viewpoint

wherein the system comprises;

a server memory comprising;

a record of user profile information, and

a record of decisions on behalf of a subject for which suggestions or evaluations are requested

a record of any options proposed by suggesters

a record of any evaluations of the options made by evaluators

a connection for communicating with one or more client devices, wherein the client device may be a computer or mobile device.

a server program wherein the program functions comprise;

syncing data received through the connection with client devices with the server memory

recording new decisions created by users into the record of decisions in the server memory

recording options suggested by users into the record of options proposed by suggesters in the server memory

recording ratings provided by evaluators into the record of evaluations in the server memory

issuing a recommendation based at least in part on evaluator ratings of suggested options.

8. An electronic system for generating recommendations as in claim 7, wherein the subject may perform additional roles in generating the recommendation.

9. An electronic system for generating recommendations as in claim 7, wherein the functions of the server program further comprise:

filtering out any suggested options that are duplicative or inappropriate.

10. The electronic system for generating recommendations as in claim 7, wherein two users may mutually agree to a status of being friends, wherein the server memory further comprises:

a record of any friends identified by users, wherein the program functions of the server program further comprise;

displaying to users options accompanied by a subset of any evaluations made by others the user has identified as the user'"'"'s friends.

11. An electronic system for generating recommendations as in claim 7, wherein the system is in communication with a device by which the subject interacts with the recommendation system, wherein the device contains a means to ascertain the location of the device, wherein the program functions of the server program further comprise:

Gathering information on subject'"'"'s location from the subject'"'"'s device,

and restricting options made available to the subject by suggestors based on proximity to the device location of the subject device, as reported by their device.

12. An electronic system for generating recommendations as in claim 7, wherein the users may identify one or more users as friends, users may classify friends into one or more friend groups, users may opt to make a decision selectively available to members of one or more friend groups identified by the user for suggestions and evaluations, and the server memory further comprises:

a record of any friends identified by users.

13. The electronic system for generating recommendations as in claim 7, wherein the role of suggester is carried out by an automated system process.

14. An electronic system for generating recommendations as in claim 7, wherein the system has a means of communication allowing users serving in one or more roles of a recommendation in progress to engage in conversation, wherein the server memory further comprises a record of any conversations associated with users and combinations of users, wherein when displaying an option to the user, a means is provided for the user to initiate a conversation between users to discuss an option or evaluation, and wherein the content of the option or evaluation to be discussed is embedded within the conversation initiated by users to discuss the option or evaluation.

15. An electronic system for generating recommendations as in claim 7, wherein the evaluators may provide a written evaluation of a proposed suggestion, wherein the server memory further comprises a record of any written evaluations associated with stored suggestions.

16. An electronic system for generating recommendations as in claim 7, wherein the program functions of the server program further comprise:

Storing a list of users received from the subject of a decision who the subject designates as potential evaluators of the decision, and

Restricting the set of evaluators for the decision to a subset of the list designated by the subject.

17. An electronic system for generating recommendations as in claim 7, wherein the server memory further comprises:

a record of options proposed by users in prior decisions,

and wherein the program functions of the server program further comprise;

gathering feedback after a recommendation has been issued about whether the subject acts on the recommendation or their opinion of the recommended option

storing information about the subject'"'"'s feedback in the server memory.

18. An electronic system for generating recommendations as in claim 17, wherein the server program functions further comprise:

weighting the evaluations received by the system before issuing a recommendation, wherein the weighting is accomplished through the use of one or more of a set of criteria, wherein the criteria comprise;

the historical correlation of the evaluator'"'"'s evaluations with the subject'"'"'s evaluations, in prior decisions, for options that the subject also evaluated; and

the historical correlation of the evaluator'"'"'s evaluations of options with the subject'"'"'s feedback, for recommendations that were issued by the system in response to prior decisions by the same subject.

19. An electronic system for generating recommendations as in claim 18 wherein the server program functions further comprise:

Reporting to the subject the relative weightings behind the recommendation.

20. An electronic system for generating recommendations as in claim 17, wherein each option is compared to any other options using an assigned option score, the score being calculated using a nonlinear function with inputs comprising:

the evaluations received in response to the decision; and

the accuracy of the evaluators in prior decisions introduced by the subject of the decision, with accuracy being determined based on information gathered by the system about the outcome of prior decisions for which recommendations have been issued.

21. An electronic system for generating recommendations as in claim 17, wherein the program functions of the server program further comprise:

storing an option score for each option in a decision, wherein an option score determines a probability distribution whose sample space is the set of possible outcomes for the option

storing an evaluator score, one for each subject-evaluator pair, wherein an evaluator score determines a mapping, wherein the mapping maps an evaluator'"'"'s rating of an option to a probability distribution whose sample space is the set of possible outcomes for an option receiving said rating from said evaluator

optimizing a set of option scores and evaluation scores within the collection of scores stored in the system to maximize the consistency between the probability distributions.

22. An electronic system for generating recommendations as in claim 17, wherein a pool of users are available who may potentially serve as suggestors, wherein the system employs one or more factors to designate users from the pool for selection, wherein the factors used to designate users comprise:

the historical correlation of the potential suggester'"'"'s suggestions with the subject'"'"'s evaluations, in prior decisions, for options that the subject also evaluated; and

the historical correlation of the suggester'"'"'s suggestions of options with the subject'"'"'s feedback, for recommendations that were issued by the system in response to prior decisions by the same subject.

23. An electronic system for generating recommendations as in claim 17, wherein a pool of users are available who may potentially serve as evaluators, wherein the system employs one or more factors to designate users from the pool for selection, wherein the factors used to designate users comprise:

the historical correlation of the evaluator'"'"'s evaluations with the subject'"'"'s evaluations, in prior decisions, for options that the subject also evaluated;

and, the historical correlation of the evaluator'"'"'s evaluations of options with the subject'"'"'s feedback, for recommendations that were issued by the system in response to prior decisions by the same subject.

24. An electronic system for generating recommendations as in claim 7, wherein a pool of users are available who may potentially serve as suggestors, wherein the system employs one or more factors to designate users from the pool for selection, wherein the factors used to designate users comprise:

the user'"'"'s prior connection to or knowledge of the subject,

the user'"'"'s prior connection to or knowledge of the decision,

analysis of the user'"'"'s history of promptness in responding to requests for suggestions, and

the likelihood of the user to respond to a request for suggestions based on past user activity.

25. An electronic system for generating recommendations as in claim 7, wherein a pool of users are available who may potentially serve as evaluators, wherein the system employs one or more factors to designate users from the pool for selection, wherein the factors used to designate users comprise:

the user'"'"'s prior connection to or knowledge of the subject,

the user'"'"'s prior connection to or knowledge of the option,

analysis of the user'"'"'s history of promptness in responding to requests for evaluations, and

the likelihood of the user to respond to a request for evaluation based on past user activity.

26. An electronic system for generating recommendations as in claim 7, wherein the decision is directed towards establishing interpersonal connections between individuals or groupings of individuals, wherein the server program functions further comprise:

Providing the subject with a means to contact the recommended individual or grouping of individuals.

27. An electronic system for generating recommendations as in claim 7, wherein the system further comprises:

a client side, wherein the client side comprises;

a client interface

a client memory comprising;

a record of a subset of the server side user profile information created or viewed by the user of the system, and

a record of a subset of the server side record of decisions for which the user of the system is a Subject, Suggester, or Evaluator.

A record of any newly created decisions, suggested options, or evaluations entered by the user into the client interface which are not yet synced with the server memory

a client program having functions comprising;

syncing information stored in the server memory with information stored in the client memory

recording any newly created decisions, options, or evaluations entered by the user through the client interface into the record of newly created decisions in the client memory;

wherein the client side and server side are connected through a connection for communicating with one or more client devices, wherein the client device may be a computer or mobile device.

28. An electronic system for generating recommendations as in claim 27, wherein the client interface includes a slider bar used to evaluate options, wherein the slider can be dragged by the user from one end of the slider to the other or stop at one or more intermediate positions, wherein users serving as evaluators rate options higher or lower by moving the slider bar along the slider.

29. An electronic system for generating recommendations as in claim 28, wherein the slider bar is displayed to users serving as evaluators, and to users viewing the final recommendation.

30. An electronic system for generating recommendations as in claim 29, wherein prior ratings by users serving as evaluators are displayed as markers or indicators on the slider bar on the slider at a point corresponding to the rating.

31. An electronic system for generating recommendations as in claim 27, wherein the client program functions further comprise:

Providing the subject with a link allowing the subject to act on the recommendation.

32. An electronic system for generating recommendations as in claim 27, wherein a product is referenced in an option, wherein the client program functions further comprise:

Providing a user with a link to purchase or use a product referenced in the option.

33. An electronic system for generating recommendations, wherein a plurality of users provide input to the system, wherein the users serve in at least one of a set of roles comprising:

subject,

suggester, and

evaluator,

wherein a user or computer identifies a subject and a decision to be made for which a recommendation is requested, suggesters provide one or more options in response to the decision, and evaluators rate the proposed options based on the subject'"'"'s viewpoint wherein the system is distributed between one or more electronic devices, wherein the system comprises;

a memory comprising;

a record of user profile information, and

a record of decisions for which subjects have requested suggestions or evaluations

a record of any options proposed by suggesters

a record of any evaluations of the options made by evaluators

a set of program functions comprising;

syncing data between the electronic devices of the system

recording new decisions created by users into the record of decisions

recording options suggested by users into the record of options proposed by suggesters in the server memory

recording ratings provided by evaluators into the record of evaluations

issuing a recommendation based at least in part on evaluator ratings of suggested options

a client interface allowing client interaction with the system.

34. The electronic system for generating recommendations as in claim 33 wherein the set of program functions further comprises:

Providing the subject with a link allowing the subject to act on the recommendation.

35. The electronic system for generating recommendations as in claim 33 wherein two users may mutually agree to a status of being friends, wherein the memory further comprises:

a record of any friends identified by users, wherein the set of program functions further comprises;

displaying to users options accompanied by a subset of any evaluations made by others the user has identified as the user'"'"'s friends.

36. The electronic system for generating recommendations as in claim 33, wherein the role of suggester is carried out by an automated system process.

37. An electronic system for generating recommendations as in claim 33, wherein the memory further comprises:

a record of options proposed by users in prior decisions,

and wherein the set of program functions further comprises;

gathering feedback after a recommendation has been issued about whether the subject acts on the recommendation or their opinion of the recommended option

storing information about the subject'"'"'s feedback in the server memory.

38. An electronic system for generating recommendations as in claim 37, wherein the program functions further comprise:

weighting the evaluations received by the system before issuing a recommendation, wherein the weighting is accomplished through the use of one or more of a set of criteria, wherein the criteria comprise;

the historical correlation of the evaluator'"'"'s evaluations with the subject'"'"'s evaluations, in prior decisions, for options that the subject also evaluated; and

the historical correlation of the evaluator'"'"'s evaluations of options with the subject'"'"'s feedback, for recommendations that were issued by the system in response to prior decisions by the same subject.