Viral engine for network deployment

• US 7,389,324 B2
• Filed: 11/07/2003
• Issued: 06/17/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Plaxo Incorporated (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Plaxo Incorporated (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Masonis, John T., Ring, Cameron T., Carey, Richard J., Parker, Sean
• Primary Examiner(s): Lin; Kenny S
• Assistant Examiner(s): Belani; Kishin G
• Application Number:
  US10/703,337
• Publication Number:
  US 20060080284A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,684 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/204, 707/1, 707/10, 707/204, 705/8
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6245 Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/185 with management of multicast group membership
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/62 Establishing a time schedule for servicing the requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

A private network system operates over a public network to provide an asymmetric service to members with information from other members and non-members. The system includes central servers and databases connected via the public network to client systems of public network users. The users may be members who communicate with a private protocol or non-members who communicate with the public protocol. A process for the private service includes communication of information between users via the private service servers. The private service server implements the private service, which includes a viral engine for network deployment. Features of the viral engine include genetic algorithms, data mining, personalization, frictionless service setup, user maximization, and member-controlled privacy. A sample setup process and contact update wizard that include several viral engine features are described.

Claims

1. A viral engine for implementing features to rapidly deploy a member based private network over a public network of users by providing a data sharing service for members of the private network configurable to receive data from non-members of the private network, the viral engine comprising:

a service messaging module coupled to the public network for composing and transmitting service messages to members and non-members of the private network;

a data-mining module communicatively coupled to a data storage of member'"'"'s communication records for reviewing the member'"'"'s communication records and implementing data mining algorithms to derive non-member information and to identify in the communication records non-members who have communicated with the member but are not included in a contact list for the member, this identification usable for transmitting service messages bearing private network membership information to the identified non-members;

a personalization module communicatively coupled to the service messaging module for receiving member input and composing service related messages bearing personalized invitations to join the private network, the service related messages for transmission to non-members over the public network as part of the service; and

a genetic algorithm module communicatively coupled to the service messaging module and the public network, the genetic algorithm module configured to collect data for statistical analysis of whether a non-member will become a member responsive to a plurality of versions of service messages and versions of graphical user interfaces, and to apply conversion rate related statistics in selecting aesthetic related features for generating new versions of service messages and new versions of graphical user interfaces for transmission over the public network to non-members.

2. The viral engine of claim 1, wherein the non-member information derived by the data-mining module includes a unique identifier usable to address communications over the public network to a non-member uniquely identified by the unique identifier.

3. The viral engine of claim 2, wherein the unique identifier is one of an electronic mail address, a wireless telephone number, or an instant messaging user identification.

4. The viral engine of claim 1, wherein the non-member information derived by the data-mining module includes a measure of a relationship between the member and the non-member.

5. The viral engine of claim 4, wherein the measure of the relationship between the member and the non-member includes a frequency of communication configurable to be graphically displayed as a frequency bar.

6. The viral engine of claim 1, wherein the data-mining algorithms include at least one of a natural language processing algorithm and a heuristic algorithm.

7. The viral engine of claim 1, further comprising a scheduling module coupled to the service messaging module for scheduling subsequent transmissions of a service message to a first non-member in response to a failure to receive a first member'"'"'s service response communication.

8. A computer-implemented method for implementing features to rapidly deploy a member based private network over a public network of users by providing a data sharing service for members of the private network configurable to receive data from non-members of the private network, the method comprising:

composing and transmitting service messages using a public network to members and non-members of the private network;

reviewing communication records of a member, the communication records stored in a data storage and implementing data mining algorithms to derive non-member information and to identify in the communication records non-members who have communicated with the member but are not included in a contact list for the member, this identification usable for transmitting service messages bearing private network membership information to the identified non-members;

receiving member input and composing service related messages bearing personalized invitations to join the private network, the service related messages for transmission to non-members over the public network as part of the service; and

collecting data using the public network for statistical analysis of whether a non-member will become a member responsive to a plurality of versions of service messages and versions of graphical user interfaces, and to apply conversion rate related statistics in selecting aesthetic related features for generating new versions of service messages and new versions of graphical user interfaces for transmission over the public network to non-members.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein implementing data mining algorithms to derive non-member information further comprises deriving a unique identifier usable to address communications over the public network to a non-member uniquely identified by the unique identifier.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the unique identifier is one of an electronic mail address, a wireless telephone number, or an instant messaging user identification.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein implementing data mining algorithms to derive non-member information further comprises deriving a measure of a relationship between the member and the non-member.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the measure of the relationship between the member and the non-member includes a frequency of communication configurable to be graphically displayed as a frequency bar.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the data-mining algorithms include at least one of a natural language processing algorithm and a heuristic algorithm.

14. The method of claim 8, further comprising scheduling subsequent transmissions of a service message to a first non-member in response to a failure to receive a first member'"'"'s service response communication.

15. A computer program product for implementing features to rapidly deploy a member based private network over a public network of users by providing a data sharing service for members of the private network configurable to receive data from non-members of the private network, the computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium containing computer program code for performing the method comprising:

composing and transmitting service messages using a public network to members and non-members of the private network;

reviewing communication records of a member, the communication records stored in a data storage and implementing data mining algorithms to derive non-member information and to identify in the communication records non-members who have communicated with the member but are not included in a contact list for the member, this identification usable for transmitting service messages bearing private network membership information to the identified non-members;

receiving member input and composing service related messages bearing personalized invitations to join the private network, the service related messages for transmission to non-members over the public network as part of the service; and

collecting data using the public network for statistical analysis of whether a non-member will become a member responsive to a plurality of versions of service messages and versions of graphical user interfaces, and to apply conversion rate related statistics in selecting aesthetic related features for generating new versions of service messages and new versions of graphical user interfaces for transmission over the public network to non-members.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein implementing data mining algorithms to derive non-member information further comprises deriving a unique identifier usable to address communications over the public network to a non-member uniquely identified by the unique identifier.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the unique identifier is one of an electronic mail address, a wireless telephone number, or an instant messaging user identification.

18. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein implementing data mining algorithms to derive non-member information further comprises deriving a measure of a relationship between the member and the non-member.

19. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the measure of the relationship between the member and the non-member includes a frequency of communication configurable to be graphically displayed as a frequency bar.

20. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the data-mining algorithms include at least one of a natural language processing algorithm and a heuristic algorithm.

21. The computer program product of claim 15, further comprising scheduling subsequent transmissions of a service message to a first non-member in response to a failure to receive a first member'"'"'s service response communication.