Adaptive social and process network systems

• US 7,526,459 B2
• Filed: 05/22/2006
• Issued: 04/28/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: World Assets Consulting AG LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Manyworlds Incorporated
• Inventors: Flinn, Steven Dennis, Moneypenny, Naomi Felina
• Primary Examiner(s): Holmes, Michael B
• Application Number:
  US11/419,563
• Publication Number:
  US 20060200434A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,072 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 706/12
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 20/00 Machine learning
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/048 Fuzzy inferencing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement

Abstract

An adaptive system applied to social network and process network applications is disclosed. These adaptive social networking and tagging systems, and adaptive process network systems, apply algorithms for monitoring user usage behaviors across a plurality of usage behavior categories associated with a computer-based system, and generating recommendations based on inferences on user preferences and interests based, at least in part, on usage behaviors. Additional functions for effectively and efficiently managing social and process networks, such as social network measurement and analysis features, community tagging functions, and process network recombination functions are also described.

Claims

1. An adaptive social network system, comprising:

a computer-implemented structural aspect comprising a plurality of objects and at least one relationship between a first object and a second object;

a representation of one or more users of the system as one or more objects of the plurality of objects;

a usage aspect, comprising captured usage behaviors, wherein the usage behaviors are associated with one or more users;

a function to determine an affinity between a first user represented as an object and a second user represented as an object of the plurality of objects based, at least in part, on inferred interests derived from the e plurality of usage behaviors associated with the one or more users; and

a function to generate a user accessible social network representation, wherein the social network representation comprises a plurality of users represented as objects and the affinity between the representation of a first user as an object and the representation of a second user as an object.

2. The adaptive social network system of claim 1, the usage aspect further comprising one or more usage behaviors, wherein each usage behavior is associated with either a user, one or more user communities, or a user and one or more user communities simultaneously, wherein the user comprises a single-member subset of the one or more users and a community of the one or more user communities comprises a multiple-member subset of the one or more users.

3. The adaptive social network system of claim 1, the usage behaviors further comprising private behaviors and non-private behaviors.

4. The adaptive social network system of claim 1, further comprising a privacy control, the privacy control enabling a user of the one or more users to restrict usage behaviors associated with the user from being deemed non-private behaviors.

5. The adaptive social network system of claim 1, wherein a function to determine an affinity between a first user represented as an object and a second user represented as an object of the plurality of objects based, at least in part, on inferred interests derived from the plurality of usage behaviors associated with the one or more users comprises:

means to apply usage behavior categories, wherein the usage behavior categories are selected from a group consisting of navigation and access patterns, collaborative patterns, direct feedback patterns, subscription patterns, self-profiling patterns, reference patterns, physical location patterns, and usage temporal patterns.

6. The adaptive social network system of claim 1, wherein a function to determine an affinity between a first user represented as an object and a second user represented as an object of the plurality of objects based, at least in part, on inferred interests derived from the a plurality of usage behaviors associated with the one or more users comprises:

a function that infers user preferences from usage behaviors.

7. The adaptive social network system of claim 6, wherein a function that infers user preferences from usage behaviors comprises:

an algorithm that prioritizes application of usage patterns associated with a plurality of usage behavior categories.

8. The adaptive social network system of claim 1, wherein a function to determine an affinity between a first user represented as an object and a second user represented as an object of the plurality of objects based, at least in part, on inferred interests derived from the plurality of usage behaviors associated with the one or more users comprises:

a compensatory algorithm associated with the detection of apparent insincere system usage behaviors or other inferred “

gaming”

behaviors by the one or more users.

9. The adaptive social network system of claim 1, wherein a function to determine an affinity between a first user represented as an object and a second user represented as an object of the plurality of objects based, at least in part, on inferred interests derived from the plurality of usage behaviors associated with the one or more users comprises:

an algorithm that applies pattern matching of information embodied in the objects of the structural aspect to produce content interpretation patterns, and associates the content interpretation patterns with usage patterns.

10. The adaptive social network system of claim 1, wherein a function to generate a user accessible social network representation, wherein the social network representation comprises a plurality of users represented as objects and the affinity between the representation of a first user as an object and the representation of a second user as an object comprises:

a function to deliver a social network representation to a user.

11. The adaptive social network system of claim 1, wherein a function to generate a user accessible social network representation, wherein the social network representation comprises a plurality of users represented as objects and the affinity between the representation of a first user as an object and the representation of a second user as an object comprises:

a function to deliver a metric associated with a social network representation.

12. The adaptive social network system of claim 1, wherein a function to generate a user accessible social network representation, wherein the social network representation comprises a plurality of users represented as objects and the affinity between the representation of a first user as an object and the representation of a second user as an object comprises:

a function that automatically modifies a structural element, wherein the function that automatically modifies a structural element is selected from the group consisting of a function to generate a new relationship, a function to modify an existing relationship, a function to delete an existing relationship, a function to add an object, a function to modify an object, and a function to delete an object.

13. An adaptive social tagging system, comprising:

a computer-implemented structural aspect comprising a plurality of objects, and at least one relationship between a first object and a second object;

a usage aspect, comprising captured usage behaviors, wherein the usage behaviors are associated with one or more users and wherein at least one behavior is associated with a user tagging an object; and

a function to generate an adaptive recommendation for delivery to a user based, at least in part, on inferring interests from a plurality of the usage behaviors associated with the one or more users, wherein at least one usage behavior is associated with a user tagging an object.

14. The adaptive social tagging system of claim 13, wherein a computer-implemented structural aspect comprising a plurality of objects, and at least one relationship between a first object and a second object comprises:

a fuzzy network structure, wherein the fuzzy network structure comprises a plurality of objects, wherein two objects of the plurality of objects have one or more relationships types, and one or more relationships associated with each relationship type, each relationship being uni-directional or bi-directional, and each direction of each relationship has an associated relationship indicator, wherein the relationship indicators associated with each direction are not necessarily the same magnitude.

15. The adaptive social tagging system of claim 13, the usage aspect further comprising one or more usage behaviors, wherein each usage behavior is associated with either a user, one or more user communities, or a user and one or more user communities simultaneously, wherein the user comprises a single-member subset of the one or more users and a community of the one or more user communities comprises a multiple-member subset of the one or more users.

16. The adaptive social tagging system of claim 13, wherein a function to generate an adaptive recommendation for delivery to a user based, at least in part, on inferring interests from a plurality of the usage behaviors associated with the one or more users, wherein at least one usage behavior is associated with a user tagging an object comprises:

a function to generate an adaptive recommendation in response to a request by a user.

17. The adaptive social tagging system of claim 13, wherein a function to generate an adaptive recommendation for delivery to a user based, at least in part, on inferring interests from a plurality of the usage behaviors associated with the one or more users, wherein at least one usage behavior is associated with a user tagging an object comprises:

a function that automatically modifies a structural element, wherein the function that automatically modifies a structural element is selected from the group consisting of a function to generate a new relationship, a function to modify an existing relationship, a function to delete an existing relationship, a function to add an object, a function to modify an object, and a function to delete an object.

18. An adaptive process network system, comprising:

a computer-implemented structural aspect comprising a fuzzy network structure, wherein the fuzzy network structure comprises a plurality of objects, wherein two objects of the plurality of objects have one or more relationships types, and one or more relationships associated with each relationship type, each relationship being uni-directional or bi-directional, and each direction of each relationship has an associated relationship indicator, wherein the relationship indicators associated with each direction are not necessarily the same magnitude;

a relationship representing a process sequence between a first object and a second object of the plurality of objects;

a usage aspect, comprising captured usage behaviors, wherein the usage behaviors are associated with one or more users; and

a function to enable users to navigate the process network wherein the navigation function is based, at least in part, on inferring preferences derived from a plurality of the usage behaviors.

19. The adaptive process network system of claim 18, wherein a function to enable users to navigate the process network wherein the navigation function is based, at least in part, on inferring preferences derived from a plurality of the usage behaviors comprises:

a function to generate an adaptive recommendation based, at least in part, on a plurality of usage behaviors associated with the one or more users corresponding to a plurality of usage behavior categories.

20. The adaptive process network system of claim 18, further comprising:

a function to combine a plurality of process networks.