Recommending contacts in a social network

• US 7,596,597 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2006
• Issued: 09/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Liu, Dafan, Ma, Wei-Ying, Chen, Hua
• Primary Examiner(s): Srivastava; Vivek
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHOUDHURY, AZIZUL Q
• Application Number:
  US11/468,863
• Publication Number:
  US 20080059576A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,125 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24575 using context
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24578 using ranking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles

Abstract

A method and system for recommending potential contacts to a target user is provided. A recommendation system identifies users who are related to the target user through no more than a maximum degree of separation. The recommendation system identifies the users by starting with the contacts of the target user and identifying users who are contacts of the target user'"'"'s contacts, contacts of those contacts, and so on. The recommendation system then ranks the identified users, who are potential contacts for the target user, based on a likelihood that the target user will want to have a direct relationship with the identified users. The recommendation system then presents to the target user a ranking of the users who have not been filtered out.

Claims

1. A computer-readable storage medium containing instructions for controlling a computing system to identify potential contacts for a target user, by a method comprising:

identifying from a contact list of the target user contact paths from the target user to other users that are within a maximum contact path length;

ranking the other users on the identified contact paths based in part on a score generated by the following;

2. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein the identifying of contact paths traverses a social network formed by the contact lists of other users starting at the contact list of the target user.

3. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein the ranking of other users generates a recommendation score for another user by aggregating a path score for each contact path from the target user to the other user.

4. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein the recommendation criterion is that another user is not in the contact list of the target user and that there are multiple contact paths between the target user and the user.

5. A method performed by a computing device to identify potential contacts for a target user, the method comprising:

identifying by the computing device from a contact list of the target user contact paths from the target user to other users that are within a maximum contact path length;

ranking by the computing device the other users on the identified contact paths based in part on a score generated by the following;

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the identifying of contact paths traverses a social network formed by the contact lists of other users starting at the contact list of the target user.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the ranking of other users generates a recommendation score for another user by aggregating a path score for each contact path from the target user to the other user.

8. The method of claim 5 wherein the recommendation criterion is that another user is not in the contact list of the target user and that there are multiple contact paths between the target user and the user.

9. A computing device for identifying potential contacts for a target user, comprising:

a memory storing computer-executable instructions for

identifying by the computing device from a contact list of the target user contact paths from the target user to other users that are within a maximum contact path length;

ranking by the computing device the other users on the identified contact paths based in part on a score generated by the following;

10. The computing device of claim 9 wherein the identifying of contact paths traverses a social network formed by the contact lists of other users starting at the contact list of the target user.

11. The computing device of claim 9 wherein the ranking of other users generates a recommendation score for another user by aggregating a path score for each contact path from the target user to the other user.

12. The computing device of claim 9 wherein the recommendation criterion is that another user is not in the contact list of the target user and that there are multiple contact paths between the target user and the user.