Method, medium, and system for adjusting a selectable element based on social networking usage

• US 8,355,955 B1
• Filed: 08/30/2010
• Issued: 01/15/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Mirchandani, Jeetendra, Hegde, Vinayak R., Sultania, Sumit Kumar
• Primary Examiner(s): ZIMMERMAN, MATTHEW E
• Application Number:
  US12/871,733
• Time in Patent Office: 869 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26.1, 705/26.7, 705/27.1, 705/319
• US Class Current: 705/26.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/955 using information identifiers, e.g. uniform resource locators [URL]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0631 Item recommendations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0643 Graphical representation of items or shoppers
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed that use social networking profiles of users to generate personalized content of display pages. The personalized content may be generated using profile data retrieved via an application program interface of a social networking system, and may be presented on the display pages of a distinct system, such as a site that hosts an electronic catalog of items. The personalized content may include features that allow a user to indicate a like or preference for an item and that can be customized based on, e.g., the extent of the user'"'"'s social network or the influence the user has over other potential users of the catalog system. Systems and methods are also disclosed that use the social networking profiles to generate personalized messages that can be posted to social network contacts of the user to provide information about items for which the contacts may be interested.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of generating a personalized display page, the method comprising:

assigning at least one of a default position or a default size to a user-selectable feature to be displayed on a plurality of display pages, wherein the user-selectable feature is configured to share an opinion of a user regarding an item advertised on a display page from the plurality of display pages with a plurality of social networking contacts of the user when the user-selectable feature is selected by the user;

confirming that the user of a catalog system has authorized access by the catalog system to a social networking system;

retrieving, from the social networking system, social networking information that identifies the plurality of social networking contacts of the user;

determining, based at least in part on the retrieved social networking information, a social networking usage by the user by at least calculating a number of times the user has created a comment or a post on the social networking system;

based at least in part on the determination, changing at least one of the default position to a new position or the default size to a new size;

outputting the display page for the item for presentation to the user, wherein the display page includes the user-selectable feature according to the at least one of the new position or the new size;

outputting the display page for the item for presentation to a second user, the second user different from the first user, wherein the display page includes the user-selectable feature according to the at least one of the default position or the default size; and

wherein the method is performed in its entirety by a computer system comprising one or more machines.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the social networking usage by the user further comprises determining information about one or more of:

(1) a total number of the plurality of social networking contacts of the user, (2) an amount of interaction on the social networking system among the user and the plurality of social networking contacts, or (3) an amount of activity by the user on the social networking system.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the social networking usage by the user comprises determining an influence of the user with respect to items or categories of items available from the catalog system.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein determining the influence of the user comprises determining information about one or more of:

(1) a number of times the user communicates information about an item or a category of items, (2) whether the user is first in the plurality of social networking contacts of the user to communicate information about the item or the category of items, (3) whether information about the item or the category of items communicated by the user has been indicated to be helpful to at least one other user, (4) interaction among the plurality of social networking contacts of the user with respect to the user'"'"'s communication of information about the item or the category of items, (5) traffic to a detail page for the items or categories of items available from the catalog system, an amount of traffic generated by the user'"'"'s communication of information about the item or the category of items, or (6) a number or a cash value of selections by customers of the items or categories of items available from the catalog system, wherein the selections were based on the user'"'"'s communication of information about the item or the category of items.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein outputting the display page for the item for presentation to the user further comprises emphasizing an appearance of the user-selectable feature, based at least in part on the social networking usage, relative to a default appearance of the user-selectable feature, the default appearance including at least one of the default position or the default size of the user-selectable feature.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein outputting the display page for the item for presentation to the user comprises:

determining a social networking score for the user-selectable feature;

determining a page feature score for at least one other feature that may be presented on the display page, the page feature score representative of potential revenue that may be produced if the at least one other feature is presented on the display page; and

customizing the user-selectable feature based at least in part on a comparison of the social networking score and the page feature score.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the user-selectable feature further comprises functionality to allow the user to comment about the item that can be communicated to the social networking system.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

for at least a first contact of the plurality of social networking contacts, determining that the first contact is also a user of the catalog system;

retrieving behavioral information for the user and at least the first contact, the behavioral information indicating an item selection history of catalog items available from the catalog system; and

estimating, based at least in part on the retrieved behavioral information, a potential for the plurality of social networking contacts to make selections from the catalog system,

wherein changing the at least one of the default position to a new position or the default size to a new size is further based at least in part on the potential for the plurality of social networking contacts to make selections from the catalog system.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein estimating the potential for the plurality of social networking contacts to make selections from the catalog system comprises determining information about one or more of:

(1) how many of the plurality of social networking contacts are also users of the catalog system or (2) how recently or how frequently the plurality of social networking contacts who are also users of the catalog system have selected items from the catalog system or viewed display pages presented by the catalog system.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the user-selectable feature further comprises information related to at least the first contact of the plurality of social networking contacts.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the information relates to whether the first contact has indicated a preference for the item.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the information relates to an item recommendation for the first contact.

13. A system configured to generate a personalized display page, the system comprising:

one or more physical processors in communication with physical data storage, the one or more processors configured to;

assign at least one of a default position or a default size to a user-selectable feature to be displayed on a plurality of display pages, wherein the user-selectable feature is configured to share an opinion of a user regarding an item advertised on a display page from the plurality of display pages with a plurality of social networking contacts of the user when the user-selectable feature is selected by the user;

confirm that the user of a catalog system has authorized access by the catalog system to a social networking system;

retrieve, from the social networking system, social networking information that identifies the plurality of social networking contacts of the user;

determine, based at least in part on the retrieved social networking information, a social networking usage by the user by at least calculating a number of times the user has created a comment or a post on the social networking system;

based at least in part on the determination, change at least one of the default position to a new position or the default size to a new size;

output the display page for the item for presentation to the user, wherein the display page includes the user-selectable feature according to the at least one of the new position or the new size; and

output the display page for the item for presentation to a second user, the second user different from the first user, wherein the display page includes the user-selectable feature according to the at least one of the default position or the default size.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein to determine the social networking usage by the user, the system is further configured to determine information about one or more of:

(1) a total number the plurality of social networking contacts of the user, (2) an amount of interaction on the social networking system among the user and the plurality of social networking contacts, or (3) an amount of activity by the user on the social networking system.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein to determine the social networking usage by the user, the system is further configured to determine an influence of the user with respect to items or categories of items available from the catalog system.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein to determine the influence of the user, the system is further configured to determine information about one or more of:

(1) a number of times the user communicates information about an item or a category of items, (2) whether the user is first in the plurality of social networking contacts of the user to communicate information about the item or the category of items, (3) whether information about the item or the category of items communicated by the user has been indicated to be helpful to at least one other user, (4) interaction among the plurality of social networking contacts of the user with respect to the user'"'"'s communication of information about the item or the category of items, (5) traffic to a detail page for the items or categories of items available from the catalog system, an amount of traffic generated by the user'"'"'s communication of information about the item or the category of items, or (6) a number or a cash value of selections by customers of the items or categories of items available from the catalog system, wherein the selections were based on the user'"'"'s communication of information about the item or the category of items.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein to output the display page for the item for presentation to the user, the system is further configured to emphasize an appearance of the user-selectable feature, based at least in part on the social networking usage, relative to a default appearance of the user-selectable feature, the default appearance including at least one of the default position or the default size of the user-selectable feature.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein to output the display page for the item for presentation to the user, the system is further configured to:

determine a social networking score for the user-selectable feature;

determine a page feature score for at least one other feature that may be presented on the display page, the page feature score representative of potential revenue that may be produced if the at least one other feature is presented on the display page; and

customize the user-selectable feature based at least in part on a comparison of the social networking score and the page feature score.

19. The system of claim 13, wherein the user-selectable feature further comprises functionality to allow the user to comment about the item that can be communicated to the social networking system.

20. The system of claim 13, further configured to:

for at least a first contact of the plurality of social networking contacts, determine that the first contact is also a user of the catalog system;

retrieve behavioral information for the user and at least the first contact, the behavioral information indicating an item selection history of catalog items available from the catalog system; and

estimate, based at least in part on the retrieved behavioral information, a potential for the plurality of social networking contacts to make selections from the catalog system,

wherein the system is configured to change the at least one of the default position to a new position or the default size to a new size based at least in part on the potential for the plurality of social networking contacts to make selections from the catalog system.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein to estimate the potential for the plurality of social networking contacts to make selections from the catalog system, the system is configured to determine information about one or more of:

(1) how many of the plurality of social networking contacts are also users of the catalog system or (2) how recently or how frequently the plurality of social networking contacts who are also users of the catalog system have selected items from the catalog system or viewed display pages presented by the catalog system.

22. The system of claim 20, wherein the user-selectable feature further comprises information related to at least the first contact of the plurality of social networking contacts.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the information relates to whether the first contact has indicated a preference for the item.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein the information relates to an item recommendation for the first contact.

25. Non-transitory computer storage having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by a computer system having computer storage, cause the computer system to perform a method of generating a personalized display page, the method comprising:

assigning at least one of a default position or a default size to a user-selectable feature to be displayed on a plurality of display pages, wherein the user-selectable feature is configured to share an opinion of a user regarding an item advertised on a display page from the plurality of display pages with a plurality of social networking contacts of the user when the user-selectable feature is selected by the user;

confirming that the user of a catalog system has authorized access by the catalog system to a social networking system;

retrieving, from the social networking system, social networking information that identifies the plurality of social networking contacts of the user;

determining, based at least in part on the retrieved social networking information, a social networking usage by the user by at least calculating a number of times the user has created a comment or a post on the social networking system;

based at least in part on the determination, changing at least one of the default position to a new position or the default size to a new size;

outputting the display page for the item for presentation to the user, wherein the display page includes the user-selectable feature according to the at least one of the new position or the new size;

outputting the display page for the item for presentation to a second user, the second user different from the first user, wherein the display page includes the user-selectable feature according to the at least one of the default position or the default size; and

wherein the method is performed in its entirety by a computer system comprising one or more machines.

26. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 25, wherein determining the social networking usage by the user further comprises determining information about one or more of:

(1) a total number of the plurality social networking contacts of the user, (2) an amount of interaction on the social networking system among the user and the plurality of social networking contacts, or (3) an amount of activity by the user on the social networking system.

27. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 25, wherein determining the social networking usage by the user comprises determining an influence of the user with respect to items or categories of items available from the catalog system.

28. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 27, wherein determining influence of the user comprises determining information about one or more of:

(1) a number of times the user communicates information about an item or a category of items, (2) whether the user is first in the plurality of social networking contacts of the user to communicate information about the item or the category of items, (3) whether information about the item or the category of items communicated by the user has been indicated to be helpful to at least one other user, (4) interaction among the plurality of social networking contacts of the user with respect to the user'"'"'s communication of information about the item or the category of items, (5) traffic to a detail page for the items or categories of items available from the catalog system, an amount of traffic generated by the user'"'"'s communication of information about the item or the category of items, or (6) a number or a cash value of selections by customers of the items or categories of items available from the catalog system, wherein the selections were based on the user'"'"'s communication of information about the item or the category of items.

29. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 25, wherein outputting the display page for the item for presentation to the user further comprises emphasizing an appearance of the user-selectable feature, based at least in part on the social networking usage, relative to a default appearance of the user-selectable feature, the default appearance including at least one of the default position or the default size of the user-selectable feature.

30. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 25, wherein outputting the display page for the item for presentation to the user comprises:

determining a social networking score for the user-selectable feature;

determining a page feature score for at least one other feature that may be presented on the display page, the page feature score representative of potential revenue that may be produced if the at least one other feature is presented on the display page; and

customizing the user-selectable feature based at least in part on a comparison of the social networking score and the page feature score.

31. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 25, wherein the user-selectable feature further comprises functionality to allow the user to comment about the item that can be communicated to the social networking system.

32. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 25, further comprising:

for at least a first contact of the plurality of social networking contacts, determining that the first contact is also a user of the catalog system;

retrieving behavioral information for the user and at least the first contact, the behavioral information indicating an item selection history of catalog items available from the catalog system; and

estimating, based at least in part on the retrieved behavioral information, a potential for the plurality of social networking contacts to make selections from the catalog system,

wherein changing the at least one of the default position to a new position or the default size to a new size is further based at least in part on the potential for the plurality of social networking contacts to make selections from the catalog system.

33. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 32, wherein estimating the potential for the plurality of social networking contacts to make selections from the catalog system comprises determining information about one or more of:

(1) how many of the plurality of social networking contacts are also users of the catalog system or (2) how recently or how frequently the plurality of social networking contacts who are also users of the catalog system have selected items from the catalog system or viewed display pages presented by the catalog system.

34. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 32, wherein the user-selectable feature further comprises information related to at least the first contact of the plurality of social networking contacts.

35. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 34, wherein the information relates to whether the first contact has indicated a preference for the item.

36. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 34, wherein the information relates to an item recommendation for the first contact.