Location ranking using social graph information

• US 8,438,156 B2
• Filed: 03/30/2012
• Issued: 05/07/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/18/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Redstone, Joshua, Narayanan, Srinivasa P., Sharon, Eyal Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, HUNG D
• Application Number:
  US13/436,453
• Publication Number:
  US 20120190387A1
• Time in Patent Office: 403 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/724
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/045 for graphical visualisation of monitoring data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications

Abstract

In one embodiment, a user of a social networking system requests to check in a place near the user'"'"'s current location. The social networking system generates a list of places near the user'"'"'s current location, ranks the places in the list of places near the user'"'"'s current location by a distance between each place and the user'"'"'s current location, as well as activity of the user and the user'"'"'s social contacts for each place, and returns the ranked list to the user.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

by one or more computing devices, receiving a request comprising an identifier for a first user of a social-networking system and a geographic location;

by the one or more computing devices, identifying one or more places in a vicinity of the geographic location;

by the one or more computing devices, accessing for each place one or more location-based user-activity data items, wherein a location-based user-activity data item is based on a check-in by a user, a check-in by another user connected in the social-networking system to the user, or a global check-in by a global set of users, at least one location-based user-activity data item being based at least in part on one or more activities of one or more second users connected in the social-networking system to the first user;

by the one or more computing devices, determining a ranking score for each place the ranking score for a place being based in part on a distance from the geographic location and the accessed location-based user-activity data items of second users connected in the social-networking system to the first user; and

by the one or more computing devices, sending, based on the ranking scores for the places, information associated with at least one of the places.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a location-based user-activity data item is based on a count of users that have been tagged in connection with a check-in.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein a user that has been tagged in connection with the check-in is included in the count only if the user approves or acknowledges the check-in.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein a location-based user-activity data item is based on an indicated affinity of a second user with the geographic location.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the indicated affinity of the second user with the geographic location comprises an indication by the second user that the second user likes the geographic location.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the indicated affinity of the second user with the geographic location comprises a comment posted by the second user on a web page associated with the geographic location.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the geographic location is identified by a name, a description, a category, a tag, location information, or any combination thereof.

8. One or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media embodying software that is operable when executed to:

receive a request comprising an identifier for a first user of a social-networking system and a geographic location;

identify one or more places in a vicinity of the geographic location;

access for each place one or more location-based user-activity data items, wherein a location-based user-activity data item is based on a check-in by a user, a check-in by another user connected in the social-networking system to the user, or a global check-in by a global set of users, at least one location-based user-activity data item being based at least in part on one or more activities of one or more second users connected in the social-networking system to the first user;

determine a ranking score for each place, the ranking score for a place being based in part on a distance from the geographic location and the accessed location-based user-activity data items of second users connected in the social-networking system to the first user; and

send, based on the ranking scores for the places, information associated with at least one of the places.

9. The media of claim 8, wherein a location-based user-activity data item is based on a count of users that have been tagged in connection with a check-in.

10. The media of claim 9, wherein a user that has been tagged in connection with the check-in is included in the count only if the user approves or acknowledges the check-in.

11. The media of claim 8, wherein a location-based user-activity data item is based on an indicated affinity of a second user with the geographic location.

12. The media of claim 11, wherein the indicated affinity of the second user with the geographic location comprises an indication by the second user that the second user likes the geographic location.

13. The media of claim 11, wherein the indicated affinity of the second user with the geographic location comprises a comment posted by the second user on a web page associated with the geographic location.

14. The media of claim 8, wherein the geographic location is identified by a name, a description, a category, a tag, location information, or any combination thereof.

15. A system comprising:

one or more processors; and

a memory coupled to the processors comprising instructions executable by the processors, the processors being operable when executing the instructions to;

receive a request comprising an identifier for a first user of a social-networking system and a geographic location;

identify one or more places in a vicinity of the geographic location;

access for each place one or more location-based user-activity data items, wherein a location-based user-activity data item is based on a check-in by a user, a check-in by another user connected in the social-networking system to the user, or a global check-in by a global set of users, at least one location-based user-activity data item being based at least in part on one or more activities of one or more second users connected in the social-networking system to the first user;

determine a ranking score for each place, the ranking score for a place being based in part on a distance from the geographic location and the accessed location-based user-activity data items of second users connected in the social-networking system to the first user; and

send, based on the ranking scores for the places, information associated with at least one of the places.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein a location-based user-activity data item is based on a count of users that have been tagged in connection with a check-in.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein a user that has been tagged in connection with the check-in is included in the count only if the user approves or acknowledges the check-in.