Visibility inspector in social networks

• US 8,676,892 B2
• Filed: 06/20/2011
• Issued: 03/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Su, Ray Jiunn-An, Terleski, Jonathan, Smarr, Joseph, Ben-Yair, Shimrit
• Primary Examiner(s): Donabed, Ninos
• Application Number:
  US13/164,519
• Publication Number:
  US 20120110088A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,002 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1044 Group management mechanisms management of multicast group membership H04L12/185; reconfiguring of node membership in a computing system to eliminate errors G06F11/1425
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for transmitting a content data set to a computing device for displaying content to a non-author user, receiving user input from the non-author user, the user input corresponding to the content, and, in response to receiving the user input, transmitting first data and second data to the computing device for display to the non-author user, the first data comprising a number of contacts associated with an author user, the author user having authored the content, the second data being a sub-set of the first data and comprising a number of contacts associated with the non-author user.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

one or more computing devices; and

one or more computer-readable media coupled to the one or more computing devices and having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the one or more computing devices, cause the one or more computing devices to perform operations comprising;

transmitting a content data set to a computing device for displaying a post to a non-author user in a stream page of a social networking service, the post including a privacy setting that is displayed with the post;

receiving user input from the non-author user, the user input being associated with the privacy setting;

in response to receiving the user input;

identifying a distribution of the post, the distribution including one or more first contacts that have access to the post and are associated with an author of the post, the one or more first contacts including the non-author user;

identifying one or more second contacts associated with the non-author user;

comparing, for each second contact of the one or more second contacts, the second contact with each of the first contacts;

based on the comparing, identifying one or more overlapping contacts;

transmitting first data and second data to the computing device for display to the non-author user, the first data comprising a number of the one or more first contacts associated with the author user, the author user having authored the content, the second data being a sub-set of the first data and comprising a number of the one or more overlapping contacts associated with the non-author user that are also included in the distribution of the first contacts;

receiving first user input, the first user input indicating creation of a first social circle;

in response to receiving the first user input, providing one or more social networking contacts of the social network service for display to the non-author user, the one or more social networking contacts comprising social networking contacts associated with the non-author user;

receiving second user input, the second user input indicating a selection of the one or more social networking contacts to define a first group of contacts and a second group of contacts; and

generating the first social circle, the first group of contacts populating the first social circle, wherein one of the second data corresponds to the first social circle.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first data further comprises a classification of the one or more first contacts associated with the author user, the classification having been defined by the author user using the social networking service.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the second data further comprises one or more classifications of the one or more second contacts associated with the non-author user, each of the one or more classifications having been defined by the non-author user using the social networking service.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein at least one of the classifications comprises a particular social circle defined by the non-author user.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the second data comprises a first sub-set and a second sub-set, the first sub-set corresponding to a third social circle and the second sub-set corresponding to a fourth social circle, the third and fourth social circles having been defined by the non-author user.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the first sub-set indicates a first number of the one or more second contacts associated with the third social circle, the first number being less than a total number of the one or more second contacts associated with the third social circle.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the second sub-set indicates a first number of the one or more second contacts associated with the fourth social circle, the first number being less than a total number of the one or more second contacts associated with the fourth social circle.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one contact of the first group of contacts is accounted for in the first data.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the first data further comprises an image associated with the author user.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the second data further comprises an image associated with the non-author user.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving third user input from the non-author user, the third user input corresponding to the second data; and

in response to receiving the third user input, transmitting additional data to the computing device, the additional data providing detailed information regarding one or more of the one or more first contacts associated with the author user.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving third user input from the non-author user, the third user input corresponding to the second data; and

in response to receiving the third user input, transmitting additional data to the computing device, the additional data providing detailed information regarding one or more of the one or more second contacts associated with the non-author user.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the post is generated by the author user using the social networking service.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein each overlapping contact of the one or more overlapping contacts is a common contact for the author and the non-author user.

14. A non-transitory computer storage medium encoded with a computer program, the program comprising instructions that when executed by data processing apparatus cause the data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

transmitting a content data set to a computing device for displaying a post to a non-author user in a stream page of a social networking service, the post including a privacy setting that is displayed with the post;

receiving user input from the non-author user, the user input being associated with the privacy setting; and

in response to receiving the user input;

identifying a distribution of the post, the distribution including one or more first contacts that have access to the post and are associated with an author of the post, the one or more first contacts including the non-author user;

identifying one or more second contacts associated with the non-author user;

comparing, for each second contact of the one or more second contacts, the second contact with each of the first contacts;

based on the comparing, identifying one or more overlapping contacts;

transmitting first data and second data to the computing device for display to the non-author user, the first data comprising a number of the one or more first contacts associated with the author user, the author user having authored the content, the second data being a sub-set of the first data and comprising a number of the one or more overlapping contacts associated with the non-author user that are also included in the distribution of the first users;

receiving first user input, the first user input indicating creation of a first social circle;

in response to receiving the first user input, providing one or more social networking contacts of the social network service for display to the non-author user, the one or more social networking contacts comprising social networking contacts associated with the non-author user;

receiving second user input, the second user input indicating a selection of the one or more social networking contacts to define a first group of contacts and a second group of contacts; and

generating the first social circle, the first group of contacts populating the first social circle, wherein one of the second data corresponds to the first social circle.

15. A computer-implemented method comprising:

transmitting a content data set to a computing device for displaying a post to a non-author user in a stream page of a social networking service, the post including a privacy setting that is displayed with the post;

receiving user input from the non-author user, the user input being associated with the privacy setting; and

in response to receiving the user input;

identifying a distribution of the post, the distribution including one or more first contacts that have access to the post and are associated with an author of the post, the one or more first contacts including the non-author user;

identifying one or more second contacts associated with the non-author user;

comparing, for each second contact of the one or more second contacts, the second contact with each of the first contacts;

based on the comparing, identifying one or more overlapping contacts;

transmitting first data and second data to the computing device for display to the non-author user, the first data comprising a number of the one or more first contacts associated with the author user, the author user having authored the content, the second data being a sub-set of the first data and comprising a number of the one or more overlapping contacts associated with the non-author user that are also included in the distribution of the first users

receiving first user input, the first user input indicating creation of a first social circle;

in response to receiving the first user input, providing one or more social networking contacts of the social network service for display to the non-author user, the one or more social networking contacts comprising social networking contacts associated with the non-author user;

receiving second user input, the second user input indicating a selection of the one or more social networking contacts to define a first group of contacts and a second group of contacts; and

generating the first social circle, the first group of contacts populating the first social circle, wherein one of the second data corresponds to the first social circle.