Handling multiple users joining groups simultaneously

• US 8,880,609 B2
• Filed: 09/25/2013
• Issued: 11/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LinkedIn Corporation (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Mallet, Vincent, Cheng, Jessica, Fiedel, Noah, Gillum, Eric William, Ramanarayanan, Ganesh, Woods, Nicholas James
• Primary Examiner(s): Lai, Michael C
• Application Number:
  US14/036,796
• Publication Number:
  US 20140025748A1
• Time in Patent Office: 405 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204, 709/223, 715/800, 370/328, 705/27, 707/736
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/17306 Intercommunication techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/285 Clustering or classification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/287 Visualization; Browsing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/955 using information identifiers, e.g. uniform resource locators [URL]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1827 Network arrangements for conference optimisation or adaptation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/69 using geographic information, e.g. room number
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/04 Processing captured monitoring data, e.g. for logfile generation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/045 for graphical visualisation of monitoring data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/08 Annexed information, e.g. attachments
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/10 Multimedia information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/222 using geographical location information, e.g. messages transmitted or received in proximity of a certain spot or area
• 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 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/141 Setup of application sessions admission control or resource allocation in data switching networks H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 : specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 : Push-based network services
• 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 4/08 : User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 : Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/186 : Processing of subscriber group data
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 : Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99954 : Version management

Abstract

Systems and methods for the forming of user device groups are presented. Logical relationship information describing one-to-one logical relationships among a first user and other users are recorded. Then content from a first user device of the first user and content from a second user device of the second user are received. Based on a determination that the content from the first user device and the content from the second user device were received within a preset amount of time of each other, a first user group in which to add the first user and the second user is created. Then it is determined whether to remove the first or second user from the first user group based on the logical relationship information and the content.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

recording logical relationship information describing one-to-one logical relationships between a first user and other users, the logical relationship information associated with a social networking service;

receiving content from a first user device of the first user, the content having been generated by the first user device and having metadata;

receiving content from a second user device of the second user, the content having been generated by the second user device and having metadata;

based on the metadata from the first user device, the metadata from the second user device, and a determination that the content from the first user device and the content from the second user device were received within a preset amount of time of each other, creating a first user group having the first user and the second user as members;

determining, at a server using at least one processor, whether to remove the first or second user from the first user group based on the logical relationship information and the content from the first user and the content from the second user; and

adding a third user to the first user group, the third user having no logical relationship with either the first user or the second user in the logical relationship information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the metadata from the first user device includes information indicating the physical location of the first user device when the content was generated.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the metadata from the first user device includes environmental information of the first user device when the content was generated.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the content from the first user, the content from the second user, and corresponding metadata as a child data structure of a group data structure associated with the first user group, the group data structure containing other child data structures having content posted by other members of the first user group.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the logical relationship information includes proximity information regarding the first user device at the time the content was generated and other user devices.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the logical relationship information includes information indicating the proximity of the first user device to a preset physical location, at the time the content was generated.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising recording communications between the first user and other users and between the second user and other users and wherein the determining is further based on the metadata for the content from the first user and the metadata for the content from the second user.

8. A system comprising:

at least one processor;

data storage comprising modules including instructions to be executed by the at least one processor, the modules comprising;

an interaction recording module configured to record logical relationship information describing logical relationships between a first user and other users, the logical relationship information associated with a social networking service;

an interface module configured to receive content from a first user device of the first user, the content having been generated by the first user device and having metadata, and receive content from a second user device of the second user, the content having been generated by the second user device and having metadata; and

a group ranker module configured to, based on the metadata from the first user device, the metadata from the second user device, and a determination that the content from the first user device and the content from the second user device were received within a preset amount of time of each other, create a first user group having the first user and the second user as members, and determine whether to remove the first or second user from the first user group based on the logical relationship information and the content from the first user and the content from the second user, and add a third user to the first user group, the third user having no logical relationship with either the first user or the second user in the logical relationship information.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the metadata from the first user device includes information indicating the physical location of the first user device when the content was generated.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the metadata from the first user device includes environmental information of the first user device when the content was generated.

11. The system of claim 8, further comprising a push module configured to the content from the first user and the content from the second user into a single data structure for transmission to a plurality of users in the first user group.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the logical relationship information includes proximity information regarding the first user device at the time the content was generated and other user devices.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the logical relationship information includes proximity information regarding the first user device at the time the content was generated and a preset physical location.

14. The system of claim 8, further comprising an interaction recording module configured to record communications between the first user and other others and between the second user and other users, wherein the determining is further based on the metadata for the content from the first user and the metadata for the content from the second user.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:

recording logical relationship information describing logical relationships between a first user and other users, the logical relationship information associated with a social networking service;

receiving content from a first user device of the first user, the content having been generated by the first user device and having metadata;

receiving content from a second user device of the second user, the content having been generated by the second user device and having metadata;

based on the metadata from the first user device, the metadata from the second user device, and a determination that the content from the first user device and the content from the second user device were received within a preset amount of time of each other, creating a first user group having the first user and the second user as members;

determining, at a server using at least one processor, whether to remove the first or second user from the first user group based on the logical relationship information and the content from the first user and the content from the second user; and

adding a third user to the first user group, the third user having no logical relationship with either the first user or the second user in the logical relationship information.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the metadata from the first user device includes information indicating the physical location of the first user device when the content was generated.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the metadata from the first user device includes environmental information of the first user device when the content was generated.