Ranking interactions between users on the internet

• US 8,898,579 B2
• Filed: 07/01/2013
• Issued: 11/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LivingSocial Incorporated (Groupon Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: LivingSocial Incorporated (Groupon Incorporated)
• Inventors: Niyogi, Sourabh, Gentzel, David
• Primary Examiner(s): BAUTISTA, XIOMARA L
• Application Number:
  US13/932,224
• Publication Number:
  US 20130297623A1
• Time in Patent Office: 512 Days
• Field of Search: 715/700, 715/733, 715/738, 715/751, 715/753, 715/731, 715/760, 715/762, 715/764, 715/765, 707/705, 707/748, 707/751, 707/769, 707/770, 707/805, 705/14.4, 705/14.49, 705/319, 705/14.51, 705/14.53
• US Class Current: 715/753
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24578 using ranking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/955 using information identifiers, e.g. uniform resource locators [URL]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute

Abstract

A server receives an interaction history comprising a set of one-to-one interactions between a first user and other users. The server determines an interaction score for each of the interactions, wherein each interaction score is based on a type of the respective one-to-one interaction and an age of the respective one-to-one interaction. The server then determines a friend rank for each of the other users based on the interaction history, wherein the friend rank indicates a measure of a degree of influence the other users have over the first user and stores the friend rank for each of the other users. The server then receives, from a client, a request for an advertisement to display to the first user, selects one of the other users having a friend rank satisfying a predetermined threshold, and transmits, to the client, an advertisement portraying the selected additional user.

Claims

1. A method performed on a computer system for ranking influence of users of the internet on other users of the internet based on interactions between the users comprising:

receiving information indicative of an interaction between a first user and a second user;

determining an interaction score for the interaction, wherein the interaction score is based at least in part on a type of the interaction;

determining a friend rank for the second user based on the interaction score, wherein the friend rank indicates a measure of a degree of influence the second user has over the first user; and

storing the friend rank in a storage medium for subsequent retrieval to promote selection of content to serve to the first user.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the received information indicative of the interaction in the storage medium.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a request for an advertisement to display to the first user;

selecting an advertisement for the first user based on friend ranks for each of the second user and a plurality of third users; and

transmitting, to a client device, the selected advertisement.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the received information indicative of the interaction comprises metadata associated with the interaction.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the interaction score is further based on one or more of an age of the interaction or a period of time between the interaction and another interaction between the first user and the second user.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the interaction comprises serializing the interaction.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining an interaction score percentile for the second user, wherein the interaction score percentile specifies an amount of interaction between the first user and the second user relative to other amounts of interaction between the first user and other users; and

determining that the interaction score percentile satisfies a threshold interaction score percentile;

wherein determining the friend rank comprises;

based on determining that the interaction score percentile satisfies the threshold interaction score percentile, determining the friend rank.

8. A system comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more machine readable hardware storage devices storing instructions that are executable by the one or more processors to perform operations comprising;

receiving information indicative of an interaction between a first user and a second user;

determining an interaction score for the interaction, wherein the interaction score is based at least in part on a type of the interaction;

determining a friend rank for the second user based on the interaction score, wherein the friend rank indicates a measure of a degree of influence the second user has over the first user; and

storing the friend rank in a storage medium for subsequent retrieval to promote selection of content to serve to the first user.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise storing the received information indicative of the interaction in the storage medium.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving a request for an advertisement to display to the first user;

selecting an advertisement for the first user based on friend ranks for each of the second user and a plurality of third users; and

transmitting, to a client device, the selected advertisement.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the received information indicative of the interaction comprises metadata associated with the interaction.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the interaction score is further based on one or more of an age of the interaction or a period of time between the interaction and another interaction between the first user and the second user.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein determining the interaction comprises serializing the interaction.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining an interaction score percentile for the second user, wherein the interaction score percentile specifies an amount of interaction between the first user and the second user relative to other amounts of interaction between the first user and other users; and

determining that the interaction score percentile satisfies a threshold interaction score percentile;

wherein determining the friend rank comprises;

based on determining that the interaction score percentile satisfies the threshold interaction score percentile, determining the friend rank.

15. One or more machine readable hardware storage devices storing instructions that are executable by one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

receiving information indicative of an interaction between a first user and a second user;

determining an interaction score for the interaction, wherein the interaction score is based at least in part on a type of the interaction;

determining a friend rank for the second user based on the interaction score, wherein the friend rank indicates a measure of a degree of influence the second user has over the first user; and

storing the friend rank in a storage medium for subsequent retrieval to promote selection of content to serve to the first user.

16. The one or more machine readable hardware storage devices of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise storing the received information indicative of the interaction in the storage medium.

17. The one or more machine readable hardware storage devices of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving a request for an advertisement to display to the first user;

selecting an advertisement for the first user based on friend ranks for each of the second user and a plurality of third users; and

transmitting, to a client device, the selected advertisement.

18. The one or more machine readable hardware storage devices of claim 15, wherein the received information indicative of the interaction comprises metadata associated with the interaction.

19. The one or more machine readable hardware storage devices of claim 15, wherein the interaction score is further based on one or more of an age of the interaction or a period of time between the interaction and another interaction between the first user and the second user.

20. The one or more machine readable hardware storage devices of claim 15, wherein determining the interaction comprises serializing the interaction.

21. The one or more machine readable hardware storage devices of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining an interaction score percentile for the second user, wherein the interaction score percentile specifies an amount of interaction between the first user and the second user relative to other amounts of interaction between the first user and other users; and

determining that the interaction score percentile satisfies a threshold interaction score percentile;

wherein determining the friend rank comprises;

based on determining that the interaction score percentile satisfies the threshold interaction score percentile, determining the friend rank.