Preferred contact channel for user communications

• US 8,914,442 B2
• Filed: 02/27/2014
• Issued: 12/16/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Tseng, Erick
• Primary Examiner(s): Hussain, Tauqir
• Application Number:
  US14/192,443
• Publication Number:
  US 20140181209A1
• Time in Patent Office: 292 Days
• Field of Search: 709/217
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/101 Collaborative creation, e.g. joint development of products or services
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

In one embodiment, a user of a social networking system requests to look up a contact'"'"'s communication channel information in the user'"'"'s address book. The social networking system provides to the user the contact'"'"'s communication channels in an ordered sequence based on the user'"'"'s social graph and communication information.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, at a computing device, a request from a requesting user for communication-channel information;

acquiring an affiliation coefficient between a target user and the requesting user;

determining a set of communication channels based at least in part on the affiliation coefficient between the target user and the requesting user, wherein each of the communication channels is associated with one or more user-selectable elements of a plurality of user-selectable elements;

calculating a score for one or more of the communication channels based at least in part on communication-history information of the receiving user;

ranking the scored communication channels based at least in part on the calculated scores; and

presenting to the requesting user, in an order based at least in part on the ranking, one or more of the user-selectable elements associated with each of the scored communication channels.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

acquiring communication-history information between the target user and one or more other users, the other users grouped into one or more affiliation groups based on one or more affiliation coefficients between the other users and the target user; and

calculating the score for one or more of the communication channels based at least in part on the communication-history information associated with each affiliation group.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein acquiring the affiliation coefficient between the target user and the requesting user comprises:

accessing a data store of social-graph information of the requesting user; and

determining a degree of separation from the requesting user to the target user.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein ranking the scored communication channels comprises:

prior to presenting the ranking of the communication channels, adjusting the ranking of the scored communication channels based on a current context of one or more of;

the target user;

or

the receiving user.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining one or more top-ranked communication channels of the ranked communication channels;

wherein presenting the user-selectable elements comprises presenting only one or more of the user-selectable elements associated with each of one or more of the top-ranked communication channels.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining one or more rules configured at least in part by the requesting user, wherein one or more of the rules comprises a preference of the requesting user for one or more of the communication channels in relation to the target user;

wherein calculating the score for the communication channels is based at least in part on one or more of the rules.

7. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining one or more rules configured at least in part by the requesting user, wherein one or more of the rules comprises a preference of the requesting user for one or more of the communication channels in relation to one or more of the affiliation groups;

wherein calculating the score for the communication channels is based at least in part on one or more of the rules.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more of the calculated scores comprises, for each respective communication channel, a weighted average of the communication history and a default score associated with the communication channel, wherein the communication history comprises inbound and outbound communication history.

9. 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 from a requesting user for communication-channel information;

acquire an affiliation coefficient between a target user and the requesting user;

determine a set of communication channels based at least in part on the affiliation coefficient between the target user and the requesting user, wherein each of the communication channels is associated with one or more user-selectable elements of a plurality of user-selectable elements;

calculate a score for one or more of the communication channels based at least in part on communication-history information of the receiving user;

rank the scored communication channels based at least in part on the calculated scores; and

present to the requesting user, in an order based at least in part on the ranking, one or more of the user-selectable elements associated with each of the scored communication channels.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the processors are further operable when executing the instructions to:

acquire communication-history information between the target user and one or more other users, the other users grouped into one or more affiliation groups based on one or more affiliation coefficients between the other users and the target user; and

calculate the score for one or more of the communication channels based at least in part on the communication-history information associated with each affiliation group.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein to acquire the affiliation coefficient between the target user and the requesting user, the processors are further operable when processing the instructions to:

access a data store of social-graph information of the requesting user; and

determine a degree of separation from the requesting user to the target user.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein to rank the scored communication channels, the processors are further operable when processing the instructions to:

prior to presenting the ranking of the communication channels, adjust the ranking of the scored communication channels based on a current context of one or more of;

the target user;

or

the receiving user.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the processors are further operable when executing the instructions to:

determine one or more top-ranked communication channels of the ranked communication channels;

wherein presenting the user-selectable elements comprises presenting only one or more of the user-selectable elements associated with each of one or more of the top-ranked communication channels.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the processors are further operable when executing the instructions to:

determine one or more rules configured at least in part by the requesting user, wherein one or more of the rules comprises a preference of the requesting user for one or more of the communication channels in relation to the target user;

wherein calculating the score for the communication channels is based at least in part on one or more of the rules.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the processors are further operable when executing the instructions to:

determine one or more rules configured at least in part by the requesting user, wherein one or more of the rules comprises a preference of the requesting user for one or more of the communication channels in relation to one or more of the affiliation groups;

wherein calculating the score for the communication channels is based at least in part on one or more of the rules.

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

receive a request from a requesting user for communication-channel information;

acquire an affiliation coefficient between a target user and the requesting user;

determine a set of communication channels based at least in part on the affiliation coefficient between the target user and the requesting user, wherein each of the communication channels is associated with one or more user-selectable elements of a plurality of user-selectable elements;

calculate a score for one or more of the communication channels based at least in part on the communication-history information of the receiving user;

rank the scored communication channels based at least in part on the calculated scores; and

present to the requesting user, in an order based at least in part on the ranking, one or more of the user-selectable elements associated with each of the scored communication channels.

17. The media of claim 16, wherein the software is further operable when executed to:

acquire communication-history information between the target user and one or more other users, the other users grouped into one or more affiliation groups based on one or more affiliation coefficients between the other users and the target user; and

calculate the score for one or more of the communication channels based at least in part on the communication history-information associated with each affiliation group.

18. The media of claim 16, wherein to acquire the affiliation coefficient between the target user and the requesting user, the software is further operable when executed to:

access a data store of social-graph information of the requesting user; and

determine a degree of separation from the requesting user to the target user.

19. The media of claim 16, wherein to rank the scored communication channels, the software is further operable when executed to:

prior to presenting the ranking of the communication channels, adjust the ranking of the scored communication channels based on a current context of one or more of;

the target user;

or

the receiving user.

20. The media of claim 16 wherein the software is further operable when executing instructions to:

determine one or more top-ranked communication channels of the ranked communication channels;

wherein presenting the user-selectable elements comprises presenting only one or more of the user-selectable elements associated with each of one or more of the communication channels.