Generating guest suggestions for events in a social networking system

• US 9,196,008 B2
• Filed: 08/13/2012
• Issued: 11/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/13/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Baldwin, Robert Michael, Bridge, Henry, Bush, Matthew
• Primary Examiner(s): BURGESS, BARBARA N
• Application Number:
  US13/584,625
• Publication Number:
  US 20140047023A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,198 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/204, 709/205, 709/206, 709/217, 709/207, 709/223, 709/224, 709/225
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 7/01 Probabilistic graphical models, e.g. probabilistic networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

Social networking system users may create events where a group of other users invited to the event meet at a specified time and location. The social networking system suggests users to invite to an event based on a prediction that the users would attend the event if invited. Various factors may be used to make the prediction, such as an affinity between the inviting user and the other users, the availability of the other users at the time of the event and/or the proximity of the other users to the location of the event. An inviting user receives the suggested users and selects suggested users to invite to the event or invitations may be automatically sent to the suggested users by the social networking system.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

accessing information about an inviting user of a social networking system;

selecting an event associated with the inviting user by the social networking system;

retrieving information about the selected event;

accessing information about social networking system users connected to the inviting user;

selecting a set of candidate users from the social networking system users who are connected to the inviting user;

predicting, by a processor, for each of the candidate users, whether a suggestion to the inviting user to invite the candidate user to the event would be acted upon by the inviting user and would lead to the candidate user joining the event;

selecting one or more candidate users from the set based on the predicting; and

sending by the processor a suggestion to the inviting user to send an invitation for the event to the selected one or more candidate users.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the set of candidate users from the social networking system users connected to the inviting user comprises:

selecting users connected to the inviting user and associated with a location within a specified distance of a location included in the information about the event.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting a set of candidate users from the social networking system users connected to the inviting user comprises:

selecting users having a location within a specified distance of a location included in the information about the event and an availability at a time included in the information about the event.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the prediction of whether the suggestion to invite a candidate user would lead to the candidate user joining the event is based on an affinity for the candidate user by the inviting user.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting one or more candidate users from the set based on the prediction comprises:

determining for each candidate user a likelihood that the candidate user would join the event based on an affinity for the inviting user by the candidate user and a history of the candidate user attending events that the inviting user attended; and

selecting one or more candidate users having highest likelihoods of joining the event.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting one or more candidate users from the set based on the prediction comprises:

determining for each candidate user a likelihood that the candidate user would join the event based on an affinity for the inviting user by a candidate user and a history of the candidate user attending events that the inviting user attended; and

selecting one or more candidate users for whom the likelihood exceeds a threshold likelihood.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting one or more candidate users from the set based on the prediction comprises:

determining for each candidate user a likelihood that the candidate user would join the event based on an affinity for the inviting user by a candidate user, a history of the candidate user attending events that the inviting user attended and the candidate user'"'"'s location at the time included in the information about the event; and

selecting one or more candidate users for whom the likelihood exceeds a threshold likelihood.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the candidate user'"'"'s location at the time included in the information about the event is determined from one or more responses to additional events associated with a location identified by the invitation received from the candidate user.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting one or more candidate users from the set based on the prediction comprises:

assigning a social value to each candidate user from the set;

determining a likelihood that each candidate user from the set will join the event;

determining an expected value for each candidate user from the set, the expected value of a candidate user based on the candidate user'"'"'s social value and a likelihood that the candidate user will join the event;

selecting one or more candidate users having highest expected values.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a response from the inviting user identifying a candidate user to receive an invitation, and sending a notification of the event to an electronic device associated with the identified user.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the suggestion to the inviting user to send the invitation for the event to the selected one or more candidate users comprises:

including a story identifying the listing in a newsfeed sent to an electronic device associated with the inviting user.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the suggestion to the inviting user to send the invitation for the event to the selected one or more candidate users comprises:

sending a notification identifying the selected one or more candidate users to an electronic device associated with the inviting user.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the event associated with the inviting user is an event that the inviting user is hosting or an event that the inviting user created.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the event associated with the inviting user is an event authorizing the inviting user to invite additional users.

15. A computer program embodied on a non-transitory computer readable memory having instructions for performing steps comprising:

accessing information about an inviting user of a social networking system;

selecting an event associated with the inviting user by the social networking system;

retrieving information about the selected event;

accessing information about social networking system users connected to the inviting user;

selecting a set of candidate users from the social networking system users who are connected to the inviting user;

predicting, by a processor, for each of the candidate users, whether a suggestion to the inviting user to invite the candidate user to the event would be acted upon by the inviting user and would lead to the candidate user joining the event;

selecting one or more candidate users from the set based on the predicting; and

sending by the processor a suggestion to the inviting user to send an invitation for the event to the selected one or more candidate users.

16. The computer program embodied on a non-transitory computer readable memory of claim 15, wherein selecting the set of candidate users from the social networking system users connected to the inviting user comprises:

selecting users connected to the inviting user and associated with a location within a specified distance of a location included in the information about the event.

17. The computer program embodied on a non-transitory computer readable memory of claim 15, wherein the prediction of whether the suggestion to invite a candidate user would lead to the candidate user joining the event is based on an affinity for the candidate user by the inviting user.

18. The computer program embodied on a non-transitory computer readable memory of claim 15, wherein selecting one or more candidate users from the set based on the prediction comprises:

determining for each candidate user a likelihood that the candidate user would join the event based on an affinity for the inviting user by a candidate user and a history of the candidate user attending events that the inviting user attended; and

selecting one or more candidate users for whom the likelihood exceeds a threshold likelihood.