Systems and methods for ghosting and providing proxies in a network feed

• US 9,253,283 B2
• Filed: 09/11/2013
• Issued: 02/02/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Inventors: Dunn, Zachary J., Olsen, Joseph M.
• Primary Examiner(s): BUI, JONATHAN A
• Application Number:
  US14/024,468
• Publication Number:
  US 20140082078A1
• Time in Patent Office: 874 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0407 wherein the identity of one or more communicating identities is hidden cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for anonymous credentials or for identity based cryptographic systems H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles

Abstract

Disclosed are methods, apparatus, systems, and computer readable storage media for maintaining anonymity in an online social network. In some implementations, a user can be designated a ghost user with respect to an entity in the online social network. One or more invisibility levels can be determined for the ghost user. Data indicating content to display in accordance with one or more invisibility levels can be generated and provided to a display device configured to display a presentation of the social network feed associated with the entity in a user interface associated with a second user. Also disclosed are methods, apparatus, systems, and computer readable storage media for designating a proxy in an online social network. In some implementations, a first user can be designated as a proxy user of a second user in an online social network with respect to one or more entities within the online social network.

Claims

1. A method for maintaining anonymity in a social networking system implemented using a database system, the method comprising:

designating, using a server of the database system, a first user of the social networking system as a ghost user with respect to an entity in the social networking system, the ghost user having access to feeds associated with the entity and the ghost user having an invisibility to other users of the social networking system;

determining, based on a seniority level of the ghost user in an organizational hierarchy of people of an organization, one or more invisibility levels defining the invisibility of the ghost user to the other users;

generating data indicating content to be displayed in accordance with the one or more invisibility levels of the ghost user; and

providing the generated data to a display device to display a first presentation of a feed of the feeds associated with the entity in a user interface associated with a second user, the first presentation concealing one or more of the identity of the ghost user or feed content associated with the ghost user according to the determined one or more invisibility levels.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the entity is a user, a group of users, or a record.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the entity is an account, an opportunity, a case, a lead, or a contact.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

updating a database maintaining identifications of users and corresponding invisibility levels to store the determined invisibility levels.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the ghost user access to the feed includes:

providing an opportunity for the ghost user to publish feed content to the feed.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a request from the first user to be designated a ghost user with respect to the entity.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing the generated data to a display device configured to display a second presentation of the feed associated with the entity in a user interface associated with a third user, the presentation including the one or more of the identity of the ghost user and feed content associated with the ghost user concealed in the first presentation.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

designating a plurality of users as a group of ghost users with respect to the entity.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more invisibility levels are determined at least in part based on one or more of:

the ghost user'"'"'s title, the ghost user'"'"'s team, the ghost user'"'"'s department, the ghost user'"'"'s role, the ghost user'"'"'s social networking status, and the ghost user'"'"'s chain of command relationship with other users having access to the entity.

10. A system for maintaining anonymity in a social networking system implemented using a database system, the system comprising:

database system software stored on a non-transitory data storage medium for execution by one or more servers of the database system, the database system software operating to cause;

designating, using the database system, a first user of the social networking system as a ghost user with respect to an entity in the social networking system, the ghost user having access to feeds associated with the entity and the ghost user having an invisibility to other users of the social networking system;

determining, based on a seniority level of the ghost user in an organizational hierarchy of people of an organization, one or more invisibility levels for defining the invisibility of the ghost user to the other users;

generating data indicating content to be displayed in accordance with the one or more invisibility levels of the ghost user; and

providing the generated data to a display device to display a first presentation of a feed of the feeds associated with the entity in a user interface associated with a second user, the first presentation concealing one or more of the identity of the ghost user or feed content associated with the ghost user according to the determined one or more invisibility levels.

11. The system of claim 10, the database system software further operating to cause:

updating a database maintaining identifications of users and corresponding invisibility levels to store the determined invisibility levels.

12. The system of claim 10, the database system software further operating to cause:

providing an opportunity for the ghost user to publish feed content to the feeds.