Visibility inspector in social networks

• US 9,313,240 B2
• Filed: 01/27/2014
• Issued: 04/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Su, Ray Jiunn-An, Terleski, Jonathan, Smarr, Joseph R., Ben-Yair, Shimrit
• Primary Examiner(s): Donabed, Ninos
• Application Number:
  US14/165,081
• Publication Number:
  US 20140143403A1
• Time in Patent Office: 806 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• 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 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1044 Group management mechanisms management of multicast group membership H04L12/185; reconfiguring of node membership in a computing system to eliminate errors G06F11/1425
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for transmitting a content data set to a computing device for displaying content to a non-author user, receiving user input from the non-author user, the user input corresponding to the content, and, in response to receiving the user input, transmitting first data and second data to the computing device for display to the non-author user, the first data comprising a number of contacts associated with an author user, the author user having authored the content, the second data being a sub-set of the first data and comprising a number of contacts associated with the non-author user.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

one or more computing devices; and

one or more computer-readable media coupled to the one or more computing devices and having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the one or more computing devices, cause the one or more computing devices to perform operations comprising;

transmitting a content data set to a computing device for displaying digital content to a non-author user in a stream page of a social networking service, the stream page comprising a web page displayed in a browser application executed by the computing device, the digital content including a privacy setting that is displayed with the digital content, the privacy setting defining a limitation on a distribution of the digital content over a communications network;

receiving user input from the non-author user, the user input being associated with the privacy setting;

in response to receiving the user input;

identifying a distribution of the digital content, the distribution including one or more first electronic contacts that have access to the digital content and are associated with an author of the digital content within one or more Internet-based communication services, the one or more first electronic contacts including the non-author user;

identifying one or more second electronic contacts associated with the non-author user within the one or more Internet-based communication services;

comparing, for each second electronic contact of the one or more second electronic contacts, the second electronic contact with each of the first electronic contacts;

based on the comparing, identifying one or more overlapping electronic contacts;

identifying one or more data sets, included by the social network service, that are associated with the non-author user, the one or more data sets defining a collection of electronic contacts that the user communicates with through the one or more Internet-based communication services;

for one or more of the overlapping contacts, identifying a particular data set of the one or more data sets that the overlapping electronic contact is a member of;

for one or more of the overlapping electronic contacts, determining that the overlapping electronic contact is not currently assigned to any of the one or more data sets; and

transmitting first data and second data to the computing device for display to the non-author user in the stream page of the social networking service, the first data comprising a number of the one or more first electronic contacts associated with the author user, the author user having authored the digital content, the second data being a sub-set of the first data and comprising i) a number of the one or more overlapping electronic contacts associated with the non-author user that are also included in the distribution of the first electronic contacts, ii) for one or more of the data sets, a number of the one or more overlapping electronic contacts that are members of the particular data set, and iii) a number of the one or more overlapping electronic contacts that are not currently assigned to any of the one or more data sets.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first data further comprises a classification of the one or more first electronic contacts associated with the author user, the classification having been defined by the author user using the social networking service.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the second data comprises a first sub-set and a second sub-set, the first sub-set corresponding to a first data set and the second sub-set corresponding to a second data set.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the first sub-set indicates a first number of the one or more overlapping electronic contacts associated with the first data set, the first number being less than a total number of the one or more second electronic contacts associated with the first data set.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the second sub-set indicates a first number of the one or more overlapping electronic contacts associated with the second data set, the first number being less than a total number of the one or more second electronic contacts associated with the second data set.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the first data further comprises an image associated with the author user.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the second data further comprises an image associated with the non-author user.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving second user input from the non-author user, the second user input corresponding to the second data; and

in response to receiving the second user input, transmitting additional data to the computing device, the additional data providing detailed information regarding one or more of the one or more first electronic contacts associated with the author user.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving second user input from the non-author user, the second user input corresponding to the second data; and

in response to receiving the second user input, transmitting additional data to the computing device, the additional data providing detailed information regarding one or more of the one or more second electronic contacts associated with the non-author user.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the digital content is generated by the author user using the social networking service.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein each overlapping electronic contact of the one or more overlapping electronic contacts is a common electronic contact for the author and the non-author user.

12. A non-transitory computer storage medium encoded with a computer program, the program comprising instructions that when executed by data processing apparatus cause the data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

transmitting a content data set to a computing device for displaying digital content to a non-author user in a stream page of a social networking service, the stream page comprising a web page displayed in a browser application executed by the computing device, the digital content including a privacy setting that is displayed with the digital content, the privacy setting defining a limitation on a distribution of the digital content over a communications network;

receiving user input from the non-author user, the user input being associated with the privacy setting;

in response to receiving the user input;

identifying a distribution of the digital content, the distribution including one or more first electronic contacts that have access to the digital content and are associated with an author of the digital content within one or more Internet-based communication services, the one or more first electronic contacts including the non-author user;

identifying one or more second electronic contacts associated with the non-author user within the one or more Internet-based communication services;

comparing, for each second electronic contact of the one or more second electronic contacts, the second electronic contact with each of the first electronic contacts;

based on the comparing, identifying one or more overlapping electronic contacts;

identifying one or more data sets, included by the social network service, that are associated with the non-author user, the one or more data sets defining a collection of electronic contacts that the user communicates with through the one or more Internet-based communication services;

for one or more of the overlapping contacts, identifying a particular data set of the one or more data sets that the overlapping electronic contact is a member of;

for one or more of the overlapping electronic contacts, determining that the overlapping electronic contact is not currently assigned to any of the one or more data sets; and

transmitting first data and second data to the computing device for display to the non-author user in the stream page of the social networking service, the first data comprising a number of the one or more first electronic contacts associated with the author user, the author user having authored the digital content, the second data being a sub-set of the first data and comprising i) a number of the one or more overlapping electronic contacts associated with the non-author user that are also included in the distribution of the first electronic contacts, ii) for one or more of the data sets, a number of the one or more overlapping electronic contacts that are members of the particular data set, and iii) a number of the one or more overlapping electronic contacts that are not currently assigned to any of the one or more data sets.

13. A computer-implemented method comprising:

transmitting a content data set to a computing device for displaying digital content to a non-author user in a stream page of a social networking service, the stream page comprising a web page displayed in a browser application executed by the computing device, the digital content including a privacy setting that is displayed with the digital content, the privacy setting defining a limitation on a distribution of the digital content over a communications network;

receiving user input from the non-author user, the user input being associated with the privacy setting;

in response to receiving the user input;

identifying a distribution of the digital content, the distribution including one or more first electronic contacts that have access to the digital content and are associated with an author of the digital content within one or more Internet-based communication services, the one or more first electronic contacts including the non-author user;

identifying one or more second electronic contacts associated with the non-author user within the one or more Internet-based communication services;

comparing, for each second electronic contact of the one or more second electronic contacts, the second electronic contact with each of the first electronic contacts;

based on the comparing, identifying one or more overlapping electronic contacts;

identifying one or more data sets, included by the social network service, that are associated with the non-author user, the one or more data sets defining a collection of electronic contacts that the user communicates with through the one or more Internet-based communication services;

for one or more of the overlapping contacts, identifying a particular data set of the one or more data sets that the overlapping electronic contact is a member of;

for one or more of the overlapping electronic contacts, determining that the overlapping electronic contact is not currently assigned to any of the one or more data sets; and

transmitting first data and second data to the computing device for display to the non-number of the one or more first electronic contacts associated with the author user, the author user having authored the digital content, the second data being a sub-set of the first data and comprising i) a number of the one or more overlapping electronic contacts associated with the non-author user that are also included in the distribution of the first electronic contacts, ii) for one or more of the data sets, a number of the one or more overlapping electronic contacts that are members of the particular data set, and iii) a number of the one or more overlapping electronic contacts that are not currently assigned to any of the one or more data sets.