Methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture to determine a network efficacy

• US 9,455,891 B2
• Filed: 08/28/2014
• Issued: 09/27/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Original Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Inventors: Swahar, Gayathri
• Primary Examiner(s): Chan, Wing F
• Assistant Examiner(s): WOO, ANDREW M
• Application Number:
  US14/471,701
• Publication Number:
  US 20150113129A1
• Time in Patent Office: 761 Days
• Field of Search: 709/224
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24578 using ranking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/335 Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles filtering in web context G06F16/9535, G06F16/9536
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0204 Market segmentation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0254 based on statistics
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/08 Monitoring or testing based on specific metrics, e.g. QoS, energy consumption or environmental parameters

Abstract

Methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture to determine a network efficacy are described. An example method to determine a network efficacy includes determining a connectedness for a user of a social networking site, determining an interactivity for the user, determining a network constancy for the user, and determining the network efficacy of the social networking site based on the connectedness, the interactivity, and the network constancy.

Claims

1. A method to determine a first network efficacy of a first social networking site to facilitate delivery of an advertisement to a user of the first social networking site, the method comprising:

accessing, by executing an instruction with a processor, interaction data and contact data for the user of the first social networking site via an interface provided by the first social networking site;

determining, by executing an instruction with the processor, a connectedness for the user based on the contact data;

determining, by executing an instruction with the processor, an interactivity for the user based on the interaction data;

determining, by executing an instruction with the processor, a network constancy for the user by determining a ratio of (a) connections between contacts of the user of the first social networking site to (b) at least one of;

(1) broken connections between the contacts of the user in response to removal of the user from the first social networking site;

or

(2) connections between the contacts of the user that exhibit changed degrees of connection in response to removal of the user from the first social networking site;

determining, by executing an instruction with the processor, the first network efficacy of the first social networking site based on the connectedness, the interactivity, and the network constancy, the network constancy being based on the ratio; and

transmitting the first network efficacy from the processor to an advertising server to facilitate delivery of the advertisement from the advertising server to the user of the first social networking site.

2. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the determining of the network constancy includes determining a number of connections between users in the first social networking site that are based on the presence of the user in the first social networking site.

3. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the determining of the connectedness is based on a number of first-degree contacts of the user and a number of second-degree contacts of the user, and the determining of the connectedness includes assigning a first weight to a first one of the first-degree contacts who has restricted a connection with the user, and assigning a second weight to a second one of the first-degree contacts who has not restricted a connection with the user.

4. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the determining of the interactivity of the user includes:

determining a number of first interactions directed from the user to a first one of the contacts by generating at least one of a matrix or a vector representative of an interaction between the user and the first one of the contacts; and

determining a number of second interactions associated with the first interaction and the first one of the contacts by generating or updating the at least one of the matrix or the vector representative of an interaction between the user and the first one of the contacts.

5. The method as defined in claim 1, further including comparing the first network efficacy of the first social networking site to a second network efficacy of a second social networking site used by the user, and selecting the first social networking site for delivery of advertisements to the user based on the comparison.

6. An apparatus to determine a first network efficacy of a first social networking site to facilitate delivery of an advertisement to a user of the first social networking site, the apparatus comprising:

a user selector to access interaction data and contact data for the user of the first social networking site via an interface provided by the first social networking site;

an interactivity monitor to determine an interactivity for the user based on the interaction data;

a connectedness monitor to determine a connectedness for the user based on the contact data and to determine a network constancy for the user by determining a ratio of (a) connections between contacts of the user of the first social networking site to (b) at least one of;

(1) broken connections between the contacts of the user in response to removal of the user from the first social networking site;

or

(2) connections between the contacts of the user that exhibit changed degrees of connection in response to removal of the user from the first social networking site; and

a network efficacy determiner to determine the first network efficacy of the first social networking site based on the connectedness, the interactivity, and the network constancy, the network constancy being based on the ratio, the network efficacy determiner to transmit the first network efficacy to an advertising server to facilitate delivery of the advertisement from the advertising server to the user of the first social networking site.

7. The apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein the connectedness monitor is to determine the network constancy by determining a number of connections between users in the first social networking site that are based on the presence of the user in the first social networking site.

8. The apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein the connectedness monitor is to determine the connectedness based on a number of first-degree contacts of the user and based on a number of second-degree contacts of the user, and the connectedness monitor is to determine the connectedness by assigning a first weight to a first one of the first-degree contacts who has restricted a connection with the user and assigning a second weight to a second one of the first-degree contacts who has not restricted a connection with the user.

9. The apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein the interactivity monitor is to determine the interactivity of the user by:

determining a number of first interactions directed from the user to a first one of the contacts by generating at least one of a matrix or a vector representative of an interaction between the user and the first one of the contacts; and

determining a number of second interactions associated with the first interaction and the first one of the contacts by generating or updating the at least one of the matrix or the vector representative of an interaction between the user and the first one of the contacts.

10. The apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein the network efficacy determiner is to store the first network efficacy of the first social networking site for subsequent selection of the first social networking site or a second social networking site used by the user for delivery of advertisements to the user based on a comparison of the first network efficacy to a second network efficacy of the second social networking site.

11. A tangible computer readable storage medium, comprising computer readable instructions which, when executed, cause a processor to at least:

access interaction data and contact data for a user of a first social networking site via an interface provided by the first social networking site;

determine a connectedness for the user based on the contact data;

determine an interactivity for the user based on the interaction data;

determine a network constancy for the user by determining a ratio of (a) connections between contacts of the user of the first social networking site to (b) at least one of;

(1) broken connections between the contacts of the user in response to removal of the user from the first social networking site;

or

(2) connections between the contacts of the user that exhibit changed degrees of connection in response to removal of the user from the first social networking site;

determine a first network efficacy of the first social networking site based on the connectedness, the interactivity, and the network constancy, the network constancy being based on the ratio; and

transmit the first network efficacy to an advertising server to facilitate delivery of an advertisement to the user of the first social networking site.

12. The storage medium as defined in claim 11, wherein the instructions are to cause the processor to determine the network constancy by determining a number of connections between users in the social networking site that are based on the presence of the user in the first social networking site.

13. The storage medium as defined in claim 11, wherein the instructions are to cause the processor to determine the connectedness based on a number of first-degree contacts of the user and a number of second-degree contacts of the user, and the instructions are to cause the processor to determine the connectedness by assigning a first weight to a first one of the first-degree contacts who has restricted a connection with the user and assigning a second weight to a second one of the first-degree contacts who has not restricted a connection with the user.

14. The storage medium as defined in claim 11, wherein the instructions are to cause the processor to determine the interactivity of the user by:

determining a number of first interactions directed from the user to a first one of the contacts by generating at least one of a matrix or a vector representative of an interaction between the user and the first one of the contacts; and

determining a number of second interactions associated with the first interaction and the first one of the contacts by generating or updating the at least one of the matrix or the vector representative of an interaction between the user and the first one of the contacts.

15. The storage medium as defined in claim 11, wherein the instructions are further to cause the processor to compare the first network efficacy of the first social networking site to a second network efficacy of a second social networking site used by the user, and select the first social networking site for delivery of advertisements to the user based on the comparison.