Following data records in an information feed

• US 9,569,478 B2
• Filed: 06/03/2015
• Issued: 02/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Inventors: Kemp, Christopher Anthony
• Primary Examiner(s): Uddin, Md. I
• Application Number:
  US14/729,314
• Publication Number:
  US 20150269209A1
• Time in Patent Office: 622 Days
• Field of Search: 707/609, 707/685, 707/705, 707/758, 705/319, 705/7.14, 705/14.49
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/22 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/23 Updating
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2379 Updates performed during online database operations; commit processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24 Querying
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/288 Entity relationship models
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5072 Grid computing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking

Abstract

Disclosed are some examples of systems, apparatus, methods, and computer program products related to automatically causing a following relationship to be established in an enterprise social networking system between a user and one or more customer relationship management (CRM) records. In some implementations, a workflow is configurable at least in part by one or more selections defining one or more conditions. Responsive to determining that one or more properties associated with a first CRM record satisfies the one or more conditions, a user is caused to follow the first CRM record. The following enables or causes updates associated with the first CRM record to be shared in a feed of the enterprise social networking system, where the feed can be provided to the user'"'"'s device. Information based on the following of the first CRM record by the user can be displayed at the device.

Claims

1. A database system implementing an enterprise level social and business information networking system for use in a customer relationship management (CRM) environment, the database system having one or more databases storing data objects in memory, the database system configurable to:

process data representing a workflow for automatically causing a following relationship to be established in the enterprise level social and business information networking system between a user and one or more of a plurality of CRM records stored in a database of the database system, the workflow configured at least in part by one or more selections received at the database system from a device of an authorized user of the social networking system, the one or more selections defining;

a first user of the social networking system, the first user being specifiable by the authorized user, and

one or more conditions for causing the first user to follow one or more of the plurality of CRM records, the one or more conditions being controllable by the authorized user;

determine, using the database storing the CRM records, that one or more properties associated with a first CRM record satisfies the one or more conditions by executing a first rule identifying each of;

the first condition, a first value associated with the first condition, a first comparison operation, the first CRM record, and the first user;

automatically cause, responsive to determining that the one or more properties associated with the first CRM record satisfies the one or more conditions, the first user to follow the first CRM record in the enterprise level social and business information networking system, the following of the first CRM record by the first user enabling or causing updates associated with the first CRM record to be shared in a first feed of the enterprise level social and business information networking system, the first feed being receivable by a first user device of the first user to cause display of the updates associated with the first CRM record;

store or update a data object in a database of the database system to identify the following of the first CRM record by the first user; and

cause display of information based on the following of the first CRM record by the first user on a display of the first user device of the first user.

2. The database system of claim 1, wherein automatically causing the first user to follow the first CRM record comprises:

including an identification (ID) of the first user in a list of user IDs identifying users to receive updates in the first feed.

3. The database system of claim 1, the database system further configurable to:

share, when the or more properties associated with the first CRM record satisfies the one or more conditions, the one or more conditions with user devices of users identified by a first rule.

4. The database system of claim 1, wherein the database system is a multi-tenant database system, the enterprise level social and business information networking system is implemented for an organization with which the first user is affiliated, and the organization is one of a plurality of tenants serviced by the multi-tenant database system.

5. The database system of claim 1, wherein the first CRM record is one of a plurality of CRM records having relationships defined according to a hierarchical database model.

6. The database system of claim 1, wherein the one or more conditions indicate one or more of:

a relationship of a user to a CRM record, a relationship of a user to a further user having a relationship with a CRM record, a monetary value of a CRM record, a stage of a CRM record, a close date of a CRM record, a status of a CRM record, a type of a CRM record, a priority of a CRM record, an issue associated with a CRM record, or an age of a CRM record.

7. A system comprising:

database system software stored on at least one non-transitory data storage medium for execution by at least one server of a database system implementing an enterprise level social and business information networking system for use in a customer relationship management (CRM) environment, the database system having one or more databases storing data objects, the database system software operable to cause;

processing data representing a workflow for automatically causing a following relationship to be established in the enterprise level social and business information networking system between a user and one or more of a plurality of CRM records stored in a database of the database system, the workflow configured at least in part by one or more selections received at the database system from a device of an authorized user of the social networking system, the one or more selections defining;

a first user of the social networking system, the first user being specifiable by the authorized user, and

one or more conditions for causing the first user to follow one or more of the plurality of CRM records, the one or more conditions being controllable by the authorized user;

determining, using the database storing the CRM records, that one or more properties associated with a first CRM record satisfies the one or more conditions by executing a first rule identifying each of;

the first condition, a first value associated with the first condition, a first comparison operation, the first CRM record, and the first user;

automatically causing, responsive to determining that the one or more properties associated with the first CRM record satisfies the one or more conditions, the first user to follow the first CRM record in the enterprise level social and business information networking system, the following of the first CRM record by the first user enabling or causing updates associated with the first CRM record to be shared in a first feed of the enterprise level social and business information networking system, the first feed being receivable by a first user device of the first user to cause display of the updates associated with the first CRM record;

storing or updating a data object in a database of the database system to identify the following of the first CRM record by the first user; and

causing display of information based on the following of the first CRM record by the first user on a display of the first user device of the first user.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein automatically causing the first user to follow the first CRM record comprises:

including an identification (ID) of the first user in a list of user IDs identifying users to receive updates in the first feed.

9. The system of claim 7, the database system software further operable to cause:

sharing, when the or more properties associated with the first CRM record satisfies the one or more conditions, the one or more conditions with user devices of users identified by a first rule.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the database system is a multi-tenant database system, the enterprise level social and business information networking system is implemented for an organization with which the first user is affiliated, and the organization is one of a plurality of tenants serviced by the multi-tenant database system.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the first CRM record is one of a plurality of CRM records having relationships defined according to a hierarchical database model.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein the one or more conditions indicate one or more of:

a relationship of a user to a CRM record, a relationship of a user to a further user having a relationship with a CRM record, a monetary value of a CRM record, a stage of a CRM record, a close date of a CRM record, a status of a CRM record, a type of a CRM record, a priority of a CRM record, an issue associated with a CRM record, or an age of a CRM record.

13. A method of a database system implementing an enterprise level social and business information networking system for use in a customer relationship management (CRM) environment, the database system having one or more databases storing data objects, the method comprising:

receiving data representing a workflow for automatically causing a following relationship to be established in the enterprise level social and business information networking system between a user and one or more of a plurality of CRM records stored in a database of the database system, the workflow configured at least in part by one or more selections received at the database system from a device of an authorized user of the social networking system, the one or more selections defining;

a first user of the social networking system, the first user being specifiable by the authorized user, and

one or more conditions for causing the first user to follow one or more of the plurality of CRM records, the one or more conditions being controllable by the authorized user;

determining, using the database storing the CRM records, that one or more properties associated with a first CRM record satisfies the one or more conditions by executing a first rule identifying each of;

the first condition, a first value associated with the first condition, a first comparison operation, the first CRM record, and the first user;

automatically causing, responsive to determining that the one or more properties associated with the first CRM record satisfies the one or more conditions, the first user to follow the first CRM record in the enterprise level social and business information networking system, the following of the first CRM record by the first user enabling or causing updates associated with the first CRM record to be shared in a first feed of the enterprise level social and business information networking system, the first feed being receivable by a first user device of the first user to cause display of the updates associated with the first CRM record;

storing or updating a data object in a database of the database system to identify the following of the first CRM record by the first user; and

causing display of information based on the following of the first CRM record by the first user on a display of the first user device of the first user.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein automatically causing the first user to follow the first CRM record comprises:

including an identification (ID) of the first user in a list of user IDs identifying users to receive updates in the first feed.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

sharing, when the or more properties associated with the first CRM record satisfies the one or more conditions, the one or more conditions with user devices of users identified by a first rule.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the database system is a multi-tenant database system, the enterprise level social and business information networking system is implemented for an organization with which the first user is affiliated, and the organization is one of a plurality of tenants serviced by the multi-tenant database system.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the first CRM record is one of a plurality of CRM records having relationships defined according to a hierarchical database model.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the one or more conditions indicate one or more of:

a relationship of a user to a CRM record, a relationship of a user to a further user having a relationship with a CRM record, a monetary value of a CRM record, a stage of a CRM record, a close date of a CRM record, a status of a CRM record, a type of a CRM record, a priority of a CRM record, an issue associated with a CRM record, or an age of a CRM record.