Methods and systems for social matching

• US 9,589,058 B2
• Filed: 10/17/2013
• Issued: 03/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SameGrain, Inc.
• Original Assignee: SameGrain, Inc.
• Inventors: Balduzzi, Anne Artmeier, Eller, Eric
• Primary Examiner(s): Hicks, Michael
• Application Number:
  US14/056,036
• Publication Number:
  US 20140114965A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,237 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24 Querying
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24578 using ranking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9554 by using bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/10 Services

Abstract

Methods and systems are provided for triggering a social match analysis. A user device such as a network connected device scans for one or more entity identifiers via camera, microphone, or wireless signal receiver and initiates a request to a social matching system. The social matching system retrieves attribute information for each of the identified entities and performs a match analysis, scoring the potential matches and noting common attributes. A match analysis report is generated and returned to the originating requesting user device.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing computer-readable code that when read by a computer causes the computer to:

receive, at a match server, a request from a user device associated with a requesting entity for the requesting entity to be matched to a group associated with a first attribute;

define an aggregate profile for the group based on a plurality of profiles, each profile from the plurality of profiles being of a third party from a plurality of third parties, each profile from the plurality of profiles including an attribute matching the first attribute, the aggregate profile having a plurality of attributes in addition to the attribute matching the first attribute, each attribute from the plurality of attributes defined based on a contribution from an attribute from each profile from the plurality of profiles;

retrieve a profile associated with the requesting entity, the profile including a plurality of attributes;

identify, in parallel, a plurality of matches, each match from the plurality of matches being between an attribute from the profile associated with the requesting entity and an attribute from and the aggregate profile; and

transmit a match analysis output from the match server to the user device associated with the requesting entity, the match analysis output including an indication of each attribute from the plurality of attributes associated with the aggregate profile that matched an attribute from the plurality of attributes associated with the requesting entity but not other attributes associated with the aggregate profile that do not match an attribute from the plurality of attributes associated with the requesting entity.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, the code further comprising code to cause the computer to:

receive an entity identifier from the user device associated with the requesting entity;

define the profile associated with the requesting entity including the entity identifier and the plurality of attributes associated with the requesting entity, a match from the plurality of matches being between the entity identifier and an attribute from the plurality of attributes associated with the aggregate profile, the match performed on demand in response to receiving the entity identifier.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, the code further comprising code to cause the computer to receive a match request package from the user device associated with the requesting entity, the match request package including at least one of an entity identifier, a location, or a matching criteria.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the plurality of attributes included within the profile of the requesting entity includes at least one of an identifier associated with the requesting entity, an interest of the requesting entity, a behavior of the requesting entity, or account information associated with the requesting entity.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein a value is associated with each attribute from the plurality of attributes within the profile of the requesting entity and a value is associated with each attribute from the plurality of attributes within the aggregate profile, the code further includes code to cause the computer to:

calculate a plurality of attribute match scores, each attribute match score from the plurality of attribute match scores calculated for a match from the plurality of matches based on the value of an attribute from the plurality of attributes included within the profile of the requesting entity relative to the value of the attribute associated with the attribute included with the profile of the aggregate profile; and

calculate a profile match score based, at least in part, on the plurality of attribute match scores.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, the code further comprising code to cause the computer to:

format the match analysis output according to at least one of a type of the request, a matching mode, or an output formatting associated with the user device.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, the code further comprising code to cause the computer to:

format the match analysis output such that the match analysis output is displayed on the user device in at least one of an audio format, a visual format, a digital format, a textual format, or a graphical format.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the request is received via a network connection.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the first attribute is associated with a behavior.

10. The non-transitory processor readable medium of claim 1, the code further comprising code to cause the computer to:

define a plurality of unmatched attributes associated with the group, each unmatched attribute associated with the aggregate profile not matching an attribute from the plurality of attributes within the profile of the requesting entity, the match analysis output excluding the unmatched attributes associated with each third party entity such that the user device does not receive an indication of the plurality of unmatched attributes for any third party entity.

11. The non-transitory processor readable medium of claim 1, the code further comprising code to cause the computer to:

define a plurality of unmatched attributes associated with the group, each unmatched attribute associated with the aggregate profile not matching an attribute from the plurality of attributes within the profile of the requesting entity, the match analysis output excluding the unmatched attributes associated with each third party entity such that the user device does not receive an indication of the plurality of unmatched attributes for any third party entity,

the attribute associated with the aggregate profile that matched the attribute from the plurality of attributes associated with the requesting entity is an attribute associated with a location; and

an unmatched attribute from the plurality of unmatched attributes is associated with a name of a third party entity from the plurality of third parties.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the aggregated profile is defined after the request for the requesting entity to be matched to the group is received.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, the code further comprising code that when read by the computer causes the computer to:

identify a match between the requesting entity and a third party from the plurality of third parties based on a third attribute of the requesting entity, the match analysis output including an indication of the third party and an indication of the third attribute, the match between the requesting entity and the third party based, at least in part, on the third party being associated with the group.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, the code further comprising code that when read by the computer causes the computer to:

identify a location associated with the aggregate profile, the location being a location visited by a subset of third parties from the plurality of third parties, each third party from the subset of third parties being associated with the group, the match analysis output including an indication of the location.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein each match from the plurality of matches between the requesting entity and the aggregate profile is not identified based directly on a comparison between the profile associated with the requesting party and a profile of a third party from the plurality of third parties.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the match analysis output does not include other attributes associated with a profile of a third party from the plurality of third parties that do not match an attribute of the profile of the requesting party.